Current Trends in N-Acetyltransferase Research Arising from the 2007 International NAT Workshop

Abstract

Arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) research has been influenced in recent years by the rapid progress in genomics, proteomics, structural genomics and other cutting-edge disciplines. To keep up with these advancements, the NAT scientific community has fostered collaboration and exchange of know-how between its members. As a specialized event bringing together experts from many different laboratories, the triennial International NAT Workshop has been instrumental in maintaining this culture over the past ten years. The 2007 Workshop took place in Alexandroupolis, Greece, and covered ongoing research on the structure and enzymatic function of human NATs, the prokaryotic and eukaryotic models for NAT, the mechanisms of NAT gene regulation and expression, the frequencies and effects of polymorphisms in the human NAT genes, and the involvement of NATs in multifactorial diseases, including cancer, allergic conditions, endometriosis and endemic nephropathies. Gene nomenclature issues were also addressed and the participants discussed current trends in the field.

Keywords: :

• arylamine N-acetyltransferase
• enzyme function
• epidemiology
• eukaryotic NAT
• gene nomenclature
• gene regulation
• genomics
• international workshop
• prokaryotic NAT
• protein structure

Acknowledgements

The organizers wish to acknowledge all workshop delegates for contributing to the meeting with excellent presentations, and for participating in constructive discussions advancing NAT research. The 4th International NAT Workshop was supported by the Greek Ministry of Education, the Democritus University of Thrace, the Prefectural Government of Rodopi-Evros, the Prefecture of Evros and the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics. The tourist material distributed to the delegates was kindly provided by the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the Prefecture of Evros and the Municipal Tourist Enterprise of Alexandroupolis. The event was managed by Triaena Tours & Congress S.A. Presenters at the 4th International NAT Workshop were Dr Bogos Agianian (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece), Professor José AG Agúndez (University of Extremadura, Spain), Dr Sotiria Boukouvala (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece), Dr Elspeth Bruford (HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee, European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton, UK), Dr Neville Butcher (University of Queensland, Australia), Dr Julien Dairou (University of Paris, France), Professor Jean-Marie Dupret (University of Paris, France), Mr Dimitrios Evangelopoulos (Universities of Oxford and London, UK), Dr Giannoulis Fakis (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece), Dr Balaram Ghosh (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, India), Professor Klaus Golka (University of Dortmund, Germany), Professor Denis Grant (University of Toronto, Canada), Professor David Hein (University of Louisville, USA), Dr Svetlana Makarova (Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Russia), Professor Rodney Minchin (University of Queensland, Australia), Professor Fernando Rodrigues-Lima (University of Paris, France), Dr Bidyut Roy (Indian Statistical Institute, India), Ms Radoslava B Saraeva (University of Sofia, Bulgaria), Professor Edith Sim (University of Oxford, UK), Professor J Christopher States (University of Louisville, USA), Dr Isaac Westwood (University of Oxford, UK).

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

The organizers wish to acknowledge all workshop delegates for contributing to the meeting with excellent presentations, and for participating in constructive discussions advancing NAT research. The 4th International NAT Workshop was supported by the Greek Ministry of Education, the Democritus University of Thrace, the Prefectural Government of Rodopi-Evros, the Prefecture of Evros and the International Society for the Study of Xenobiotics. The tourist material distributed to the delegates was kindly provided by the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the Prefecture of Evros and the Municipal Tourist Enterprise of Alexandroupolis. The event was managed by Triaena Tours & Congress S.A. Presenters at the 4th International NAT Workshop were Dr Bogos Agianian (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece), Professor José AG Agúndez (University of Extremadura, Spain), Dr Sotiria Boukouvala (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece), Dr Elspeth Bruford (HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee, European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton, UK), Dr Neville Butcher (University of Queensland, Australia), Dr Julien Dairou (University of Paris, France), Professor Jean-Marie Dupret (University of Paris, France), Mr Dimitrios Evangelopoulos (Universities of Oxford and London, UK), Dr Giannoulis Fakis (Democritus University of Thrace, Greece), Dr Balaram Ghosh (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, India), Professor Klaus Golka (University of Dortmund, Germany), Professor Denis Grant (University of Toronto, Canada), Professor David Hein (University of Louisville, USA), Dr Svetlana Makarova (Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Russia), Professor Rodney Minchin (University of Queensland, Australia), Professor Fernando Rodrigues-Lima (University of Paris, France), Dr Bidyut Roy (Indian Statistical Institute, India), Ms Radoslava B Saraeva (University of Sofia, Bulgaria), Professor Edith Sim (University of Oxford, UK), Professor J Christopher States (University of Louisville, USA), Dr Isaac Westwood (University of Oxford, UK).