Invitation
Wnt Signaling in Development and Disease
Wednesday, September 12 – Saturday, September 15, 2007
Max Delbrück Communications Center (MDC.C)
Dear Sir or Madam,
Dear Colleagues,
During embryogenesis, relatively few signaling pathways extending from the cell surface to the cell nucleus regulate the development of the embryo into a healthy organism. In the adult organism, signaling pathways have a different task. Here, they control how stem cells divide, inducing for example the regular self-renewal of short-lived blood, skin and intestinal cells. Thus, signaling cascades are not only essential for development but also for repair and healing processes.
One of the central signaling pathways characterized to date is the Wnt signaling pathway. Abnormal Wnt signaling is implicated in cancer, brain and heart disorders, and in other diseases. In 90 percent of all cases of colon cancer, the tumor suppressor APC in the Wnt signaling pathway is mutated and is considered to be the trigger of this disease.
Moreover, it has been known for sometime that the different signaling pathways do not simply operate separately but also cross-talk with each other. Scientists are aware that dysfunctional cross-talk between pathways also plays a significant role in the development of diseases.
An overview of the present status of research and of insights gained about the individual steps in these signaling processes regarding their prospective use for therapeutic purposes will be the focus of the international conference
Wnt Signaling in Development and Disease
Wednesday, September 12 – Saturday, September 15, 2007
Robert-Rössle-Str. 10, 13125 Berlin
Max Delbrück Communications Center (MDC.C)
to which I would like to cordially invite you.
Some of the papers presented at the conference will concern the possibility of inhibiting specific signal pathways which can lead to disease. Professor Walter Birchmeier of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), who has made significant contributions to research in the field of the Wnt signaling pathway, stressed: “Most importantly, what we need to find out is where we can intervene without interfering with vital functions. We need to identify the exact site where we can block defective signals. That is very difficult.”
The two organizers of the conference, Professor Birchmeier and Professor Thomas Holstein of the University of Heidelberg, have been able to attract more than 30 developmental biologists, cell biologists and cancer researchers from the U.S., Japan and Europe to participate. Altogether, around 350 scientists will take part in the conference.
The keynote lectures will be held by developmental biologists Professor Roel Nusse (EMBO Lecture) of Stanford University School of Medicine, USA, and Professor Hans Clevers of the Hubrecht Laboratory and Centre for Biomedical Genetics in Utrecht, the Netherlands. They are considered to be pioneers in this research area.
Enclosed I am sending you the program of the conference which you can also download from the Internet at (http://www.wnt-2007-berlin.de/pub/b/frame.asp). You will also find directions to MDC and a campus map (http://www.mdc-berlin.de/ueber_das_mdc/adresse/index.htm).
Please fill out and return the enclosed RSVP form to the MDC press office and indicate any interview requests you may have.
I look forward to welcoming you at this conference in Berlin.
Sincerely,
Barbara Bachtler
Pressestelle
Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin (MDC) Berlin-Buch
Robert-Rössle-Straße 10
13125 Berlin
Barbara Bachtler
Tel: 030/94 06 - 38 96
Fax: 030/94 06 - 38 33
e-mail: presse@mdc-berlin.de
http://www.mdc-berlin.de/ueber_das_mdc/presse/index.htm