Cell News 01/2019
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The workshop “Immune Cell Signaling I” had been organized
by the “Young Immunologists” group of the DGfI and they
presented Martin Väth (Würzburg) as keynote speaker. He con-
centrated his talk on the differentiation of T regulatory (Treg)
cells and the specific roles of the stromal interaction mole-
cule (STIM) 1 and STIM2. STIM1/2 mediate the first wave of
cytosolic calcium increase during store-operated calcium entry
(SOCE) signaling and Väth demonstrated that mice with SOCE
deficient Treg cells exhibited a severe inflammatory phenotype
underlining the critical role of STIM1/2 during differentiation
of effector Treg cells. Four short talks selected from the sub-
mitted abstracts completed this workshop.
The third day of the meeting began with the workshop on
“Tumor Cell Biology”. The introductory keynote presentation
was given by Martin Eilers (Würzburg), who gave an informa-
tive and concise overview of the function of the transcription
factor N-Myc in human neuroblastoma. The Eilers group found
evidence for a regulatory function of the kinase Aurora-A,
which is expressed cell cycle-dependently and prevents N-Myc
degradation by the ubiquitin ligase Fbxw7. Thus, pharma-
cological inhibition of Aurora-A has the potential to inhibit
proliferation of neuroblastoma cells overexpressing N-Myc,
as demonstrated by increased tumor regression and improved
survival in a corresponding mouse model. Björn Lillemeier (La
Jolla, CA, US) presented his work on the effects of membrane
dynamics of signaling molecules on T cell responses in the
workshop “Immune Cell Signaling II”. The Lillemeier group
has developed sophisticated approaches for high-resolution
imaging of the membrane dynamics combining single-molecule
super-resolution and dynamic fluorescence microscopy with
traditional biochemical and immunological techniques. These
findings suggest that constantly changing molecular dynamics
are utilized to process and transduce signals at the T cell plas-
ma membrane. All of these keynote lectures were followed by a
number of short talks. As in the past, the stimulating blend of
presentations given by young scientists, early career research-
ers and established scientists was a remarkable feature of the
meeting.
In order to acknowledge outstanding scientist in the field of
signal transduction, the STS since 2010 awards the STS Hon-
orary Medal. Honored researchers so far have been Anthony
Pawson, Tony Hunter, Carl-Henrik Heldin, Klaus Rajewsky, Jules
Hoffmann, Mina Bissell, Tak Wah Mak, and Michael Reth. As in
2017, the medal is granted in collaboration with the Interna-
tional Journal of Molecular Sciences (IJMS).
In 2018, Prof. Dr. Karen Vousden (London, GB) received the
STS Honorary Medal Award for her lifetime contributions on
the functions and regulation of the tumor suppressor p53.
Poster prize awardees of the STS Meeting 2018
MEETING REPORT
