Submit to IJMS Review for IJMS

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Conference Reports

State of the Art and New Trends from the Second International StemNet Meeting

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(4), 2221; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25042221

The Second International StemNet (Federation of Stem Cell Research Associations) meeting took place on 18–20 October 2023 in Brescia (Italy), with the support of the University of Brescia and the Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna. The program of the meeting was articulated in nine sections: (1) Biomedical Communication in Italy: Critical Aspects; (2) StemNet Next Generation Session; (3) Cell-Free Therapies; (4) Tips and Tricks of Research Valorisation; (5) Stem Cells and Cancer; (6) Stem Cells in Veterinary Applications; (7) Stem Cells in Clinical Applications; (8) Organoids and 3D Systems; (9) induced pluripotent stem cells (iPCS) and Gene Therapy. National and International speakers presented their scientific works, inspiring debates and discussions among the attendees. The participation in the meeting was high, especially because of the young researchers who animated all the sessions and the rich poster session.
Full text download

State of the Art and New Trends from the 2022 Gism Annual Meeting

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(10), 8902; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24108902

The 2022 Italian Mesenchymal Stem Cell Group (Gruppo Italiano Staminali Mesenchimali, GISM) Annual Meeting took place on 20–21 October 2022 in Turin (Italy), with the support of the University of Turin and the City of Health and Science of Turin. The novelty of this year’s meeting was its articulation, reflecting the new structure of GISM based on six sections: (1) Bringing advanced therapies to the clinic: trends and strategies, (2) GISM Next Generation, (3) New technologies for 3D culture systems, (4) Therapeutic applications of MSC-EVs in veterinary and human medicine, (5) Advancing MSC therapies in veterinary medicine: present challenges and future perspectives, (6) MSCs: a double-edged sword: friend or foe in oncology. National and international speakers presented their scientific works with the aim of promoting an interactive discussion and training for all attendees. The atmosphere was interactive, where ideas and questions between younger researchers and senior mentors were shared in all moments of the congress.
Full text download

The Ah Receptor from Toxicity to Therapeutics: Report from the 5th AHR Meeting at Penn State University, USA, June 2022

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5550; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065550

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) is a sensor of low-molecular-weight molecule signals that originate from environmental exposures, the microbiome, and host metabolism. Building upon initial studies examining anthropogenic chemical exposures, the list of AHR ligands of microbial, diet, and host metabolism origin continues to grow and has provided important clues as to the function of this enigmatic receptor. The AHR has now been shown to be directly involved in numerous biochemical pathways that influence host homeostasis, chronic disease development, and responses to toxic insults. As this field of study has continued to grow, it has become apparent that the AHR is an important novel target for cancer, metabolic diseases, skin conditions, and autoimmune disease. This meeting attempted to cover the scope of basic and applied research being performed to address possible applications of our basic knowledge of this receptor on therapeutic outcomes.
Full text download

Spatial-Temporal Genome Regulation in Stress-Response and Cell-Fate Change

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(3), 2658; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032658

Complex functioning of the genome in the cell nucleus is controlled at different levels: (a) the DNA base sequence containing all relevant inherited information; (b) epigenetic pathways consisting of protein interactions and feedback loops; (c) the genome architecture and organization activating or suppressing genetic interactions between different parts of the genome. Most research so far has shed light on the puzzle pieces at these levels. This article, however, attempts an integrative approach to genome expression regulation incorporating these different layers. Under environmental stress or during cell development, differentiation towards specialized cell types, or to dysfunctional tumor, the cell nucleus seems to react as a whole through coordinated changes at all levels of control. This implies the need for a framework in which biological, chemical, and physical manifestations can serve as a basis for a coherent theory of gene self-organization. An international symposium held at the Biomedical Research and Study Center in Riga, Latvia, on 25 July 2022 addressed novel aspects of the abovementioned topic. The present article reviews the most recent results and conclusions of the state-of-the-art research in this multidisciplinary field of science, which were delivered and discussed by scholars at the Riga symposium.
Full text download

Report of the 24th Meeting on Signal Transduction 2021

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(4), 2015; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23042015

The annual meeting “Signal Transduction—Receptors, Mediators and Genes” of the Signal Transduction Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary conference which is open to all scientists sharing a common interest in the elucidation of the signaling pathways mediating physiological or pathological processes in the health and disease of humans, animals, plants, fungi, prokaryotes, and protists. The 24th meeting on signal transduction was held from 15 to 17 November 2021 in Weimar, Germany. As usual, keynote presentations by invited scientists introduced the respective workshops, and were followed by speakers chosen from the submitted abstracts. A special workshop focused on “Target Identification and Interaction”. Ample time was reserved for the discussion of the presented data during the workshops. Unfortunately, due to restrictions owing to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the poster sessions—and thus intensive scientific discussions at the posters—were not possible. In this report, we provide a concise summary of the various workshops and further aspects of the scientific program.
Full text download

