
Cells, Cells and Nothing but Cells: Discoveries, Challenges and Directions
Part of the International Online Conference on Cells series
6–8 Mar 2023
Stem Cells, Organelle Function, Cellular Metabolism, Cellular Pathology, Cardiovascular System, Motility and Adhesion, Cellular Immunology, Aging
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- Event Details
Dear Colleagues,
Cells 2023 has officially come to an end! We would like to thank our conference chair, session chairs, speakers, and all the attendees for making this a great meeting.
You can download an electronic Certificate of Attendance by accessing your dashboard on Sciforum.net. Please login with the same email you used to register to the conference. The certificate will be found under "My Certificates".
Welcome from the Chair
On behalf of Cells I welcome you to our 2023 grand virtual Conference. The objective of this event is to bring together all researchers and scholars to discuss a wide range of topics covering the aim and scope of Cells. We envision this Conference as a highly interactive forum which is open to diverse forms of interaction between its participants. Currently, Cells serves as a platform covering a broad range of topics including cell signaling, stem cells, organelle function, reproduction and aging, autophagy and metabolism, and other aspects of cell physiology. Cells is the journal of choice for researchers who need a quick turnaround time in reviewing and publishing their papers. We can be proud of the fact that we have a high number of repeat contributing authors, which sends a strong message to research community that Cells is recognized as a high quality service provider with an impeccable reputation because of its peer review and revision process.
We expect that participants of this Conference can exchange novel provocative ideas by presenting short oral presentations on research and development discoveries, as well as emphasize challenges facing Cell Biology as a discipline and the priority of critical health issues, we should focus on using cell biology tools and techniques.
Download the conference flyer and share it with your colleagues!
Conference Chair,
Dr. Alexander E. Kalyuzhny
Sponsored by:
Conference Secretariat
Ms. Sara Ottolini
Ms. Laura Wei
Ms. Rainy Han
Email: [email protected]
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Conference Chair

Opioid analgesics are currently the first choice drugs for the treatment of pain. Although opioid analgesics have been found to produce antinociception through interaction with pharmacologically distinct G protein-coupled mu-, delta- and kappa-opioid receptors, the mechanism underlying the function of these receptors is not fully understood. For example, a fundamental question remains regarding the functional relevance of heteromeric mu/delta and mu/kappa-opioid receptors. My research interests are focused on investigating the mechanisms underlying constitutive and induced heteromerization of opioid receptors using double-transfected HEK-293 cells as a model, as well as primary sensory neurons isolated from the dorsal root ganglia and cultured in vitro. The study is aimed at determining how opioid receptors form mu/delta- and mu/kappa heteromers as well as at investigating heteromerization of opioid receptors with non-opioid ones, including chemokine CCR5 and CXCR4, and glutamate mGluR5 receptors. In addition, studies are done to reveal the effects of ligands with dual agonist/antagonist activity on receptor trafficking and heteromerization using advanced multi-color fluorescence immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy, and image analysis techniques. These studies will shed light on the function of opioid receptors and will also help to clarify the role of chemokine and glutamate receptors in modulating the antinociceptive activity of opioid analgesics.
Session Chairs

Prof. Dr. Ritva Tikkanen
Institute of Biochemistry, Medical Faculty, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen, Germany
Vice Chair of the Institute of Biochemistry Medical Faculty, University of Giessen, Germany. Research areas: Development of personalized therapies for rare diseases (lysosomal storage disorders and SSADH deficiency); Autoimmune diseases (Pemphigus vulgaris); Vesicular membrane trafficking, lysosomal biogenesis & lysosomal storage diseases; Cell adhesion and cell polarity.

Dr. Alexander V. Ljubimov
Biomedical Sciences and Neurosurgery, Regenerative Medicine Institute Eye Program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Dr. Alexander Ljubimov is an internationally recognized eye and cancer researcher, with over 130 peer-reviewed papers, reviews, and book chapters published. He is Director of Regenerative Institute Eye Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Neurosurgery. Dr. Ljubimov is also Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His research interests include using innovative gene and nano therapy to restore normal stem cell functions in diabetic corneas, and studying new inhibitors of a key cellular enzyme CK2 that block abnormal retinal vessel growth in diabetic retinopathy. He is also developing new targeted nanotherapeutics for cancer and eye diseases, and directs studies aiming at making corneal cells from induced pluripotent stem cells. Dr. Ljubimov's research has been funded by NIH since 1995 (PI on three current R01 grants). He has been serving on numerous NIH Study Sections, and has been a grant reviewer for various agencies in U.S., U.K., France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, and the Netherlands. Dr. Ljubimov is an Editorial Board member of 15 scientific journals including Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, Experimental Eye Research, Molecular Vision, Experimental Biology and Medicine, PLoS One, Scientific Reports, and Ocular Surface. He is Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and Overseas Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (U.K.). Dr. Ljubimov received his summa cum laude M.S. degree from Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia), and his Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees from the Russian Cancer Research Center. He completed postdoctoral training in the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France. He has a background in cancer research and is working on corneal and retinal diseases since 1993.

