Report on the Na+/H+ Exchanger Satellite Meeting at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology

The Satellite Meeting on Na+/H+ Exchangers, held on 17 April 2010, covered a range of new developments in this field. The symposium was chaired by Dr. Larry Fliegel, University of Alberta, and the speakers were Dr. John Orlowski of McGill University, Dr. Jan Rainey of Dalhousie University, Dr. Etana Padan of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dr. Masa Numata of The University of British Columbia, Dr. Pavel Dibrov from the University of Manitoba, Dr. Todd Alexander of the University of Alberta, and Grant Kemp of the University of Alberta. Talks ranged from organellar pH homeostasis to structure and function of Na+/H+ exchanger proteins. Highlights of the symposium included elucidation of the structure of transmembrane regions of the NHE1 isoform and development of a new model of the NHE1 protein based on the E. coli Na+/H+ exchanger. The symposium brought together scientists from different corners of the world. The discussions that followed were lively and many scientists received constructive comments from their peers.