Report of the 23rd Meeting on Signal Transduction 2019—Trends in Cancer and Infection

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(8), 2728; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21082728

The annual meeting “Signal Transduction–Receptors, Mediators and Genes” of the Signal Transduction Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary conference open to all scientists sharing the common interest in elucidating the signalling pathways underlying the physiological or pathological processes in health and disease of humans, animals, plants, fungi, prokaryotes and protists. The 23rd meeting on signal transduction was held from 4–6 November 2019 in Weimar, Germany, and focused on “Trends in Cancer and Infection”. As usual, keynote presentations by invited scientists introduced the respective workshops and were followed by speakers chosen from the submitted abstracts. Ample time had been reserved for discussion of the presented data during the workshops. In this report, we provide a concise summary of the various workshops and further aspects of the scientific program.
Full text download

Calcium Signaling in Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases 2019

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(3), 1125; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21031125

The European Calcium Society (ECS) workshop, which is held every 2 years, is a dedicated meeting of scientists interested in the elucidation of the action of calcium binding, calcium signaling and the study of proteins and organelles, such as mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, thereby involved, either in health and disease conditions. The 8th edition of the ECS workshop was organized by a group of researchers from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, in close collaboration with ECS board members. Thanks to the central role of “Calcium Signaling in Aging and Neurodegenerative Disorders”, the ECS 2019 workshop was attended by 62 experts who presented their results in a plenary lecture and five regular symposia, two oral communication sessions and two poster sessions, followed by a hands-on session on calcium imaging. All the scientific and social events were fully participated by the scientific community that allowed a close and fruitful interaction and discussion between junior researchers and senior experts in the field. In this report, the contributions in individual sessions are summarized.
Full text download

Report for the Sixth Meeting of the International Society for Zinc Biology (ISZB-2019)

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020, 21(2), 611; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21020611

The sixth meeting of the International Society for Zinc Biology (ISZB-2019) was held on September 9–13, 2019 in Kyoto, Japan. The meeting attracted 215 participants, had four plenary speakers, ten scientific symposia, two oral sessions, and one poster discussion session. In this chapter, we describe the outcomes and events of this very successful meeting.
Full text download

Expanding Genetic Code Expansion through Resource Facilities, Workshops, and Conferences

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(9), 2103; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20092103

Genetic Code Expansion (GCE) enables the encoding of amino acids with diverse chemical properties. This approach has tremendous potential to advance biological discoveries in basic research, medical, and industrial settings. Given the multiple technical approaches and the associated research activities used to achieve GCE, herein we have taken the opportunity to describe ongoing out-reach efforts in the GCE community. These include Resource Facilities that nucleate expertise and reagents within a specific GCE discipline, hands-on Workshops to provide GCE training, and GCE Conferences which bring the community together in a collegial setting. The overall goal of these activities is to accelerate the integration of GCE approaches into more research settings and to facilitate solutions to common technical hurdles.
Full text download

Auxins and Cytokinins in Plant Development 2018

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(4), 909; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20040909

The international symposium “Auxins and Cytokinins in Plant Development” (ACPD), which is held every 4–5 years in Prague, Czech Republic, is a meeting of scientists interested in the elucidation of the action of two important plant hormones—auxins and cytokinins. It is organized by a group of researchers from the Laboratory of Hormonal Regulations in Plants at the Institute of Experimental Botany, the Czech Academy of Sciences. The symposia already have a long tradition, having started in 1972. Thanks to the central role of auxins and cytokinins in plant development, the ACPD 2018 symposium was again attended by numerous experts who presented their results in the opening, two plenary lectures, and six regular sessions, including two poster sessions. Due to the open character of the research community, which is traditionally very well displayed during the meeting, a lot of unpublished data were presented and discussed. In this report, we summarize the contributions in individual sessions that attracted our attention.
Full text download

Report of the Signal Transduction Society Meeting 2018—Signaling: From Past to Future

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(1), 227; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20010227

The annual meeting “Signal Transduction—Receptors, Mediators, and Genes” of the Signal Transduction Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary conference open to all scientists sharing the common interest in elucidating signaling pathways in physiological or pathological processes in humans, animals, plants, fungi, prokaryotes, and protists. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the STS, the 22nd joint meeting took place in Weimar from 5–7 November 2018. With the focus topic “Signaling: From Past to Future” the evolution of the multifaceted research concerning signal transduction since foundation of the society was highlighted. Invited keynote speakers introduced the respective workshop topics and were followed by numerous speakers selected from the submitted abstracts. All presentations were lively discussed during the workshops. Here, we provide a concise summary of the various workshops and further aspects of the scientific program.
Full text download

