Trieste, Italy – September 9-11: The international scientific community is set to gather for the 2nd Biennial Meeting on TDP-43 Function and Dysfunction in Disease, highlighting advances in research into Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and other neurological disorders.
The meeting has been organised by Emanuele Buratti (ICGEB, Italy), Yuna Ayala (Saint Louis University, USA), Sami Barmada (University of Michigan, USA), Jemeen Sreedharan (King’s College London, UK), and Chris Donnelly (University of Pittsburgh, USA). It will be a pivotal event dedicated to advancing understanding of TAR DNA-binding TDP-43 proteinopathies, which are central to neurodegenerative conditions such as ALS and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD).
TDP-43 is a nuclear protein vital for regulating gene expression through ribonucleic acid (RNA) processing, including splicing and mRNA stability. Under healthy conditions, TDP-43 is found in the nucleus; however, in neurodegenerative diseases, it mislocalises to the cytoplasm, forms insoluble aggregates, and contributes to cellular dysfunction and cell death. This Meeting features presentations from world-renowned researchers exploring the latest discoveries in the field, whose work is highly significant and is contributing to a deeper understanding of the disease’s mechanisms and potential therapeutic avenues.
Jeffrey Rothstein, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, USA, will present discoveries regarding TDP-43 import into the cell nucleus. Aaron Gitler, Stanford University Medicine, USA, will discuss the complexities of cryptic exon inclusion, a critical aspect of RNA processing dysregulation observed in ALS. Leonard Petrucelli, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, USA, will address advancements in biomarker discovery relevant to TDP-43 pathologies, and Benjamin Riskeldi Falcon, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK, will provide insight into the structure of the pathological TDP-43 aggregates of ALS and FTD.
Encompassing a broad spectrum of research areas, the Meeting will tackle the multifaceted nature of TDP-43 dysfunction. Major themes will include sessions on Biology, Risk & Biomarkers, which will investigate fundamental biological processes, environmental risk factors, and the identification of disease indicators, the mechanisms of aggregate seeding and propagation, which aim to understand how pathological TDP-43 aggregates form and spread, and the pathology and dysfunction area mechanisms, which address the cellular and molecular pathways that lead to disease. Most importantly, the Meeting will also discuss novel approaches for treating TDP-43-related neurodegenerative diseases that are currently emerging from basic research discoveries.
The biennial Conference is being held for the second time in Trieste, Italy, with 180 participants in attendance from across world regions. It promises to be a vital forum for exchanging groundbreaking research, fostering collaborations, and ultimately accelerating the development of diagnostics and treatments for TDP-43 proteinopathies, including ALS.
Press Release (link for Italian)
