2012 Press Releases
International Biochemistry Conference for UCC
Rab GTPases localise to distinct cellular organelles and regulate all stages of intracellular membrane trafficking in eukaryotic cells. Their activity state and functional effects are controlled and or mediated by several interacting proteins, including guanine nucleotide exchange proteins, GTPase Activating proteins, effector and motor proteins. Rab GTPase function is essential for a vast range of normal cellular physiological processes, ranging from Long Term Potentiation (LTP) to cellular uptake of glucose in response to insulin signalling.
In recent years, Rabs, or their interactors, have been implicated in a wide range of genetic diseases. Some examples include choroideremia, Niemann-Pick disease, Griscelli syndrome, cancer aggressiveness, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, X-linked mental retardation, Huntingtin’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Batten’s disease, osteopetrosis, Crohn’s disease, diabetic nephropathy, cardiomyopathy, Carpenter’s syndrome, Sjogren’s syndrome and platelet disorders.
Furthermore, they are implicated in a lengthening list of host/pathogen diseases involving viruses, bacteria and parasitic pathogens. Some examples of viral infections include; Influenza-, Dengue-, West Nile-, Foot & mouth-, Coxsackie-, Encephalitis-, Hepatitis C-, Respiratory Syncytial- , Measles-, Hantavirus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Examples of bacterial infections with which Rabs have been connected include Chlamydia, Brucella, Salmonella, Listeria, Helicobacter, Mycobacteria. Parasitic conditions with which the Rabs have been connected include Trypanosoma cruzei and brucei.
The meeting will include a keynote presentation on Rabs by Bruno Goud and review presentations on Ras and Rho proteins by Chris Marshall and Alan Hall, respectively.
This meeting will bring together researchers who work on the functional characterization of Rabs and / or their interacting proteins in either normal cellular physiology (health) or in diseases as well as an overview of Ras, Rho and Rab cellular function.
Topics
- Rab function in the healthy cell
- The interplay between Rabs and infectious disease processes Rabs and inherited diseases