A Biochemical Society Focused Meeting
Proceedings (invited speakers) will be published in Biochemical Society Transactions
Abstract submission deadline: 6 May 2008
Abstract submission is closed.
Earlybird registration deadline: 10 June 2008
Online registration for this meeting has closed. Please note that delegates can still register at The Biochemical Society registration desk on the day of the meeting. Please contact the meetings office on +44 (0)20 7280 4150 for more information.
Student travel grants are available for this meeting.
Oral communication slots are available at this meeting. All attendees, particularly researchers in the early stages of their career, are invited to submit a poster abstract for consideration as an oral communication.
Metals are essential trace elements in our diet, and the liver and the brain are the organs with the highest metal content. The potential hazards presented by metals are overcome at the cellular level by the existence of dedicated transporters and chaperones, and a number of inherited diseases arise as result of mutations in the proteins associated with these systems. The availability of powerful model organisms, particularly zebra fish, D. melanogaster and C. elegans, has led to the identification of large families of genes encoding metal transporters and chaperones. This has helped to stimulate a dramatic increase in research over the past few years aimed at understanding of the role of metals in normal physiology and in various disease states. This is particularly apparent in the neurosciences, where metals act as neuromodulators and dysregulation of the normal physiological handling of zinc, copper and iron has been linked to some important neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease and the transmissible prion diseases.
This Meeting will cover the metabolism and transport of metals, and also the role of metals in neuronal function and neurodegeneration. The following topics will be included:
Metabolism of metal ions
Transport mechanisms
The latest advances in model organisms
The role of metals in neuronal development and in the regulation of normal neuronal transmission
The role of metals in various neurodegenerative diseases
Therapeutic approaches and methodologies
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