The aim of this conference is to provide a forum for authoritative investigators who are actively involved in the various disciplines which define the leading edges of research of the structure/function relationships of the male and female reproductive tract. This is an increasingly complex area of study that has been developing intrinsically and extrinsically by rapidly integrating recent advances from other areas of study. It is important, therefore, for such investigators to meet regularly for the purpose of discussing the latest developments in their individual fields, to analyze the significance of current research, to disCuss new tactics for unresolved problems, to evaluate critically current theories and hypotheses and, if necessary, to develop new concepts. The 1994 meeting will focus on the way that secretory activity, cell proliferation and death, differentiation, cell surface interactions, autocrine/paracrine interactions of growth factors and cytokines, receptor structure and function, and embryological & neonatal patterns of gene expression regulate the development and function of the reproductive tract. Specific sessions include: Gonadal Function; Apoptosis in the Reproductive Tract; Structure, Function & Regulation of Steroid Receptors in the Reproductive Tract; Patterns of Estrogen and Androgen Receptor Expression during Embryonic & Neonatal Development; Growth Factors and Cytokines in Uterine Biology; HIV Transmission via the Reproductive Tract; Biology of Implantation; Factors Regulating Reproductive Tract Differentiation; and, Soluble Growth Factors Mediating Hormonally Controlled Stromal-Epithelial Interactions. This program and the invited speakers have been planned with extensive input from a large number of active investigators in the area of reproductive tract biology to insure that its meets the needs of those actively working in this field.
