Intercellular communication that is mediated by secretory signal proteins is important in the development and functional maintenance of living tissues. Indeed, many molecules related to tissue development and their functional maintenance, including secretory signal proteins, receptors for these proteins, and molecules functioning in the intercellular signaling pathway, have already been identified. As a result, the entire molecular catalog for intercellular communication has started to become ever clearer.

Nonetheless, many questions still remain concerning issues like the mechanisms underlying the establishment and regulation of the morphogen gradient, or those of the microenvironment and the stem cell niche. Recent and rapid advances in the fields of imaging techniques, quantitative analysis and methods of protein structure analysis are making it possible to analyze the dynamics and structure of the molecules involved at a much higher spatio-temporal resolution. As a result, we now have a better understanding of the potential answers to said remaining questions, resulting in a breaking of new ground in the study of this field.

In this symposium, we will focus on the interaction between Wnt ligands and membrane proteins, tissue development brought about by these signals, and the regulation of tissue polarity. We will also bring together researchers who are engaged in cutting edge research pertaining to signal transduction, while also discussing findings and issues stemming from recent studies and the direction of future research.

Michael Boutros (DKFZ, Germany)

Toshihiko Fujimori (NIBB, Japan)

Marcos Gonzalez-Gaitan (University of Geneva, Switzerland)

Shukry Habib (UNIL, Université de Lausanne, Switzerland)

Tohru Ishitani (Osaka University, Japan)

Yvonne Jones (University of Oxford, UK)

Marek Mlodzik (Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai, USA)

Christof Niehrs (DKFZ, Germany)

Steffen Scholpp (University of Exeter, UK)

Hitoshi Sawa (NIG, Japan)

David Strutt (University of Sheffield, UK)

Sergei Sokol (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA)

Junichi Takagi (Osaka University, Japan)

Satoshi Toda (Kanazawa University, Japan)

Shinji Takada (NIBB, Japan)

Jean-Paul Vincent (The Francis Crick Institute, UK)

David Virshup (Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore)

Day 1: 2022.11.13 (Sun)

14:00 - 15:00 Registration

15:00 - 15:05 Opening Remarks

Shinji Takada (National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan)

15:05 - 15:15 Message from NIBB Director General

Kiyokazu Agata (National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan)

15:15 - 15:45 On the function of R-spondin beyond WNT signalling

Christof Niehrs (Institute of Molecular Biology, Germany)

15:45 - 16:15 Wnts and Intercellular Communication - Some Insights from Structural Biology

Yvonne Jones (University of Oxford, UK)

16:15 - 16:45 The "Lasso-grafted" Fc Design Platform Offers Creation of Novel Receptor Agonists and Antagonists

Junichi Takagi (Osaka University, Japan)

16:45 - 17:00 Short Break

17:00 - 19:00 Poster Session

Please refer to the poster list

Day 2: 2022.11.14 (Mon)

9:15 - 9:45 Trans-Scale Polarity Formation in the Mouse Oviduct

Toshihiko Fujimori (National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan)

9:45 - 10:00 Map7 Regulates Sertoli Cell Polarity to Support the Differentiation of Germ Cell Lineages

Koji Kikuchi (Kumamoto University, Japan)

Short Talk selected from Poster Presentation

10:00 - 10:30 Force Balance Controls Epithelial Cell Polarity and Behavior During Neural Tube Folding

Sergei Y. Sokol (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA)

10:30 - 10:55 Coffee Break

10:55 - 11:25 Intraflagellar Transport Complex A (IFT-A) and Kinesin 2 are Required for Nuclear Translocation of β-catenin

Marek Mlodzik (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA)

11:25 - 11:55 Molecular Mechanisms of Frizzled-Dependent Planar Polarity Establishment in Drosophila

David Strutt (University of Sheffield, UK)

11:55 - 12:10 E3 Ubiquitin Ligase HUWE1 Regulates Planar Cell Polarity through Controlling Pk Localization

Rieko Ajima (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Japan)

Short Talk selected from Poster Presentation

12:10 - 12:20 Group Photo

12:20 - 13:20 Lunch

13:20 - 13:50 Telocytes Deliver Essential Wnts Directly to Intestinal Stem Cell

David M. Virshup (Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore)