Old Receptor, New Tricks—The Ever-Expanding Universe of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Functions. Report from the 4th AHR Meeting, 29–31 August 2018 in Paris, France

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(11), 3603; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19113603

In a time where “translational” science has become a mantra in the biomedical field, it is reassuring when years of research into a biological phenomenon suddenly points towards novel prevention or therapeutic approaches to disease, thereby demonstrating once again that basic science and translational science are intimately linked. The studies on the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) discussed here provide a perfect example of how years of basic toxicological research on a molecule, whose normal physiological function remained a mystery for so long, has now yielded a treasure trove of actionable information on the development of targeted therapeutics. Examples are autoimmunity, metabolic imbalance, inflammatory skin and gastro-intestinal diseases, cancer, development and perhaps ageing. Indeed, the AHR field no longer asks, “What does this receptor do in the absence of xenobiotics?” It now asks, “What doesn’t this receptor do?”.
Full text download

Report of the Signal Transduction Society Meeting 2017—Metabolism in Health and Disease

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19(2), 549; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19020549

The annual “Joint Meeting Signal Transduction—Receptors, Mediators and Genes” of the Signal Transduction Society (STS) aims to be an interdisciplinary forum for researchers who share a common interest in deciphering signal transduction pathways in normal or transformed cells, in health and disease, in humans and animal models, or in plants or bacteria. The special focus of the 21st annual Joint Meeting, which took place from 8–10 November 2017 in Weimar, was the topic “Metabolism in Health and Disease” and covered multiple aspects of this highly exciting and fast developing research field. Invited keynote speakers introduced the impact of metabolism on tumor immunology, immune cell signaling, and posttranslational modifications in three specific workshops to the audience. Various other aspects of signal transduction were intensively discussed in five additional workshops. Here, we give an overview of the various workshops and further aspects of the scientific program.
Full text download

Report of the International Society for Zinc Biology 5th Meeting, in Collaboration with Zinc-Net (COST Action TD1304)—UCLan Campus, Pyla, Cyprus

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(12), 2518; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18122518

From 18 to 22 June 2017, the fifth biennial meeting of the International Society for Zinc Biology was held in conjunction with the final dissemination meeting of the Network for the Biology of Zinc (Zinc-Net) at the University of Central Lancashire, Cyprus campus. The meeting attracted over 160 participants, had 17 scientific symposia, 4 plenary speakers and 2 poster discussion sessions. In this report, we give an overview of the key themes of the meeting and some of the highlights from the scientific programme.
Full text download

Benefits of Argan Oil on Human Health—May 4–6 2017, Errachidia, Morocco

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(7), 1383; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18071383

The First International Symposium “The beneficial effects of argan oil on human health” is part of the dynamics of research and development programs on argan oil, which prompts Morocco to deploy various strategies, programs and plans for the protection and preservation of the argan tree and of its know-how that is linked to the production of argan oil.[...]
Full text download

Aldosterone and Mineralocorticoid Receptors—Physiology and Pathophysiology

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(5), 1032; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18051032

Aldosterone is a uniquely terrestrial hormone, first appearing in lungfish, which have both gills and lungs. Mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs), on the other hand, evolved much earlier, and are found in cartilaginous and bony fish, presumptive ligand cortisol. MRs have equivalent high affinity for aldosterone, progesterone, and cortisol; in epithelia, despite much higher cortisol circulating levels, aldosterone selectively activates MRs by co-expression of the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, Type 11. In tissues in which the enzyme is not expressed, MRs are overwhelmingly occupied but not activated by cortisol, which normally thus acts as an MR antagonist; in tissue damage, however, cortisol mimics aldosterone and acts as an MR agonist. The risk profile for primary aldosteronism (PA) is much higher than that in age-, sex-, and blood pressure-matched essential hypertensives. High levels of aldosterone per se are not the problem: in chronic sodium deficiency, as seen in the monsoon season in the highlands of New Guinea, plasma aldosterone levels are extraordinarily high, but cause neither hypertension nor cardiovascular damage. Such damage occurs when aldosterone levels are out of the normal feedback control, and are inappropriately elevated for the salt status of the individual (or experimental animal). The question thus remains of how excess salt can synergize with elevated aldosterone levels to produce deleterious cardiovascular effects. One possible mechanism is through the agency of the elusive ouabain-like factors (OLFs). Such factors are secreted from the adrenal in response to ACTH (adrenalocortical tropic hormone), to angiotensin via AT2R, and—the polar opposite of aldosterone—to sodium loading. They act on blood vessels to cause vasoconstriction and thus elevate blood pressure to dump excess sodium through pressure natriuresis. Their levels are chronically elevated in PA in response to the continually elevated sodium status, and they thus act to constrict coronary and systemic arteries. In the context of the elevated blood volume and total body sodium in a PA patient, this raises blood pressure and acts as the proximate cause of cardiovascular damage. If this is the case, it would appear to offer new insights into therapy for PA. One would be the use of digibindin, or its more recent successors as antagonists of OLFs acting on Na/K ATPase at the vessel wall. A second would be to routinely combine a low dose MR antagonist, an ENaC inhibitor, and sodium restriction as first-line therapy for bilateral aldosterone overproduction. Finally, for unilateral cases post-surgery, there is good reason to include low-dose MRs in drug therapy if required, given the ability of cortisol in damaged blood vessels to mimic aldosterone vasoconstrictor action.
Full text download

