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Oxygen sensing: molecule to man
Respiration Physiology 115 (1999) 115 – 116
Foreword
Oxygen sensing: molecule to man The purpose of this special issue is to relate the functional adjustments to hypoxia at the genomic and systemic levels and to describe what is currently known of the cellular processes linking the two. It will bring together scientists from the cellular and systemic boundaries of physiology as well as investigators who work at the interface of cellular and molecular biology. Twelve scientists who will participate in the conference to be held in Philadelphia, PA, from 25 – 28 June 1999 have been asked to contribute to this special issue, which will be published before the symposium. It is thus hoped that this issue will provide us with the scientific flavor of the conference. The idea to produce this special issue evolved from discussion with Peter Scheid, Editor-in-Chief of this journal, to whom we are grateful. Our thanks also go to the contributors. The issue will be made available to attendees of the symposium, and in fact to all interested. This multi-disciplinary nature of the conference will attract scientists and technologists, and the interaction among them is expected to produce future research ideas, particularly for the young participants. The need for such multi-disciplinary gathering, focusing on oxygen sensing, is obvious and timely. Exposure to hypoxia produces a set of respiratory, circulatory, neural and metabolic responses that vary over time. It has become increasingly clear that these changing responses depend on a genomic infrastructure. Recent studies have demonstrated that hypoxia, in addition to elevating intracellular levels of calcium that leads to
neurotransmitter release, can activate sets of genes that increase the formation of proteins. Among these are erythropoietin, tyrosin hydroxylase, the glycolytic enzymes, genes for nitric oxide synthase and heme oxygenase, and the gene encoding vascular endothelial growth factor. These gene sets form the genomic foundation of the physiologic adaptations to reduced oxygen levels. The conference will include the topic of oxygen sensing by ion channels and by metabolic means, signal transduction in higher organisms, and mechanisms by which hypoxia regulates genes that impact on physiologic processes. This will deal with mammalian arterial chemoreceptors which, as a result of oxygen sensing, transduce neural impulses and, through central integration, evoke various reflex effects. Pulmonary myocytes produce local effects of hypoxia by constriction, leading to increases in pulmonary artery pressure, and improve the ventilation perfusion matching. The common element in all these is the restoration of cellular oxygen homeostasis. With the advent of the development of cellular and molecular biological approaches, tremendous advances have been made in understanding oxygen sensing mechanisms in general and regulation of gene expression by oxygen in particular. Despite these advances, no meeting on genomics of oxygen sensing has been held in the recent decade. We believe that such a meeting is capable of facilitating the cross talk between the cellular, molecular and systemic physiologists working on oxygen sensing mechanisms.
0034-5687/99/$ - see front matter © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 3 4 - 5 6 8 7 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 2 9 - 8
116
Foreword
The conference itself is divided into two sessions: Genomics of Oxygen Sensing and Arterial Chemoreception. We will have about 60 oral presentations during the four days of the meeting. There will be two sessions on Young In6estigator Awards. Because of the emphasis on interactions, there will be no parallel sessions. We will hold 1-h poster sessions each day, particularly for graduate students and post-doctoral trainees. Two Round Table Conferences will also be held. The Symposium was only possible because of the funds made available to us by generous gifts, particularly from the Barra Foundation, US Army Research Administration, and by Ecosystems Tech Transfer, Inc. Also, Hoechst Marion Rousel and Merck & Company contributed. The National Institutes of Health, Di-
vision of Lung Diseases, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, provided us with a conference grant (13-HL-60955). We also are fortunate to have donations from individuals who wanted to remain anonymous. Finally, special thanks are due to Mrs. Mary Pili, University of Pennsylvania, for expert secretarial assistance and to Mrs. Jane Kerr, Associate Publishing Editor, Elsevier Science B.V. Sukhamay Lahiri University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA Helmut Acker Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r Molekulare Physiologie Dortmund, Germany March 1999
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Foreword
Oxygen sensing: molecule to man The purpose of this special issue is to relate the functional adjustments to hypoxia at the genomic and systemic levels and to describe what is currently known of the cellular processes linking the two. It will bring together scientists from the cellular and systemic boundaries of physiology as well as investigators who work at the interface of cellular and molecular biology. Twelve scientists who will participate in the conference to be held in Philadelphia, PA, from 25 – 28 June 1999 have been asked to contribute to this special issue, which will be published before the symposium. It is thus hoped that this issue will provide us with the scientific flavor of the conference. The idea to produce this special issue evolved from discussion with Peter Scheid, Editor-in-Chief of this journal, to whom we are grateful. Our thanks also go to the contributors. The issue will be made available to attendees of the symposium, and in fact to all interested. This multi-disciplinary nature of the conference will attract scientists and technologists, and the interaction among them is expected to produce future research ideas, particularly for the young participants. The need for such multi-disciplinary gathering, focusing on oxygen sensing, is obvious and timely. Exposure to hypoxia produces a set of respiratory, circulatory, neural and metabolic responses that vary over time. It has become increasingly clear that these changing responses depend on a genomic infrastructure. Recent studies have demonstrated that hypoxia, in addition to elevating intracellular levels of calcium that leads to
neurotransmitter release, can activate sets of genes that increase the formation of proteins. Among these are erythropoietin, tyrosin hydroxylase, the glycolytic enzymes, genes for nitric oxide synthase and heme oxygenase, and the gene encoding vascular endothelial growth factor. These gene sets form the genomic foundation of the physiologic adaptations to reduced oxygen levels. The conference will include the topic of oxygen sensing by ion channels and by metabolic means, signal transduction in higher organisms, and mechanisms by which hypoxia regulates genes that impact on physiologic processes. This will deal with mammalian arterial chemoreceptors which, as a result of oxygen sensing, transduce neural impulses and, through central integration, evoke various reflex effects. Pulmonary myocytes produce local effects of hypoxia by constriction, leading to increases in pulmonary artery pressure, and improve the ventilation perfusion matching. The common element in all these is the restoration of cellular oxygen homeostasis. With the advent of the development of cellular and molecular biological approaches, tremendous advances have been made in understanding oxygen sensing mechanisms in general and regulation of gene expression by oxygen in particular. Despite these advances, no meeting on genomics of oxygen sensing has been held in the recent decade. We believe that such a meeting is capable of facilitating the cross talk between the cellular, molecular and systemic physiologists working on oxygen sensing mechanisms.
0034-5687/99/$ - see front matter © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 0 3 4 - 5 6 8 7 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 2 9 - 8
116
Foreword
The conference itself is divided into two sessions: Genomics of Oxygen Sensing and Arterial Chemoreception. We will have about 60 oral presentations during the four days of the meeting. There will be two sessions on Young In6estigator Awards. Because of the emphasis on interactions, there will be no parallel sessions. We will hold 1-h poster sessions each day, particularly for graduate students and post-doctoral trainees. Two Round Table Conferences will also be held. The Symposium was only possible because of the funds made available to us by generous gifts, particularly from the Barra Foundation, US Army Research Administration, and by Ecosystems Tech Transfer, Inc. Also, Hoechst Marion Rousel and Merck & Company contributed. The National Institutes of Health, Di-
vision of Lung Diseases, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, provided us with a conference grant (13-HL-60955). We also are fortunate to have donations from individuals who wanted to remain anonymous. Finally, special thanks are due to Mrs. Mary Pili, University of Pennsylvania, for expert secretarial assistance and to Mrs. Jane Kerr, Associate Publishing Editor, Elsevier Science B.V. Sukhamay Lahiri University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA Helmut Acker Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r Molekulare Physiologie Dortmund, Germany March 1999
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