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Antimicrobial Peptides

Gordon Research Conference

How Animals and Plants Use Antimicrobial Peptides, How They Work, and How to Design Interesting New Molecules

February 26 - March 3, 2017

Chairs Wuyuan Lu and Michael A. Zasloff

Vice Chairs Donald J. Davidson and Henk P. Haagsman

Four Points Sheraton / Holiday Inn Express

1050 Schooner Drive

Ventura, California, United States

Venue and Travel Information

Conference Description

The 2017 Antimicrobial Peptides GRC takes place 35 years after the pioneering report in Nature by Hans Boman and his colleagues of the discovery of cecropins (Steiner H, Hultmark D, Engström A, Bennich H, Boman HG. Sequence and specificity of two antibacterial proteins involved in insect immunity. Nature 1981; 292:246-8). This simple study taught us that when an insect is challenged by a pathogen it protects its inner milieu by elaborating high concentrations of antimicrobial peptides. Since that landmark publication, AMPs are now known to be widely expressed in both plants and animals, have been studied in states of human health and disease, and have been developed as human therapeutics. Because of the diverse scientific and medical fields in which AMPs are studied, it is difficult to grasp the "larger picture" in which they now are positioned. The purpose of this meeting is to provide a broad overview of our current state of knowledge regarding AMPs.

Related Meeting

This GRC will be held in conjunction with the "Antimicrobial Peptides" Gordon Research Seminar (GRS). Those interested in attending both meetings must submit an application for the GRS in addition to an application for the GRC. Refer to the associated GRS program page for more information.