Prof. Dr. Paolo Bernardi
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Italy
Paolo Bernardi is a Professor and former Chair, Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Padova. He also served as deputy Dean, Medical Faculty. His studies on the role of mitochondria in disease pathogenesis contributed substantially to developing this field. His recent molecular definition of the permeability transition pore holds great promise for the treatment of degenerative diseases like muscular dystrophies through the development of mitochondrial drugs. Paolo Bernardi earned his M.D. at the University of Padova (Italy) and completed his education in Cellular and Molecular Biology as an NIH-Fogarty fellowship at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research – M.I.T.

Dr. Christian Neri
Institute of Biology Paris-Seine, Sorbonne Université and CNRS, Paris, France
Christian Neri, Research Director at INSERM and Associate Professor at the University of Montreal, joined INSERM in 2002 after 8 years spent at the Human Polymorphism Study Center in Paris following postdoctoral studies in the USA and UK. Dr. Neri oversees national and international research programs on cellular resilience-over-senescence in neurodegenerative diseases (Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease), multidisciplinary approaches and precision medicine. Dr Neri has published +100 papers in genome sciences, machine learning, C. elegans genetics, cell biology and preclinical/clinical research. Dr. Neri holds a Ph.D./HDR in Health Sciences from Sorbonne Université in Paris and a Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Microbiology from the University of Aix-Marseille, France.

Prof. Dr. Christoph Englert
Leibniz Institute on Aging - Fritz Lipmann Institute, Jena, Germany
Christoph Englert studied Biochemistry in Tübingen and Munich. Having received his PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry / University of Munich in 1992, he carried out his postdoctoral training with Daniel Haber at the Cancer Center of Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School. Returning to Germany, Christoph became a junior group leader in Karlsruhe in 1996 and in 2002 became an Associate Professor of Physiological Chemistry at the University of Würzburg. Since 2004 he has been a Full Professor at the University of Jena and is also a senior group leader at the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI). Research in the Englert lab focuses on the relationship between the development of an organism and disease. Expanding this topic, he, together with a colleague, has established and developed a short-lived African killifish, Nothobranchius furzeri, as a new model for age research. This provided the opportunity to combine his experience and interest in questions of developmental genetics with relevant questions of age research. Currently, a number of projects in his lab utilize N. furzeri, allowing the investigation of the age-dependency of organ homeostasis and regeneration as well as the genetic basis of aging. In 2015 the work on Nothobranchius at FLI has culminated in the high-ranking publication of its genome, which provided a number of novel insights into the biology of aging.

Prof. Dr. Kay-Dietrich Wagner
Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, INSERM, iBV, Nice, France
Interests: vessel formation in development and disease; transcriptional control; epigenetics; cancer; cardiovascular disease

Prof. Dr. Francisco Rivero
Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, UK
Dr Rivero is a molecular cell biologist who specialises in research into functional and regulatory aspects of the cytoskeleton and its relevance in disease processes. Dr. Rivero obtained his MD from the University of Valladolid and his PhD at the Institute of Biochemistry, CSIC-Universidad Complutense, Madrid. After postdoctoral research fellow roles at the Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried and at the University of Cologne in Germany he was appointed Scientific assistant and Group leader at the Center for Biochemistry, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne. In 2007 he joined the Hull York Medical School as a Senior Lecturer and was promoted to Reader in 2017.

Prof. Dr. Alessandro Poggi
Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Italy
Alessandro Poggi MSc, MD has been working on cellular and tumor immunology for more than 35 years. He is author of 248 original articles published on indexed journals and he serves as a reviewer and/or editor of several scientific journals. He is director of the Molecular Oncology and Angiogenesis Unit at the IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino in Genoa. At present, his main research interests are the tumor microenvironment (TME) and regulation of anti-tumor immune response. Further, he is studying the delivery of immune activating drugs to tumor in three-dimensional culture systems such as tumor organoids and spheroids. (Scopus ID 7101947825 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7101947825; Laboratory website: https://www.ospedalesanmartino.it/ospedale/dipartimenti/in-line-direttore-scientifico/item/388-oncologia-molecolare-e-angiogenesi.html).
Invited Speakers

Luca Scorrano is Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biology, University of Padua (Italy). He completed his Medical Degree (1996) and his PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathology (2000) at the University of Padua with Paolo Bernardi. From 2000 to 2003 he was Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) postdoctoral fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School in Boston (USA), in the lab of the late Stanley J. Korsmeyer, a founding father of the field of apoptosis. In 2003 he was awarded an Assistant Scientist position at the Dulbecco-Telethon Institute, in 2006 he was recruited as Full Professor at the Dept. of Cell Physiology and Metabolism of the University of Geneva Medical School (Switzerland). In 2013 he moved to the University of Padova as Professor of Biochemistry and from 2014 to 2020 he served as Scientific Director of the Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine. The work of L. Scorrano addresses the central question of form-function relationship at the molecular level. During his career, he has changed classical tenets in the fields of apoptosis, mitochondrial pathophysiology, and medicine. His work on cristae remodeling paved the way for the new field of mitochondrial dynamics.

