Funding is requested for FASEB Summer Research Conference on the Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Splanchnic Circulation to be held on July 22-27, 1990 at Copper Mountain, Colorado. The conference will be under the auspices of the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology (FASEB). The format of the meeting will be the same as that used at the Gordon Research Conferences. Conference attendance will be limited to 150 participants. There will be 9 major scientific sessions, involving oral presentations and open discussion, as well as poster sessions. The conference will focus on four aspects of research in the splanchnic circulation: (1) methods for measurement of blood flow, for studying tissue function by fluorescent probes and image analysis, (2) regulation of blood flow and microvascular exchange, (3) role of circulation in gastrointestinal and liver disease, and (4) molecular mediators of inflammation and cell injury. The conference will provide a unique opportunity for interaction between physiologists, pharmacologists, gastroenterologists and surgeons with an interest in the splanchnic circulation. This interactive environment should stimulate collaborative research efforts and help to identify new and more productive directions for future research. Unlike the first conference in this series, the conference for which funds are now sought will place more emphasis on cellular and molecular approaches to studying the splanchnic circulation. Approximately half (5) of the sessions will be devoted to systemic, whole-organ, and microvascular studies; however, the other half of the sessions will focus on the interactions among oxygen radicals, other inflammatory mediators, the microvascular endothelium, and leukocytes.
