Titel: Hedgehog-Gli signalling in cancer and stem cells
Termin:
30.9.2006
Veranstaltungsort:
Via del Mascherone, 59
00186 Rome
Italy
Referenten: F. Aberger (Austria) *** K. Anderson (USA) *** J. Briscoe (UK) *** N. Dahmane (USA) *** F. de Sauvage (USA) *** A. Dlugosz (USA) *** E. Epstein (USA) *** I. Guerrero (Spain) *** A. Gulino (Italy) *** H. Hahn (Germany) *** M. Hebrok (USA) *** P. Ingham (UK) *** J. Jiang (USA) *** S. Marino (Switzerland) *** P. Mehlen (France) *** K. Nybakken (USA) *** A. Oro (USA) *** V. Palma (Chile) *** S. Pazzaglia (Italy) *** J. Romer (USA) *** A. Ruiz i Altaba (Switzerland) *** P. Sanchez (Spain) *** J. Taipale (Finland) *** P. Therond (France) *** R. Toftgard (Sweden) *** G.R. van den Brink (The Netherlands) *** F. Watt (UK) *** R. Wechsler-Reya (USA) *** J. Xie (USA)
Weitere Informationen:
http://w3.uniroma1.it/embo_hedgehog/
Dramatic advances in unraveling the mechanisms underlying Hedgehog-Gli signaling pathway in vertebrates have occurred during the last couple of years. This pathway is among the critical integrators of cell fate that control differentiation decisions and cell growth during embryonic development, as well as during cell maturation processes in post-natal life in multiple cell types. Since the pioneering work of Nusslein-Volhard and Wieschaus (1980) on the effect of hedgehog mutation disrupting Drosophila pattern formation, progress in the dissection of Hedgehog signaling pathway and on the Gli transcription factors the last and critical elements of the signaling pathway - has significantly enhanced our understanding of crucial developmental processes. Recent work has also led to seminal insights into the mechanisms underlying human disease, including cancer. Inappropriate Hedgehog-Gli signaling plays a major role in a large number of tumor types including those of the skin, brain, prostate, lung, upper digestive tract, breast and muscle. For most of the cancer forms mentioned above the prognosis is poor in advanced stages and there is a great need for therapeutic alternatives. Results obtained in the very last few months have provided the proof of principle that interference with Hedgehog-Gli signaling in vivo promises to be an efficient targeted, rational and wide-spectrum anti-cancer therapeutic strategy.
To this regard, an important aspect is the role of Hedgehog-Gli-signaling in renewal of stem cells and possibly in cancer stem cells as well as in the regulation of tissue repair. Indeed, this appears to be an important underlying link between the normal function of Hedgehog-Gli-signaling in development and homeostasis on one hand, and in cancer initiation and metastatic progression on the other.
Therefore, it is very important to rapidly bring together established scientists as well as young investigators working on Hedgehog-Gli signaling from different angles. This will allow to carefully dissect the role of this pathway in human cancer and to design efficient anti-cancer therapies aimed at interference with Hedgehog-Gli signaling.
This is the second meeting of the Hedgehog-Gli signaling in Development and Disease European Network, that follows the first one held in Geneva on early July, 2005, strengthening the bases for continuative collaborative basic research and future translational preclinical and clinical work.
The topics of the meeting will be:
a) Hedgehog-Gli signaling mechanisms;
b) Hedgehog-Gli signaling in development and stem cells;
c) Hedgehog-Gli signaling in cancer and cancer stem cells: brain tumors, skin cancer and other tumors
Kontakt:
Mr Alberto Gulino
Department of Experimental Medicine & Pathology
University La Sapienza
324 viale Regina Elena
00161 Rome
Italy
Tel.:
+39 - 06 - 4 46 40 21
Fax: +39 - 06 - 4 46 40 21
alberto.gulino@uniroma1.it
http://w3.uniroma1.it/dmsp/
Wissenschaftliche Leitung: Alberto Gulino (University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy), Ariel Ruiz i Altaba (Université de Genève, Switzerland), Fiona Watt (Cancer Research UK London Institute, UK), Heidi Hahn (University of Goettingen, Germany), Isabel Guerrero (Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain), Pascal Therond (Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Nice, France), Rune Toftgard (Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden)
Schlagworte: Embryonale Stammzellen, Genetische Tests/Beratung, Genforschung/-technik, Genomanalyse, Gesundheitswesen, Humangenetik, Krankheit