Senior lecturer, Department of Anatomy and Physiology, The University of Melbourne,
Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University
Dr Ruparelia is a senior lecturer and group leader in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at The University of Melbourne. Her group is investigating the biology of skeletal muscle ageing, examining processes such as muscle fiber atrophy and growth, muscle stem cell dynamics, muscle regeneration, and metabolism. For her research program, she not only uses the unique advantages of the zebrafish model, but she also uses a new experimental system – that of the African killifish, whose extremely short lifespan makes it an attractive model for ageing research.

Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz-Lipmann Institute (FLI), Jena, Germany
K. Lenhard Rudolph is senior group leader at the Leibniz Institute on Aging – Fritz-Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena. From 2012-2017 he was the scientific director of the FLI. He received several prestigious research grants and awards including Emmy-Noether-funding, a Heisenberg-Professorship, the Gottfried-Wilhelm Leibniz award of the German Research Foundation (DFG), and an advanced grant of the European Research Council (ERC). His main contributions include the first description of the role of telomere dysfunction in stem cell and organism aging. His work showed that alterations in epigenetic stress responses of aging stem cells lead to aberrant activation of developmental pathways and stem cell dysfunction. His current work identifies aging-associated metabolic alterations that limit the function of stem cells and organ maintenance. Based on this knowledge his group aims to develop new interventions that can be used in late life to improve health at old age.

Anna Sigmund is a group leader at the Institute of Anatomy at the LMU in Munich. She studied biology with focus on cell biology at the LMU in Munich and did her PhD investigating TLR-signalling at the Institute of Medical Microbiology and Immunology in Essen. Now her research focuses on cell contacts and desmosomal adhesion in the skin. Here she investigates desmosomal interaction- and signalling mechanisms especially in the context of the autoimmune blistering disease pemphigus to establish new treatment paradigms directly targeting keratinocyte adhesion.

Professor of Cell Biology, Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research, and Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
Ph.D. at Leloir Institute, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1986 Postdoctoral fellow at Whitehead Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA Faculty position at Tel Aviv University since 1991 Visiting professor at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s hospital Research overview: Mechanisms of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) quality control and delivery of misfolded proteins to ER-associated degradation (ERAD). How these processes are regulated by cellular stress and how this relates to diseases where ER stress and protein misfolding is central, especially neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on models of Huntington’s disease.

Center for Integrative Genomics (CIG), University of Lausanne, Switzerland,
Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University Singapore & Imperial College London, Singapore
Walter Wahli received his PhD from the University of Bern in Switzerland. He was a postdoc at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Baltimore, and a Visiting associate at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda USA. He then became Professor and Director of the Institute of Animal Biology of the University of Lausanne (UNIL), Switzerland, where he also was Vice-rector. He founded the Center for Integrative Genomic (CIG), which he directed until 2005. He was a member of the Swiss National Science Foundation research council and presided over the Biology and Medicine Division. He is an elected member of the EMBO and of several academies. He received the Otto-Naegeli Prize (2002), the European Federation of Lipid Research Award (2002), the Hartmann Müller Prize (2008) and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UNIL Faculty of Biology and Medicine (2011). He is currently a Professor emeritus at UNIL and Visiting Professor of Metabolic Disease in Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University Singapore. The contributions of Walter Wahli over the last 40 years unfold logically in a series of discoveries that contributed in advancing our understanding of the molecular mode of action steroid hormones, fatty acids and derivatives, which signalling impacts most key biological processes in vertebrates. Notably, he has worked and still works on the nuclear receptors Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptors, known as PPARs, involved in energy metabolism and explores the potential of PPARs as drug targets in metabolic diseases.

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia,
Centre for Regenerative Medicine "Stefano Ferrari"
Graziella Pellegrini is Full Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and Cell Therapy Program Coordinator at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine "Stefano Ferrari". She is also co-founder of Holostem Terapie Avanzate S.r.l. She has a Master Degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies and a Master Degree in Pharmacy at the University of Genova. She was one of the two inventors of the technology for culture and transplantation of limbal stem cells for the treatment of blindness due to corneal stem cell deficiency; she discussed and obtained the orphan drug designation and European registration of this corneal stem cell therapy. She developed several translational medicine protocols for treatment of third-degree burns, depigmentation disorders and a successful phase I clinical trial on gene therapy of epidermolysis bullosa. She is currently working with her team, on oral mucosa and urethra for a phase I clinical trial and translational research on airway epithelium. Author of many patents, book chapters and international peer reviewed publications in the major international peer-review journals, as New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, Lancet and was invited speaker or chairman in over 250 major scientific meetings all over the world. Prof. Pellegrini is founding member of the International Ocular Surface Society and member of many major scientific societies and international committees.

