We request partial funding for a FASEB conference on """"""""Thrombospondins and other Modulatory Adhesion Molecules in Tissue Organization and Homeostasis"""""""", to be held at Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia, June 5-10, 2004. Modulatory adhesion molecules are regulated and non-ubiquitous components of extracellular matrix (ECM) that have context-specific functions in the regulation of cell-behavior. These proteins are specifically produced by cells during organogenesis or in adult tissues during angiogenesis, neoplasia, cardiovascular injury, or wound-healing, and have important roles in multiple human genetic and acquired diseases, including tumor-stroma interactions during tumor progression. The context-specific activities of these proteins in multiple body tissues makes them of high current interest with regard to regenerative medicine, bioengineering, tumor diagnosis, and potential new modalities of tumor therapy through regulation of angiogenic balance. However, understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of action of these proteins poses special challenges because of their diverse and tissue-specific functions. The goal of this conference is to bring together researchers studying distinct fundamental, tissue-specific, or disease-related functions of modulatory adhesion molecules in order to stimulate new interdisciplinary approaches that will develop detailed mechanistic understanding of their properties and will lead to new insights into significant problems directly related to human health. The sessions will communicate recent advances in understanding the pathways by which thrombospondins and other family members act as natural inhibitors of angiogenesis in neoplasia and wound-healing; the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which they stimulate cell mobility and cell signaling, and the complex circuitries involved in modulation of ECM assembly and its turnover by extracellular proteolysis, in cardiovascular and connective tissues. Ongoing and prospective applications in bioengineering and therapeutics will be discussed. By highlighting the functions of modulatory adhesion molecules in health and disease, this conference will provide a rare opportunity for an up-to-date and integrated perspective on the breadth and depth of research in this rapidly-growing area, that will stimulate communication and interaction, generate new directions for future research, and identify the most appropriate goals for translational applications.
