9809928 Griffith It has been known for decades that nitric oxide is a product of combustion and a major component of air pollution. Nonetheless, the effects of nitric oxide on biological systems received only modest attention. Interest in nitric oxide escalated in 1986 with the discovery that nitric oxide is produced endogenously in mammals including man; in the subsequent 12 years there has been an explosion of research and knowledge in this area. Because nitric oxide is a small, freely diffusible, free radical gas it is a most unusual biological mediator. Understanding the biochemistry and biology of nitric oxide requires not only the usual disciplines of enzymology, physiology and pharmacology, but also a sophisticated appreciation of nitric oxide chemistry. It is particularly important that scientists with these diverse interests and areas of expertise meet together periodically to share questions, insights, and experimental approaches. The third biennial Gordon Research Conference on Nitric Oxide in Biochemistry and Biology, which is supported by this grant, meets this need. The conference will be held in February, 1999, in Ventura, California, and will bring together for a five-day meeting investigators from across the country and around the world. In traditional Gordon Conference style, participation will be limited to 125 scientists. Topics to be covered at the conference include the biological chemistry of nitric oxide, the enzymology of nitric oxide synthesis, the regulation of nitric oxide metabolism in intact cells, the molecular mechanisms of nitric oxide cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and nitric oxide production, signal transduction mechanisms involving nitric oxide, and metabolism of nitric oxide in bacteria and fungi. NSF funds will be used to facilitate the attendance of beginning investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students by reimbursing their travel and registration expenses.