Alexander Dityatev is the head of the Molecular Neuroplasticity research group at DZNE and a full professor at the University of Magdeburg. His group is studying the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules in major brain diseases and developing new strategies to image and target the ECM. Working together with Melitta Schachner at the Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg, Dr. Dityatev uncovered synaptic functions of several cell adhesion and extracellular matrix molecules, such as tenascins, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, NCAM, L1, CHL1, and their associated glycans. Being a Senior Researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology, Dr. Dityatev published several mechanistic studies uncovering how synaptic plasticity and learning are regulated by polysialylated form of NCAM and hyaluronic acid through regulation of extrasynaptic GluN2B receptors and L-type Ca2+ channels. Dityatev's research group in Magdeburg recently reported on several treatments - targeting extracellular proteolysis, synaptogenesis and ECM remodelling - to suppress epileptogenesis and rescue cognitive functions in mouse models of dementia. Dr. Dityatev graduated in Mathematics at the Leningrad State University and accomplished his Ph.D. in Biology at the Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry in Leningrad.

Head of Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, Full Professor of General Pathology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
Francesca Granucci received her PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of Milan in 1996. She then performed the Post doc at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute – Boston. From 1998 to 2001 she worked as Research Associate at the CNR in Milan and from 2001 to 2006 she worked as Research Associate at the University of Milano-Bicocca. She is currently Full Professor of General Pathology at the Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences of the University of Milano-Bicocca. In 2012 she obtained the EFIS-EJI Ita Askonas prize as best female group leader in immunology and in 2019 the IUBMB Jubilee Lecturer medal for her outstanding contributions to understanding the mechanisms of innate immunity. Prof. Granucci has pioneered systems biology approaches to study host-pathogen interactions. She has described specific molecular events occurring during the interaction of dendritic cell with gram-negative bacteria and in inflammation.

Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research; University of Manchester
Pat is based within the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research at the University of Manchester. Pat studied Biochemistry at the University of Nottingham, before undertaking a PhD at the University of Leicester and a postdoc in Jim Norman’s lab at the CRUK Beatson Institute. Pat established his lab in 2010, focussing on how cell-matrix interactions through integrins generate signals that control key cellular processes such as cell migration, differentiation and survival. The lab is specifically interested in how dynamic membrane processes control cell matrix interactions and the cytoskeleton, in particular how vesicular trafficking and membrane mechanics regulate matrix assembly and cell migration in 3D matrix.

Dr. Christian Regenbrecht mainly focusses on system oriented tumor research using three dimensional organoid tumor models. After studying biology and philosophy at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn, he was awarded his doctorate in natural sciences under the supervision of Otmar Wiestler at the University Hospital in Bonn in 2005. He then worked at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin as a research assistant to Hans Lehrach. Together with his research group, he moved to the Charité in Berlin in 2010, where he not only headed the “Tumor Stem Cells” research group at the Institute of Pathology until 2016, but also the central laboratory for functional genome research from 2012 to 2014. Having also been involved in excellent peer-reviewed international research projects since 2010, he founded the company CELLphenomics GmbH in June 2014. The 3D cell culture models (PD3D® models) developed there from tumor samples are used in research to further develop cancer drugs. The generated tumor models map the original tumor with unprecedented reliability. Outside the human body, these precise copies of the tumor in the patient allow to make an accurate and differentiated prediction on the likelihood of the cancer drugs’ efficacy (and inefficacy). Since founding ASC Oncology GmbH in March 2019, Dr. Regenbrecht has made the Reverse Clinical Engineering® test procedure that he developed directly available to patients, oncologists, and clinics. He is currently habilitating at the Universitätsmedizin Göttingen.

Vincent is a researcher in the Tumor Biomechanics lab, in Strasbourg (INSERM U1109). His work focuses on the cell-cell communication mediated by extracellular vesicles (EVs) during tumor progression and metastasis. With his group, he investigates the molecular mechanisms driving EV secretion, how tumor EVs spread in the organism via the circulation to reach distant organs and how they alter the local microenvironment to induce the formation of pre-metastatic niches. To do this, they combine photonic and electronic microscopy and use a combination of in vitro (microfluidics) and in vivo (zebrafish, mouse) models adapted to EVs tracking.

Eivor and Alston Callahan Endowed Chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama
Dr. Maria Grant, M.D., FARVO, is the Eivor and Alston Callahan Endowed Chair and Professor of Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science. Dr. Grant completed her Medical Degree and Internship, residency and fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Florida. She completed a Research Fellowship in the Department of Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Grant’s laboratory is interested in understanding the role of bone marrow cells and vascular wall cells in vascular repair in diseases such as in aging and diabetes. Dr. Grant’s research focus on understanding the biology of hematopoietic and endothelial stem and progenitor cell emergence, maintenance, and their regenerative properties. More recently she has examined the role of the renin angiotensin system in the intestine and how that impacts glucose homeostasis and immune function in aging and diabetes. She has served as principle/co-investigator on more than thirty five extramural foundation/NIH grants that have led to more than 260 peer reviewed publications.
Recordings

