Nucleophilic proteases: structure, function, regulation and disease

June 20–21, 2025
Virtual

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There are more than 600 proteases in the human genome making it the second largest family of proteins in humans. These proteolytic enzymes are tightly regulated and function by performing post-translational protein modifications through hydrolysis of peptide bonds which results in activation or deactivation of biological pathways in an enormous array of physiological processes. Dysregulated proteolysis is also implicated in a large, diverse set of diseases including those relating to cardiovascular, immunological and cancer. Furthermore, the pathogenesis of many infectious diseases is mediated by proteases, either from the microbe, the host or both.

These enzymes are classified by their catalytic mechanism into five types: serine, threonine, cysteine, aspartic and metalloproteases. This year we expand upon past meetings by highlighting the most significant recent studies not only on serine, but also on the other classes of nucleophilic threonine and cysteine proteases. The talks organized present aspects of protease biochemistry and biophysics such as structural biology, as well as drug discovery and inhibitor development. Cross-disciplinary topics include cancer, infectious disease (viruses, bacteria, other pathogens), inflammation and immunology, cardiovascular system, and others.

Important dates

Speakers

• Toni Antalis, University of Maryland
  Membrane anchored serine proteases in ovarian cancer metastasis
• Jyotsna Batra, Queensland University of Technology
  Dual functional role of a kallikrein 3 genetic variant: implications for prostate cancer progression and biomarker interpretation
• Grant Blouse, TheraPaint Inc.
  Harnessing protease activity of the tumor microenvironment with RIPs as a novel modality to deliver targeted radiotherapeutics
• Charles Craik, University of California, San Francisco
  Targeting coronavirus major protease with broad spectrum activity and favorable bioavailability
• Sven Dahms, University of Salzburg
  Mechanistic understanding of proprotein convertase activation guides the development of highly specific furin inhibitors
• Fabio Demontis, St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital
  Role of proteases in protein quality control and aging
• Sara Di Carlo, University of Lausanne
  Role of preeclampsia-associated serine protease prostasin in embryonic hematopoiesis and vessel remodeling
• Bryan Fraser, University of Toronto
  Biochemical and structural tools to interrogate trypsin-like serine protease zymogen activation
• Laura Goracci, University of Perugia
  Discovering novel SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors targeting the main protease Mpro: from virtual screening to hit optimization

• Daniel Kirchhofer, Genentech Inc.
  Selective inhibitors for studying the enigmatic neutrophil serine protease 4
• Bob Lazarus, Genentech Inc.
  Allosteric inhibition mechanisms of β-tryptase tetramers and monomers by antibodies: implications for mast cell diseases
• Joanne Lemieux, University of Alberta
  Identification of a potent pan-coronaviral inhibitor
• Anthony O’Donoghue, University of California, San Diego
  New tools to facilitate drug discovery for pathogen proteasomes
• Mark Paetzel, Simon Fraser University
  Crystallographic investigations into the acyl-enzyme step of serine and cysteine proteases
• Nabil Seidah, IRCM, University of Montreal
  The canonical and noncanonical roles of the proprotein convertases in health and disease: emphasis on cardiovascular diseases and cancer/metastasis
• Torsten Steinmetzer, Philipps University Marburg
  From peptidic to new non-peptidic inhibitors of the proprotein convertase furin as potential broad-spectrum antiviral agents
• Dusan Turk, Jožef Stefan Institute
  Quest for inhibition of cell entry of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses – All roads lead to cathepsins
• Pieter Van der Veken, University of Antwerp
  Druglike, radiotheranostic ligands of fibroblast activation protein (FAP) with optimized residence times: from design to preclinical evaluation in oncology models
• Steven Verhelst, KU Leuven
  Tuning selectivity of activity-based probes for cysteine proteases

Abstracts

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NOTE: Registration is on a first come, first served basis and will remain open until capacity is reached. This may mean that the conference registration closes before the officially posted registration deadline. To secure your spot at the conference, we encourage you to register early.

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