Conference Program

Sunday
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm	Arrival and Check-in
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 7:40 pm	Introductory Comments by GRC Site Staff / Welcome from the GRC Chair
7:40 pm - 9:30 pm	Keynote Session: AMPs at the Interface of Chemistry and Biology Discussion Leaders: Pieter Hiemstra (Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands) and Julia Dorin (University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom)
7:40 pm - 7:45 pm	Opening Remarks
7:45 pm - 8:20 pm	William Degrado (University of California, San Francisco, USA) "Design, Characterization and Mechanisms of Bacterial Response to Small Molecule Mimics of Antimicrobial Peptides"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 9:05 pm	David Schneider (Stanford University School of Medicine, USA) "Measuring and Altering the Shape of Infections"
9:05 pm - 9:15 pm	Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm	Lee Schnaider (Tel Aviv University, Israel) "Design and Development of Self-Assembling Stereo-Specific Antibacterial Peptides and Nano-Structures"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Monday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Group Photo
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	Evolution of AMPs Within Invertebrates Discussion Leaders: Jens Rolff (Free University of Berlin, Germany) and Delphine Destoumieux-Garzon (French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France)
9:00 am - 9:20 am	Roland Regoes (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) "Resistance Evolution: Antimicrobial Peptides vs. Antibiotics"
9:20 am - 9:35 am	Discussion
9:35 am - 9:55 am	Abdelaziz Heddi (University of Lyon, France) "Antimicrobial Peptide Function and Regulation in Insect Endosymbiosis"
9:55 am - 10:10 am	Discussion
10:10 am - 10:25 am	Guangshun Wang (University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA) "A Database View of Vertebrate and Invertebrate Antimicrobial Peptides"
10:25 am - 10:35 am	Discussion
10:35 am - 11:05 am	Coffee Break
11:05 am - 11:25 am	Nichole Broderick (University of Connecticut, USA) "Probing Immune and Non-Immune Roles of AMPs in Drosophila melanogaster"
11:25 am - 11:40 am	Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm	Robert Unckless (University of Kansas, USA) "Balancing Selection and Convergence in Insect AMPs and/or the Role of Gene Duplication in AMP Evolution"
12:00 pm - 12:15 pm	Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm	Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	AMPs as Components of Plant Immune Defense Discussion Leaders: Karin Thevissen (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Octavio Franco (Catholic University of Brasilia, Brazil)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm	David Craik (The University of Queensland, Australia) "Gene Co-Evolution and Regulation Locks Cyclic Plant Peptides to Their Targets"
7:50 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm	Attila Kereszt (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary) "Non-Antimicrobial Roles of AMPs in Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiosis: Tools to Dominate a Theoretically Mutualistic Interaction"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm	Marilyn Anderson (La Trobe University, Australia) "Evolution, Function and Applications of Plant Defensins"
8:50 pm - 9:05 pm	Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:20 pm	Barbara De Coninck (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium) "Plant Defensins: Multifunctionality in Relation to Their In Planta Role(s)"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Tuesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	AMPs in Human Health and Disease Discussion Leaders: Charles Bevins (University of California, Davis, USA) and Nita Salzman (Medical College of Wisconsin, USA)
9:00 am - 9:20 am	Robert Moir (Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General Hospital, USA) "The Aβ Peptide of Alzheimer's Disease: A Model for the Role of Soluble Oligomers in Antimicrobial Peptide Activities"
9:20 am - 9:35 am	Discussion
9:35 am - 9:55 am	Michael Selsted (University of Southern California, USA) "Macrocyclic Peptides: Retroevolutionary Bioinspiration"
9:55 am - 10:10 am	Discussion
10:10 am - 10:25 am	Brice Sperandio (Pasteur Institute, France) "Deciphering the Regulation of Antimicrobial Peptides to Develop Innovative Anti-Infectious Drugs"
10:25 am - 10:35 am	Discussion
10:35 am - 11:00 am	Coffee Break
11:00 am - 11:20 am	Richard Gallo (University of California, San Diego, USA) "Discovering AMPs from the Super-Organism that Is Human Skin"
11:20 am - 11:35 am	Discussion
11:35 am - 11:45 am	Dan Xu (Xi'an Jiaotong University, China) "Pathogenic Role of Human Enteric Alpha-Defensin 5 in Shigella Infection"
11:45 am - 11:50 am	Discussion
11:50 am - 12:00 pm	John Spencer (The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, USA) "The Contributions of Ribonuclease 7 to Urothelial Defense"
12:00 pm - 12:05 pm	Discussion
12:05 pm - 12:15 pm	Brian McHugh (University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom) "IL-1beta-Induced Protection of Keratinocytes Against Staphylococcus aureus-Secreted Proteases Is Mediated by Human Beta Defensin 2"
12:15 pm - 12:20 pm	Discussion
12:20 pm - 12:30 pm	Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	AMPs from the Pathogen's Perspective Discussion Leaders: Victor Nizet (University of California, San Diego, USA) and Jason Smith (University of Washington, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm	Rupert Kaul (University of Toronto, Canada) "In Vivo Associations of Genital Antimicrobial Peptides with HIV Susceptibility"