Registration
The registration fee includes attendance to all conference sessions.
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Participation to the conference is considered final only once the registration fees have been paid. The number of participants is limited: once the number of paid registrations reaches the maximum number of participants, unpaid registrations will be cancelled.
Please note that, in order to finalize the scientific program in due time, at least one registration by any of the authors, denoted as Covering Author, is required to cover the presentation and publication of any accepted abstract. Covering Author registration deadline is 6 February 2023. Your abstract will be withdrawn if your registration is not complete by this date.
Early | Regular | Supported documents | |
---|---|---|---|
Academic | 60.00 CHF | 100.00 CHF | |
Student | 35.00 CHF | 50.00 CHF |
Scanned copy or photograph of your current student ID is required. |
Non-Academic | 100.00 CHF | 150.00 CHF | |
Invited Speakers, MDPI Guests and EBM of Cells | Free | Free |
Cancellation policy
Cancellation of paid registration is possible under the terms listed below:
> 2 weeks before the conference | Full refund |
< 2 weeks before the conference | No refund |
Disclaimer
We will endeavour to present the program advertised. However, MDPI and its partners reserve the right to alter or cancel, without prior notice, arrangements, timetables, plans, or other items relating directly or indirectly to Cells 2023. MDPI and its partners are not liable for any loss or inconvenience caused as a result of such cancellation.
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Currencies accepted by this event
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Program Overview
The preliminary program of Cells 2023: Cells, Cells and Nothing but Cells: Discoveries, Challenges and Directions is now available.
Program Structure |
||
Monday 6 March 2023 |
Tuesday 7 March 2023 |
Wednesday 8 March 2023 |
Welcome from the Chair Session 1. Stem CellsChaired by Prof. Dr. Alexander V. Ljubimov |
Session 3. Cellular MetabolismChaired by Dr. Christian Neri |
Session 6. Cells of the Cardiovascular SystemChaired by Prof. Dr. Kay-Dietrich Wagner |
Lunch Break |
Lunch Break | Coffee Break |
Session 2. Organelle FunctionChaired by Prof. Dr. Paolo Bernardi |
Session 4. Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Aging and RegenerationChaired by Prof. Dr. Christoph Englert |
Session 7. Cell Motility and AdhesionChaired by Prof. Dr. Francisco Rivero |
Coffee Break | Lunch Break |
|
Poster Session |
Session 5. Cellular PathologyChaired by Prof. Dr. Ritva Tikkanen |
Closing Session & Awards Ceremony |
Detailed Program
Monday, 6th March 2023
Session |
Time in CET |
Speaker |
10:00 - 10:05 | Welcome from the Chair & Introduction | |
Session 1. Stem Cells
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Alexander V. Ljubimov |
10:05 - 10:30 |
Invited Speaker Dr. Maria B. Grant Mesoderm subset derived from human pluripotent stem cells from diabetic and nondiabetics improve retinal pathology in a model of type 2 diabetes. |
10:30 - 10:35 | Q&A | |
10:35 - 10:45 |
sciforum-067354: Fabrizio Fontana High mitochondrial mass identifies a subpopulation of vemurafenib-resistant cancer stem cells in melanoma |
|
10:45 - 10:50 | Q&A | |
Break Time 10:50- 11:15 | ||
11:15 - 11:40 |
Invited Speaker Prof. Dr. Graziella Pellegrini & Dr. Eleonora Maurizi Development of therapies for the two sides of the cornea |
|
11:40 - 11:45 | Q&A | |
11:45 - 11:55 |
sciforum-067489: David Hay Building Implantable Human Liver Tissue from Pluripotent Stem Cells |
|
11:55 - 12:05 |
sciforum-068522: Francesca Natale Progenitor High Fat Diet multigenerationally impairs Hippocampal Neural Stem Cell Niche |
|
12:05 - 12:10 | Q&A | |
Lunch break 12:10 - 14:00 | ||
Session 2. Organelle Function
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Paolo Bernardi |
14:00 - 14:25 |
Invited Speaker Prof. Dr. Gerardo Lederkremer Compartmentalization and trafficking in endoplasmic reticulum protein quality control |
14:25 - 14:30 | Q&A | |
14:30 - 14:40 |
sciforum-067350: Luigi Donato Impaired nuclear and mitochondrial cross-talk might alter mtDNA epigenetic regulation in maternally inherited diabetes and deafness affected patients |
|
14:40 - 14:50 |
sciforum-067374: Daniel Gómez Pioneering organelle structural biology: Golgi apparatus dysfunction and cascades of fatal pathways in cancer |
|
14:50 - 15:00 |
sciforum-068934: Irène Tatischeff Huge Modification of the Cell Theory by the Recent Discovery of the Widespread Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles |
|
15:00 - 15:10 | Q&A | |
Break Time 15:10 - 15:25 | ||
15:25 - 15:50 |
Invited Speaker Prof. Dr. Luca Scorrano Keeping mitochondria in shape: a matter of cell life and death |
|
15:50 - 15:55 | Q&A | |
End of day 1 - closing | ||
Poster SessionZoom Break-Out Rooms 16:00 - 17:00 |
Tuesday, 7th March 2023
Session |
Time in CET |
Speaker |
Session 3. Cellular Metabolism
Session Chair: Dr. Christian Neri |
11:00 - 11:25 |
Invited Speaker Dr. Vincent Hyenne Blood flow diverts extracellular vesicles from endothelial degradative compartments to promote angiogenesis |
11:25 - 11:30 | Q&A | |
11:30 - 11:40 |
sciforum-064284: Ilana Kolodkin-Gal Molecular genetics for probiotic engineering: How fermentatable sugars affect aggregation, adhesion and agression in Lactobacillaceae |
|
11:40 - 11:50 |
sciforum-067012: Kai Christian Sonntag Identification of an Inherent Bioenergetic and Metabolic Phenotype in Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease |
|
11:50 - 12:00 |
