First Annual meeting

30/31 January 2009, Athens

WP1: Management and Coordination

1. Introduction by Guus Smit (VUA)
2. Procedures and Reporting by Evelyn van Royen (Sylics)

WP2: Protein engineering of ligand binding domains: from AChBP to nAChRs

1. Introduction by Guus Smit (VUA)
2. Human AChR ECDs of increased solubility and ligand binding affinity by Voula Zisimopoulou (HPI)
3. Computational insights into the conformational dynamics of nAChR 5mer and a1-toxin complexes – Preliminary NMR studies of nAChR subunits by Georgios Spyroulias (UPAT)
4. Approaches to generate heteropentameric AChBPs by Pim van Nierop (VUA)
5. AChBP, also a 5HTBP or GlyBP? by Chris Ulens (KULeuven)

WP3: Production of intact prokaryotic CLRs and neuronal nAChRs

1. Introduction+Production of full length and extracellular domain of GLIC suitable for X-ray crystallography by Pierre-Jean Corringer (IP)
2. Production of bacterial CLRs by Radovan Spurny (KULeuven)
3. Towards the construction of neuronal AChRs with truncated cytoplasmic domains by Voula Zisimopoulou (HPI)
4. Toward expression of nAChRs using the Semiliki Forest Viral system by Michael Roberts (Regulon)

WP4: Protein Engineering for GABAA/C, glycine, and 5HT3-receptors

1. Introduction by Sarah Lummis (UCAM)
2. GABAA by Werner Sieghart (MUW)
3. Glycine by Cord-Michael Becker (FAU)
4. 5HT3 and conclusions by Sarah Lummis (UCAM)

WP5: High-throughput X-Ray and NMR of Ligand binding domains: from AChBP to CLRs

1. Introduction by Titia Sixma (NKI)
2. Structural studies of AChBP and nAChR ECDs by Prakash Rucktooa (NKI)
3. Crystallisation trials on the human nAChR ECDs by Petros Giastas (HPI)
4. Preliminary NMR studies of a cys-loop family prokaryotic homologue by Georgios Spyroulias (UPAT)
5. GlyR by Chris Ulens (KULeuven)

WP6: X-ray structure of intact prokaryotic and eukaryotic CLRs

1. Introduction by Wolfram Welte (UNIKON)
2. Structure of a bacterial pentameric ligand-gated ion channel in an apparently open conformation by Hugues Nury (IP)
3. Generation of artificial high-affinity binding proteins (DARPINs) for a membrane protein complex: Kdp by Annemarie Weber (UNIKON))

WP7: High-throughput functional assays of CLRs

1. Introduction by Daniel Bertrand (UNIGE)
2. Sarah Lummis (UCAM)
3. Pierre-Jan Corringer (IP)
4. Daniel Bertrand
5. Discussion led by Daniel Bertrand

WP8: CLR Biosensors: visualization activity of receptors for high-throughput screening

Introduction and overall update by Piotr Bregestovski (INSERM)

WP9: nAChR subunits composition & interacting proteins

1. Introduction by Cecilia Gotti (CNR)
2. Identification and characterization of new native subtypes involved in acetylcholine release in the habenulo-interpeduncular system by Cecilia Gotti
3. Chemical affinity tags for Cys-loop receptors by André Schrattenholz (PSY)
4. A lentiviral system for the study of nicotinic receptor cell biology by Uwe Maskos (IP)

WP10: Novel and potent ligands for CLRs; towards efficient and high throughput drug discovery

1. A search for naturally-occuring toxins acting on Cys-loop receptors by Yu N. Utkin and Victor Tsetlin (both IBCH)
   SPR screening of ligand-AChBP interaction, first results by Matthis Geitman (Beactica)
   Fragment library screening on 5HT3 receptors, first results by Andy Thompson (UCAM), Mark Verheij (VUA) and Sarah Lummis
2. - NMR Screening of ligand-AChBP interaction, first results by Georgios Spyroulias (UPAT)
   - Virtual screening of 400 di-peptides on nAChR by Georgios Spyroulias

WP11: Structural basis of receptor mediated disease

1. Introduction by Cord-Michael Becker
2. Subunits specificity of glycine receptor modulation by Piotr Bregestovski
3. AChR ECDs as tools in MG: Elucidation of antibody pathogenicity and development of a therapeutic approach by Kostas Lazaridis (HPI)

Wrapping up

1. First impression / recommendations by Scientific Advisory Board members: Francisco Barrantes and Angela Vincent
2. Discussion / wrap-up / decisions by Guus Smit