Nuclear receptors belong to a highly conserved superfamily of transducers that process extracellular signals into gene expression responses during development, differentiation, reproduction and intermediary metabolism in all vertebrates and many invertebrates. These receptors act as transcriptional regulators and respond to lipophilic ligands, such as steroid and thyroid hormones, retinoids, vitamin D, oxysterols, bile acids and certain fatty acids. The family also includes a number of orphan receptors whose ligands and biological functions are currently being elucidated. Because of their unique ability to specifically regulate so many cellular functions, nuclear receptors have become important drug targets for numerous medical applications, including endocrine and metabolic disorders, hypertension, cancer, inflammation, and reproductive functions. Of particular interest is the role of a number of these receptors in diabetes, obesity, and other """"""""so-called Syndrome X"""""""" disorders. This meting will bring together leading experts, as well as younger investigators and trainees, in a manner that integrates the latest on-going and future research in this field. Present challenges that will be addressed include 1) elucidating the three dimensional structure of multiprotein-receptor complexes, 2) characterizing the molecular mechanisms by which nuclear receptors and their coregulators modulate target gene expression, 3) genetically dissecting receptor-mediated physiological functions during development and postnatal life through conditional somatic mutagenesis, 4) identifying ligands and physiological roles for orphan receptors, 5) utilizing rational ligand design and the use of functional genomics to characterize receptor-regulated gene networks and develop new technologies to aid in drug discovery. By capturing, the intensity of the remarkable progress that is now being made in the nuclear receptor field, the goal of this meeting is to send participants back to their academic and industrial laboratories with an advanced understanding of this rapidly moving field.