sciforum-068134: Caterina Morabito Microgravity-induced metabolic response in 2D and 3D TCam-2 cell cultures |
|
12:00 - 12:10 | Q&A | |
Lunch break 12:10 - 14:00 | ||
Session 4. Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Aging and Regeneration
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Christoph Englert |
14:00 - 14:25 | Invited Speaker Prof. Dr. Lenhard Rudolph |
14:25 - 14:30 | Q&A | |
14:30 - 14:40 |
sciforum-064438: Volker Enzmann Characterization of glial response during retinal degeneration / regeneration in experimental laser models |
|
14:40 - 14:45 | Q&A | |
14:45 - 15:10 |
Invited Speaker Dr. Avnika Ruparelia Does skeletal muscle stop ageing physiologically? |
|
15:10 - 15:15 | Q&A | |
Break Time 15:15 - 15:30 | ||
Session 5. Cellular Pathology
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Ritva Tikkanen |
15:30 - 15:40 |
sciforum-065301: Marzia Di Donato New approaches targeting the invasive phenotype of prostate cancer-associated fibroblasts |
15:40 - 15:50 |
sciforum-067399: Malka Cohen-Armon An Unveiled Cell-Death Mechanism Exclusive to Human Cancer Cells |
|
15:50 - 16:00 |
sciforum-067861: Kamila Sobczak The effect of synergistically combination of vitamin D and doxorubicin on the MCF-7 line breast cancer cells. |
|
16:00 - 16:10 |
sciforum-069865: Miroslava Didiasova Towards enzyme replacement therapy as a treatment for SSADH-deficiency |
|
16:10 - 16:25 | Q&A | |
16:25 - 16:50 |
Invited Speaker Dr. Christian Regenbrecht Implication of intra-tumor heterogeneity on colorectal cancer response to MEK inhibition |
|
16:50 - 16:55 | Q&A | |
16:55 - 17:20 |
Invited Speaker Dr. Anna Sigmund Apremilast is protective in pemphigus by a Plakoglobin-dependent stabilization of keratinocyte adhesion |
|
17:20 - 17:25 | Q&A | |
End of day 2 - closing |
Wednesday, 8th March 2023
Session |
Time in CET |
Speaker |
Session 6. Cells of the Cardiovascular System
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Kay-Dietrich Wagner |
10:00 - 10:25 |
Invited Speaker Prof. Dr. Walter Wahli Roles of PPARα in Liver Health and Diseases |
10:25 - 10:30 | Q&A | |
10:30 - 10:40 |
sciforum-067369: Concetta Scimone Exploring Mechanotransduction In Cerebral Cavernous Malformation |
|
10:40 - 10:50 |
sciforum-070029: Hasan Safwan-Zaiter The senescence marker p16Ink4a a player of liver endothelial cells physiology |
|
10:50 - 10:55 | Q&A | |
Break Time 10:55 - 11:10 | ||
Session 7. Cell Motility and Adhesion
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Francisco Rivero |
11:10 - 11:35 |
Invited Speaker Prof. Dr. Alexander Dityatev Regulation of extrasynaptic glutamatergic signaling by polysialylated NCAM in health and disease |
11:35 - 11:40 | Q&A | |
11:40 - 11:50 |
sciforum-064990: Chaiyaboot Ariyachet MicroRNA-223 Suppresses Human Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation Partly via Regulating the Actin Cytoskeleton and Alleviates Fibrosis in Organoid Models of Liver Injury |
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11:50 - 12:00 |
sciforum-068775: Ayechew Adera Getu MST4: A Potential Oncogene and Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer |
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12:00 - 12:10 |
sciforum-068816: Chiara Mazziotta Hsa-microRNA-1249-3p modulates human epithelial cell clonogenicity via Homeobox A13 gene regulation |
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12:10 - 12:20 |
sciforum-070413: Marianne Best Exploring the effect of PAK inhibition in a 3D Pancreatic Cancer invasion model |
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12:20 - 12:35 | Q&A | |
Break Time 12:35 - 12:50 | ||
12:50 - 13:15 |
Invited Speaker Dr. Patrick Caswell The Rab11 family controls signalling to the cytoskeleton for cell migration and invasion |
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13:15 - 13:20 | Q&A | |
Lunch break 13:20 - 14:30 | ||
14:30 - 14:35 | Awards ceremony | |
End of day 3 - closing |
Instructions for Authors
The conference "Cells 2023 - Cells, Cells and Nothing but Cells: Discoveries, Challenges and Directions" will accept abstracts only.
Please note that abstract submission and conference registration are two separate processes.
To register for the conference, please follow this link.
To present your research at the event
- Create an account on Sciforum if you do not have one, then click on ‘New Submission’ on the upper-right corner of the window, or by clicking on ‘Submit Abstract’ at the top of this webpage.
- Indicate what thematic area is best suited for your research.
- Submit an abstract in English - the word limits are minimum 150 words and maximum 300 words.
- Accepted abstracts will be published as a Book of Abstracts in MDPI Journal Biology and Life Sciences Forum. When uploading your abstract, please make sure to upload this template as PDF file.
- The deadline to submit your abstract is 16 December 2022. The Conference Committee will notify the acceptance of your poster presentation by 20 January 2022.
- Upon submission, you can select if you wish to also be considered for oral presentation. Following assessment by the Session Chairs, you will be notified by 20 January 2022 in a separate email whether your contribution has been accepted for oral presentation.
- Please note that, in order to finalize the scientific program in due time, at least one registration by any of the authors, denoted as Covering Author, is required to cover the presentation and publication of any accepted abstract. Covering Author registration deadline is 6 February 2023. Your abstract will be withdrawn if your registration is not complete by this date.
Oral Presentations
Short talks will be 10 min long and will be followed by a Questions and Answers time at the end.
