5th International Symposium on receptor mechanisms, signal transduction and drug effects

Abstract

On 10–11 May 2007, a group of scientists met near Fujisan (Mount Fuji) in Shizuoka, Japan, to discuss their recent discoveries on drug receptors and transport proteins. Officially the meeting was known as the 5th International Symposium on Receptor Mechanisms, Signal Transduction and Drug Effects (IRS 2007), and it was the latest in a series held in various cities on the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido during the past 12 years in Japan. This issue of Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology is a compendium of original papers and comprehensive reviews written by those who participated in IRS 2007 (Fig. 1). It should be noted that each manuscript in this volume, whether invited review or contributed original paper, has undergone the usual peer review process of the journal. Long before the scientists met in Shizuoka, Prof. Takafumi Nagatomo organized the 1st IRS in Niigata in 1995. From the outset, the symposium has featured the most up to date advances in the area of neurotransmitters and drug receptors and their signaling mechanisms. The 2nd IRS was organized by Prof. Yasuyuki Nomura and was held at Hokkaido University in Sapporo (1997). The intellectual ambiance of Hokkaido University provided a fitting setting for the exciting scientific results that were presented. This symposium focused again on advances in membrane receptors and their signaling mechanisms as well as developments in combinatorial chemistry, the identification of new ligands, and the physiology and pathophysiology of calcium homeostasis in excitable tissues. In 2000, Prof. Taku Nagao hosted the 3rd IRS in Yokohama, and the 4th IRS was organized by Prof. Ikunobu Muramatsu in Fukui in 2003. Given the rapid pace at which the entire genomic structure of a number of organisms had been determined, including that of humans, the organizers of the 4th symposium sought to bring experts on receptors and bioassay systems together to foster the discovery of the functional roles of newly discovered signaling proteins as well as their therapeutic potential as drug targets. In this same tradition, it was the goal of the 5th IRS in Shizuoka to bring together experts on receptors, in vivo and in vitro assay systems, pharmacokinetics, and ABC transporters. The latter has transformed our understanding of pharmacokinetics and is likely to have a substantial impact on drug development in the future. The success of these meetings has been due, in part, to the tireless efforts of Prof. Henry Yamamura, University of Arizona, USA, who was involved in the organization of each IRS. His enthusiasm for science and pharmacology is infectious and was a motivating force at these meetings. The IRS in Shizuoka featured a combination of oral presentations, special lectures, and poster presentations by senior investigators in the field, as well as newcomers to this area and junior investigators. The thought-provoking sessions and lively discussions created an exciting atmoNaunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Arch Pharmacol (2008) 377:267–268 DOI 10.1007/s00210-008-0273-z