Bioethics of Clinical Applications of Stem Cells

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(4), 814; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18040814

The clinical applications of stem cells pose a multitude of problems, including safety, efficacy, information and consent, the right to unproven treatments, the “right to try”, costs, access, sustainability, scientific scrupulousness, patents and regulatory aspects, to name but a few. This article does not address individual issues, but rather introduces and discusses some of the possible approaches to solving the problems. The first part compares the consequentialist and deontological approaches, offering an overview of “top–down” and “bottom–up” models and proposing the principles of personalism as applied in clinical settings. The second part of the article suggests practical frameworks for organising the ethical issues, focusing in particular on the medical indications, patient preferences, quality of life, and contextual features.
Full text download

Unconventional Transport Routes of Soluble and Membrane Proteins and Their Role in Developmental Biology

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18(4), 703; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18040703

Many proteins and cargoes in eukaryotic cells are secreted through the conventional secretory pathway that brings proteins and membranes from the endoplasmic reticulum to the plasma membrane, passing through various cell compartments, and then the extracellular space. The recent identification of an increasing number of leaderless secreted proteins bypassing the Golgi apparatus unveiled the existence of alternative protein secretion pathways. Moreover, other unconventional routes for secretion of soluble or transmembrane proteins with initial endoplasmic reticulum localization were identified. Furthermore, other proteins normally functioning in conventional membrane traffic or in the biogenesis of unique plant/fungi organelles or in plasmodesmata transport seem to be involved in unconventional secretory pathways. These alternative pathways are functionally related to biotic stress and development, and are becoming more and more important in cell biology studies in yeast, mammalian cells and in plants. The city of Lecce hosted specialists working on mammals, plants and microorganisms for the inaugural meeting on “Unconventional Protein and Membrane Traffic” (UPMT) during 4–7 October 2016. The main aim of the meeting was to include the highest number of topics, summarized in this report, related to the unconventional transport routes of protein and membranes.
Full text download

Circulating Tumor Cells (CTC) and Cell-Free DNA (cfDNA) Workshop 2016: Scientific Opportunities and Logistics for Cancer Clinical Trial Incorporation

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2016, 17(9), 1505; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17091505

Despite the identification of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as potential blood-based biomarkers capable of providing prognostic and predictive information in cancer, they have not been incorporated into routine clinical practice. This resistance is due in part to technological limitations hampering CTC and cfDNA analysis, as well as a limited understanding of precisely how to interpret emergent biomarkers across various disease stages and tumor types. In recognition of these challenges, a group of researchers and clinicians focused on blood-based biomarker development met at the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) Spring Meeting in Toronto, Canada on 29 April 2016 for a workshop discussing novel CTC/cfDNA technologies, interpretation of data obtained from CTCs versus cfDNA, challenges regarding disease evolution and heterogeneity, and logistical considerations for incorporation of CTCs/cfDNA into clinical trials, and ultimately into routine clinical use. The objectives of this workshop included discussion of the current barriers to clinical implementation and recent progress made in the field, as well as fueling meaningful collaborations and partnerships between researchers and clinicians. We anticipate that the considerations highlighted at this workshop will lead to advances in both basic and translational research and will ultimately impact patient management strategies and patient outcomes.
Full text download

Ocular Stem Cell Research from Basic Science to Clinical Application: A Report from Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center Ocular Stem Cell Symposium

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2016, 17(3), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17030415

Stem cells hold promise for treating a wide variety of diseases, including degenerative disorders of the eye. The eye is an ideal organ for stem cell therapy because of its relative immunological privilege, surgical accessibility, and its being a self-contained system. The eye also has many potential target diseases amenable to stem cell-based treatment, such as corneal limbal stem cell deficiency, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Among them, AMD and glaucoma are the two most common diseases, affecting over 200 million people worldwide. Recent results on the clinical trial of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) in treating dry AMD and Stargardt’s disease in the US, Japan, England, and China have generated great excitement and hope. This marks the beginning of the ocular stem cell therapy era. The recent Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center Ocular Stem Cell Symposium discussed the potential applications of various stem cell types in stem cell-based therapies, drug discoveries and tissue engineering for treating ocular diseases.
Full text download