All presentations must be sent to the conference secretariat in advance so that, in case you are encountering technical difficulties, we could share your slides to the audience.
Poster Information
General information on the posters can be found by clicking here.
Potential Conflicts of Interest
It is the authors' responsibility to identify and declare any personal circumstances or interests that may be perceived as inappropriately influencing the representation or interpretation of clinical research. If there is no conflict, please state here "The authors declare no conflict of interest." This should be conveyed in a separate "Conflict of Interest" statement preceding the "Acknowledgments" and "References" sections at the end of the manuscript. Financial support for the study must be fully disclosed under the "Acknowledgments" section.
List of accepted submissions (49)
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sciforum-071785 | Keeping mitochondria in shape: a matter of cell life and death |
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In the last years, mitochondrial ultrastructural and morphological changes have been implied in the control of several physiological and pathological changes, including the progression of apoptosis, inflammation, differentiation, tumorigenesis. However, the role of mitochondrial dynamics in the control of complex cellular cues and in response to reversible and irreversible cellular damage is not yet clarified. We will overview the key experiments that shed light on the role of mitochondrial shape and ultrastructure in cell physiology, pathology and in disease and offer a personal perspective on the missing pieces of the puzzle that await to be studied. |
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sciforum-067861 | The effect of synergistically combination of vitamin D and doxorubicin on the MCF-7 line breast cancer cells. |
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Paweł Niewiadomski ,
Oliwia Abramczyk ,
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Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the female population. The prolonged action of estrogens may affect tumor proliferation. Additionally, a fat-rich diet may show various effects on cancer proliferation, depending on the type of fat. Vitamin D, similarly to estrogens, is a fat-soluble cholesterol derivative. The deficiency of vitamin D correlates with increased proliferation of breast cancer cells. In turn, doxorubicin is commonly used cytostatic in chemotherapy. The study aimed to assess whether vitamin D enhances the anti-cancer effect of doxorubicin (DOX) in the MCF-7 cell line. The cells were divided into four groups: untreated control, DOX- and vitamin D-treated cells, and cells treated with the combination of compounds in a 1:1 ratio. We applied MTT colorimetric assay (cell viability analysis), Annexin V/PI assay (cell death analysis), flow cytometry (cell cycle distribution), and fluorescence staining of cytoskeletal proteins (F-actin and vimentin). The type of DOX and vitamin D interaction was estimated based on the Chou-Talalay method. Our results showed that vitamin D and doxorubicin in a 1:1 ratio act synergistically. We observed a decrease in the survival of MCF7 cells. The combination of DOX and vitamin D enhanced changes in morphology and organization in F-actin and vimentin network compared to the treatment with the substances separately. In summary, we suggest that natural compounds such as vitamin D may be useful in anticancer treatment in the context of enhancing the cytostatic effects of drugs. |
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sciforum-068827 | The nerve growth factor signaling in gender-related cancers. | , , , , |
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The nerve growth factor (NGF) was initially identified as a promoter of neuronal survival and differentiation. As such, it captured for a long time the interest of neurobiologists. Nowadays, NGF is considered as a multifaceted molecule with pleiotropic effects in quite divergent cell types, including hormone-dependent cancer cells. Many tumors exhibit derangements of nerve growth factor and its receptors, including the tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA). This receptor is frequently expressed in triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) as well as prostate cancers (PC), although its role in pathogenesis and aggressiveness of these diseases is still under investigation.
We now report that treatment of TNBC as well as PC-derived cells with NGF triggers proliferation and survival of these cells. Simultaneously, NGF fosters cell motility and induces invasiveness in these cells by acting on the release of metalloproteases-9 (MMP-9). Somatic knockdown of TrkA or its pharmacologic inhibition by the specific inhibitor, GW441756 impair these effects. A strong reduction in TNBC or PC-derived spheroid size is observed upon GW441756 treatment.
The relevance of our studies is based on the novelty that further exploration of NGF pathway derangements in gender-related cancers will likely offer to envision innovative targets and treatment opportunities in clinical management of TNBC as well as PC patients.
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sciforum-067369 |
Exploring Mechanotransduction In Cerebral Cavernous Malformation
, , , Giovanna Vermiglio ,
Giuseppe Giglia ,
Giuseppe De Gaetano ,
Angela D'Ascola ,
Fabiana Nicita ,
Concetta Alafaci ,
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Submitted: 21 Oct 2022 Abstract: Show Abstract |
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Giovanna Vermiglio ,
Giuseppe Giglia ,
