Support is requested for the First International Conference on the Growth Plate to be held March 29-April 1, 2000 in San Antonio, Texas. This new conference will serve as the successor to five earlier conferences devoted to the study of matrix vesicle calcification. The focus on the growth plate was chosen since it incorporates not only the interests of investigators studying matrix vesicles but also serves as a focus for the research activities of a very diverse group of biomedical researchers. This group of individuals includes dental and orthopedic researchers examining the regulation of craniofacial growth and mineralization; molecular biologists probing skeletal morphogenesis; developmental biologists studying regulation of the cell cycle, angiogenesis, and apoptosis; biochemists studying the function of collagenous, non-collagenous and growth factor components of the cartilage matrix; and mineral biologists investigating the physical chemistry of the bone mineral and the interaction of matrix and mineral components during the calcification process. Additionally the plate is the focus of attention of pathologists, endocrinologists, orthopedists, pediatric specialists, orthodontists, oral surgeons and clinical geneticists who investigate abnormalities of the growth plate leading to craniofacial anomalies, skeletal dysplasias, scoliosis and problems linked to hypomineralization. The conference on the growth plate is predicted to attract approximately 250 investigators from these diverse fields. Specific topics to be discussed include: a) patterning, morphogens and regulation of the epiphysial phenotype, b) regulation of chondrocyte proliferation and maturation, c) structure and organization of the growth plate; d) matrix vesicle and cell mediated mineralization, e) terminal events at the chondro-osseous junction, and f) genetic mutations and craniofacial and orthopedic anomalies. In both formal and informal sessions, time will be spent correlating these fundamental studies with clinical problems associated with developmental anomalies or dysfunction. Time will also be devoted to addressing the problems of molecular-based therapies.
