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Pascale Schellenberger from the group of Kay Grünewald. She
covered the emerging technique of correlative fluorescence and
electron cryo microscopy [7].
As usual, the wine tasting event gave the workshop its traditio-
nal lively atmosphere favouring exchange between the partici-
pants and resulted in fruitful interdisciplinary discussions. Due to
organisational considerations last years meeting completed the
workshop series in Deidesheim. We, Claudia Claus (Leipzig) and
Steeve Boulant (Heidelberg), have been elected as new chairs for
the upcoming three years. We will stick to the tradition of the
Deidesheim meetings, but change the location from Deidesheim
to the Schöntal Monastery (Kloster Schöntal). This former Cister-
cian abbey is beautifully located on the banks of the Jagst River
in the North of Baden-Württemberg. We invite all researchers in
the field of cell biology and virology to the 13th workshop that
will take place from the 19th to the 21st of November 2014. We
are committed to continue this workshop as a place for lively,
friendly and stimulating discussions, especially among young
scientists.
We are confident that this years topic
“Mimicking Organ
Physiology: “Impact of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering on
Virology”
, will cover exciting, promising and expanding aspects
of cell biology that will appeal to both virologists and cell biolo-
gists. Two outstanding keynote speakers have already confirmed
their participation.
Prof. Catherine Verfaillie, KU Leuven, Belgium, will speak about
Hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and differentiation and
pluripotent stem cells. Prof. Petra Boukamp, DKFZ, Heidelberg,
will speak about human epidermal stem cells and 3D organo-
typic culture. The name of the other keynotes and all necessary
information will be provided as soon as possible on the workshop
website (
).
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to PD Dr. Susanne
Bailer and Dr. Harald Wodrich for organising a very exciting 12th
workshop on “Cell Biology of Metabolic Processes” and for their
devotion over these past three years in keeping excellence and
enthusiasm within the “Cell Biology of Viral Infection” workshop.
We also express our thanks to the GfV and DGZ for allowing us
to continue this traditional interdisciplinary meeting and to our
sponsors without whom this workshop would not be possible:
GRIFOLS, aquitaine microsbiology, Fraunhofer Institute, and with
a particular thanks to REBLIKON GmbH who has been a continu-
al supporter of this workshop series. We also thank all meeting
participants who contributed to the stimulating surrounding of
the workshop.
About the organisers
Claudia Claus: Already during my undergraduate studies in Bio-
logical Sciences, especially through lectures given by Prof. Lou-
ise Cosby and Dr. Paul Duprex at Queen’s University of Belfast,
MEETING REPORT
I have been fascinated by the viral exploration and manipulation
of cellular functions. Last years workshop touched the focus of
my current research on the contribution of mitochondrial meta-
bolism to the establishment and progression of viral infections.
Mitochondria provide not only most of the ATP, they also parti-
cipate in calcium homeostasis, in antiviral defence mechanisms
(apoptosis and necrosis) and even in innate immune response
pathways. With my research I want to explore two main aspects.
First, how alterations of mitochondrial metabolism assist cell
culture adaptations of viral strains and in this regard establish-
ment of viral persistence. Second, could virus-associated terato-
genic alterations involve mitochondrial dysfunctions? This is of
special importance in the case of rubella virus, which is a very
efficient teratogen and induces perinuclear accumulation of mi-
tochondria and interacts with several important mitochondrial
proteins. Notably rubella virus alters mitochondrial functions,
including the activity of distinct respiratory chain complexes.
Steeve Boulant: Multidisciplinary research and a broad field of
knowledge have always been major driving forces in my scienti-
fic career. After a master’s degree and Ph.D. in biochemistry stu-
dying the capsid protein of the Hepatitis C virus, I learned clas-
sical virology during my first post-doctoral position. Following
this experience I became interested in understanding the impact
of cellular polarity on endocytosis. The research in my laborato-
ry combines biochemistry, virology and cell biology to address
how cellular polarity of intestinal epithelium cells can affect
viral infection. Specifically, we are investigating how polarized
endocytosis and sorting mechanisms can affect the outcome of
the infection. Our multidisciplinary approach allows us to deter-
mine the direct impact of polarity on the viral pathogen and in
the same time determine both the molecular and biochemical
mechanisms that the cells have to developed to achieve such
polarity and whether this provides an advantage to the host cell.
We are looking forward to seeing you this year at the 13th work-
shop of cell biology of viral infection entitled “Mimicking Organ
Physiology: Impact of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering on Vi-
rology”.
References
1.
Vastag, L., et al., Divergent effects of human cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex virus-1
on cellular metabolism. PLoS pathogens, 2011. 7(7): p. e1002124.
2.
Claus, C. and U.G. Liebert, A renewed focus on the interplay between viruses and mito-
chondrial metabolism. Archives of virology, 2013.
3.
Rabinowitz, J.D., et al., Metabolomics in drug target discovery. Cold Spring Harbor sym-
posia on quantitative biology, 2011. 76: p. 235-46.
4.
Beneteau, M., et al., Combination of glycolysis inhibition with chemotherapy results in
an antitumor immune response. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the
United States of America, 2012. 109(49): p. 20071-6.
5.
Thiele, C., et al., Tracing Fatty Acid Metabolism by Click Chemistry. Acs Chemical Biology,
2012. 7(12): p. 2004-2011.
6.
Huang, L.L., et al., Enveloped Virus Labeling via Both Intrinsic Biosynthesis and Metabo-
lic Incorporation of Phospholipids in Host Cells. Analytical Chemistry, 2013. 85(10): p.
5263-5270.
7.
Schellenberger, P., et al., High-precision correlative fluorescence and electron cryo mi-
croscopy using two independent alignment markers. Ultramicroscopy, 2013.