Giuseppe De Gaetano ,
Angela D'Ascola ,
Fabiana Nicita ,
Concetta Alafaci ,
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Cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM, OMIM #116860) is a vascular disorder of central nervous system capillaries. Affected vessels appear tangled and enlarged due to cell junction impairment, resulting in an increased blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, further worsened by deficiency of pericytes. The familial form of the disease arises following germline mutations at the three loci KRIT1/CCM1 (HGNC ID: 1573; 7q11.2-21), MGC4607/CCM2 (HGNC ID: 21708; 7p13) and PDCD10/CCM3 (HGNC ID: 8761; 3q26.1). However, a small percentage of patients affected by the inherited form of the disease harbors no mutations, suggesting the existence of a fourth CCM locus. In this context, by whole exome sequencing we identified the novel missense mutation c.2973C>T (p.Phe991Leu) in the PIEZO1 gene (HGNC ID: 28993; 16q24.3) and it was shown to segregate with the CCM phenotype, within the family. PIEZO1 encodes for a mechanosensitive Ca2+ ion channel that, in endothelial cells, contributes to maintaining BBB integrity. We found that PIEZO1 impairment results in increased apoptotic rate of endothelial cells, as well as in CCM gene expression perturbation. Moreover, by immunofluorescence, we showed that PIEZO1 impairment leads to endothelial cell morphology loss and to KRIT1 nuclear translocation. We used human cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (hCMECs) as cell model, Yoda1 as PIEZO1 agonist and gadolinium as PIEZO1 antagonist. Untreated cells were consider as control condition. According to our results, we think that PIEZO1 can be considered for further investigation in CCM pathogenesis. |
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sciforum-068880 | New insights on signaling pathways deregulated in LAP1-deficient cells: a proteomics study |
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Guadalupe Espadas ,
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Mutations in genes encoding nuclear envelope (NE) proteins, despite being rare, represent a major threat to cell homeostasis by compromising nuclear integrity and function as well as nucleocytoplasmic communication. In the last decade, several diseases have been associated to mutations in the TOR1AIP1 gene that codes for lamina-associated polypeptide 1 (LAP1), a NE protein ubiquitously expressed in human tissues. Although this is suggestive of an important physiological role of LAP1, it remains unclear which cellular activities are regulated by this protein. To address this, we investigated the molecular repercussions of its deficiency in patient-derived skin fibroblasts carrying a pathological LAP1 mutation (p.E482A), previously reported in a case of severe dystonia, cerebellar atrophy and cardiomyopathy. Using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), a quantitative proteome analysis was performed to identify up-/downregulated proteins in LAP1 E482A fibroblasts relative to age-matched control fibroblasts. A subsequent functional characterization of the LC–MS/MS-identified differentially expressed proteins using bioinformatics tools unraveled various signaling pathways/biological processes potentially deregulated in LAP1 E482A fibroblasts, such as DNA repair, neurodevelopment and myogenesis, among others. This work sheds light on dysfunctional molecular mechanisms in LAP1-deficient cells, which will contribute to a better understanding of LAP1’s physiological relevance for the maintenance of cell homeostasis and, hopefully, allow to uncover potential therapeutic targets for LAP1-associated pathologies. |
Event Awards
To acknowledge the support of the conference esteemed authors, and to recognize their outstanding scientific accomplishments, we are pleased to announce that the Cells journal is offering two awards: Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster.
The Awards
Number of Awards Available: 1
Number of Awards Available: 1
CHF 500.-
Sponsors and Partners
We are happy to share with you our Sponsorship Agenda, and invite you and your company to participate in and sponsor our Cells2023 conference!
Information on sponsorship levels and the benefits can be found directly in the Agenda itself. If you have any questions or wish to discuss options further, please do not hesitate to contact the Conference Secretariat. We thank you for your consideration!
Organizers
Media Partners
CELLS_S1. Stem Cells
Session Chair: Dr. Alexander V. Ljubimov
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CELLS_S2. Organelle Function
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Paolo Bernardi
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CELLS_S3. Cellular Metabolism
Session Chair: Dr. Christian Neri
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CELLS_S4. Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Aging and Regeneration
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Christoph Englert
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CELLS_S5. Cellular Pathology
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Ritva Tikkanen
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CELLS_S6. Cells of the Cardiovascular System
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Kay-Dietrich Wagner
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CELLS_S7. Cell Motility and Adhesion
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Francisco Rivero
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CELLS_S8. Cellular Immunology
Session Chair: Prof. Dr. Alessandro Poggi
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