The Gordon Conference on Lysosomes will provide an informal forum for discussion of current advances and new directions in the cell and molecular biology of intracellular organelles. Special attention will be paid to pathophysiologic processes which are based on aberrations in subcellular structure and function. Sessions will be devoted to the mechanisms by which cells sort newly synthesized proteins; vesicular transport and the motor-proteins that drive vesicle movement in cells; organelle and lysosome biogenesis and new directions in intracellular targeting; receptor-mediated endocytosis and the reconstitution of fusion events along the endocytic pathway; antigen and protein processing by immune cells and the mechanisms by which certain microbes evade immune destruction; selective protein turnover by lysosomal and cytoplasmic proteases and the movement of proteins between these two compartments. Finally, a session will be organized on the progress in our understanding of lysosomal storage diseases with special emphasis on the mechanisms involved and the use of transgenic animals for studies of enzyme replacement therapy. We will make special effort to include young investigators on the program and to encourage such individuals to participate in one of two poster sessions planned for the afternoons. Additionally, young investigators will be selected from the poster session to present their work to the assembled group in each of the sessions. This should allow for the maximum dissemination of new data and should allow young workers to make important contacts with those in complementary disciplines. We request that this application be reviewed by the Cell Biology Study Section, a group with special expertise in this area. We also would like this proposal considered for partial funding by several NIH institutes in addition to NIGMS. The involvement of . lysosomes and other intracellular compartments involving secretion, processing and endocytosis in the pathophysiology of a variety of disease states will be a significant overall part of the meeting. The diversity of the program presented should allow for wide participation of individuals with diverse research interests.