7:50 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm	Jennifer Bomberger (University of Pittsburgh, USA) "Simultaneous Antibiofilm and Antiviral Activities of an Engineered Antimicrobial Peptide During Virus-Bacterium Co-Infection"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm	Molly Hughes (University of Virginia, USA) "Understanding Microbial Susceptibility to Host Chemokines: A Pathway to New Strategies to Combat Drug Resistant Pathogens?"
8:50 pm - 9:05 pm	Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:20 pm	Andrew Koh (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA) "Activation of LL-37 by Commensal Bacteria Inhibits Candida albicans Gastrotinestinal Colonization and Dissemination"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Wednesday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	How Do AMPs Interact with Their Targets? Discussion Leaders: Karl Lohner (University of Graz, Austria) and Burkhard Bechinger (University of Strasbourg / CNRS, France)
9:00 am - 9:20 am	Gerard Wong (University of California, Los Angeles, USA) "Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Roles in Immune Activation"
9:20 am - 9:35 am	Discussion
9:35 am - 9:55 am	James Mason (King's College London, United Kingdom) "Membranes and Metabolomics: Distinctive Mechanisms and Bacterial Responses in Related AMPs"
9:55 am - 10:10 am	Discussion
10:10 am - 10:25 am	Sascha Jung (Technical University of Berlin, Germany) "Catching Bacteria - A Biophysics Story"
10:25 am - 10:35 am	Discussion
10:35 am - 11:05 am	Coffee Break
11:05 am - 11:25 am	Lorenzo Stella (University of Rome Tor Vergata, Italy) "AMP Interaction with Target and Host Cells: A Complex Interplay of Multiple Equilibria"
11:25 am - 11:40 am	Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm	Joshy Jacob (Emory University, USA) "Urumin, an Amphibian Antimicrobial Peptide Is Virucidal for Influenza Viruses"
12:00 pm - 12:15 pm	Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm	Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Critical Design Features and Novel Synthesis of AMPs Discussion Leaders: David Craik (The University of Queensland, Australia) and James Tam (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm	John Vederas (University of Alberta, Canada) "Antimicrobial Mechanisms of Tridecaptins and Lantibiotics that Interact with Lipid II"
7:50 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:25 pm	Julio Camarero (University of Southern California, USA) "Using Antimicrobial Cys-Rich Polypeptides as Scaffolds to Target Protein-Protein Interactions in Cancer"
8:25 pm - 8:40 pm	Discussion
8:40 pm - 9:00 pm	Sonia Henriques (The University of Queensland, Australia) "Redesigned Spider Toxin with Improved Antimicrobial, Anticancer and Cell Penetration Properties"
9:00 pm - 9:15 pm	Discussion
9:15 pm - 9:25 pm	Edith Porter (California State University, Los Angeles, USA) "Synergistic Activities of Antimicrobial Peptides and Antimicrobial Lipids"
9:25 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Thursday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
8:30 am - 9:00 am	Business Meeting Nominations for the Next Vice Chair; Fill in Conference Evaluation Forms; Discuss Future Site and Scheduling Preferences; Election of the Next Vice Chair
9:00 am - 12:30 pm	AMPs at the Interface of Innate and Adaptive Immunity Discussion Leaders: Joost Oppenheim (National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA) and Aaron Weinberg (Case Western Reserve University, USA)
9:00 am - 9:20 am	Feng Shao (National Institute of Biological Sciences, China) "The Pore-Forming Activity of Gasdermin D in Anti-Bacterial Defenses"
9:20 am - 9:35 am	Discussion
9:35 am - 9:55 am	Oliver Soehnlein (Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention (IPEK), LMU Munich, Germany) "Neutrophil-Platelet Cooperation During Monocyte Recruitment"
9:55 am - 10:10 am	Discussion
10:10 am - 10:25 am	Erik de Leeuw (University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA) "Defensin-Derived Small Molecule Agonists of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor 1"
10:25 am - 10:35 am	Discussion
10:35 am - 11:05 am	Coffee Break
11:05 am - 11:25 am	Ge Jin (Case Western Reserve University, USA) "Role of Human β-Defenisns in Head and Neck Cancer Progression"
11:25 am - 11:40 am	Discussion
11:40 am - 12:00 pm	De Yang (National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA) "Antimicrobial Alarmins and Anti-Tumor Immunity"
12:00 pm - 12:15 pm	Discussion
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm	Poster Previews
12:30 pm - 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 pm - 4:00 pm	Free Time
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	Poster Session
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm	Dinner
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm	Latest Developments with AMPs / Late-Breaking Topics Discussion Leaders: Robert Lehrer (University of California, Los Angeles, USA) and Andre Ouellette (University of Southern California, USA)
7:30 pm - 7:50 pm	Dominik Filipp (Institute of Molecular Genetics, ASCR, Czech Republic) "Enteric Alpha-Defensins, Thymus and Microbiota: Essential Players of Intestinal Autoimmunity"
7:50 pm - 8:05 pm	Discussion
8:05 pm - 8:20 pm	Elizabeth Nolan (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) "Host-Defense Peptides and Metal Ions"
8:20 pm - 8:30 pm	Discussion
8:30 pm - 8:50 pm	Manuela Raffatellu (University of California, Irvine, USA) "Bacterial Competition in the Gut: A Role for Microcins"
8:50 pm - 9:05 pm	Discussion
9:05 pm - 9:20 pm	Dmitri Kudryashov (The Ohio State University, USA) "Destabilization of Pathogen Effector Proteins by Human Defensins"
9:20 pm - 9:30 pm	Discussion
Friday
7:30 am - 8:30 am	Breakfast
9:00 am	Departure

Contributors






The conference also gratefully acknowledges a contribution from PepLib BioTech.

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