13:50 - 14:20 Super-resolution Microscopy of Endogenous Dvl

Michael Boutros (German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and Heidelberg University, Germany)

14:20 - 14:50 Cytoneme-mediated Transport of Active Wnt5b/Ror2 Complexes in Zebrafish

Steffen Scholpp (University of Exeter, UK)

14:50 - 15:15 Coffee Break

15:15 - 15:45 Coding and decoding morphogen gradients in epithelia

Jean-Paul Vincent (The Francis Crick Institute, UK)

15:45 - 16:15 Dpp Gradient Scaling By Recycling

Marcos A. Gonzalez-Gaitan (University of Geneva, Switzerland)

16:15 - 16:45 Programming Multicellular Pattern Formation with Synthetic Reaction Diffusion Circuits

Satoshi Toda (Kanazawa University, Japan)

16:45 - 17:10 Coffee Break

17:10 - 17:40 Role of Paracrine Wnt Signaling in Body Axis Elongation of Mouse Embryos

Shinji Takada (National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan)

17:40 - 18:10 Wnt-Bandage for Bone Repair

Shukry J. Habib (University of Lausanne, Switzerland)

Given this presentation via Zoom

Day 3: 2022.11.15 (Tue)

9:15 - 9:45 Cell Competition Ensures Robust Formation of Morphogen Gradient

Tohru Ishitani (Osaka University, Japan)

9:45 - 10:15 The lens-derived Wnt Coordinates Growth of Ocular Compartments

Xin Zhang (Columbia University, USA)

Talk selected from Poster Presentation

10:15 - 10:30 Left-right Asymmetry is Formed in the Basal Bodies of the Mouse Node Cilia in a Cilia Motility-Dependent Manner

Hiroshi Yoke (National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan)

Short Talk selected from Poster Presentation

10:30 - 10:55 Coffee Break

10:55 - 11:25 Regulation of Cell Polarity and Asymmetric Division by Wnts in C. elegans

Hitoshi Sawa (National Institute of Genetics, Japan)

11:25 - 11:55 Stem Cells and Wnt Signaling in Whole Body Regeneration of Cnidarians

Thomas W. Holstein (Center for Organismal Studeis (COS) Heidelberg, Germany)

Talk selected from Poster Presentation

11:55 - 12:00 Closing Remarks

Jean-Paul Vincent (The Francis Crick Institute, UK)

12:00 - 13:00 Lunch

13:00 Departure

Shinji Takada (NIBB, Japan)

Tohru Ishitani (Osaka Univ., Japan)

Jean-Paul Vincent (The Francis Crick Institute, UK)

How to access the Okazaki Conference Center (Okazaki, Aichi, Japan)

Accommodation list near the Okazaki Conference Center

For Invited Speakers:

• Registration

Register via the following link.

Registration for the invited speakers (powerd by Google Form)

• Abstract submsion

1) dowonload an abstract template file from here.

2) convert it to be in PDF format.

3) email it to the conference office (nibbconf@nibb.ac.jp).

Deadline: September 30th extended to October 14th(Fri), 2022

For General Participants:

• Registration

Those who wish to attend will be required to register via the following link.

Registration for general participants (powerd by Google Form)

• Poster Abstract submsion

We encourage participants to give a poster presentation.

1) dowonload an abstract template file from here.

2) convert it to be in PDF format.

3) email it to the conference office (nibbconf@nibb.ac.jp).

Deadline: September 30th extended to October 14th(Fri), 2022

Information of meal during the conference

• Two lunch boxes and a Mixer dinner will be provided during the conference period.

Each meal fee is as follows;

　・Lunch Box (Day 2): 750 JPY

・Lunch Box (Day 3): 750 JPY

　・*Mixer dinner (Day 2): 6,500 JPY for the generals, 3,500 JPY for students

The payment of meal fee will be made at the reception desk of the venue.

Please pay by cash only.

*The Mixer will be cancelled due to the Covid-19 situation.

Information of poster presentation

TBA