Mechanisms and Applications of Immune Tolerance

Organizer(s): Jeffrey A. Bluestone, Abul K. Abbas and Christopher C. Goodnow

Sponsored by The Director's Sponsor Fund

Summary of Meeting:

The idea of reprogramming immune cells in a way that would eliminate pathogenic responses while preserving normal immune function is a concept that has tantalized immunologists for decades. Current immunotherapeutic drugs have met with a degree of clinical success, however, such therapies require lifelong usage and non-specifically suppress the entire immune system. Recent conceptual advances in our understanding of the mechanisms operative in the induction of tolerance and restoration of self-tolerance provide unprecedented insights into the development of new tolerogenic strategies. However, major challenges remain. What are the biochemical and molecular events that lead to tolerance? How do the central and peripheral mechanisms of tolerance interact? This meeting will bring together researchers to present recent breakthroughs in the study of the processes that regulate tolerance: clonal deletion; clonal inactivation; immune deviation and suppression. The topics will include: T and B cell receptor signaling; co-stimulation; accessory cell function; cell survival; and the intracellular signaling events that control immune tolerance. Finally, specific talks in immunotherapy of autoimmunity, transplantation, cancer and infectious disease will be included.

Discounted Abstract Deadline: December 3 2001

Discounted Registration Deadline: February 4 2002

We gratefully acknowledge the generous grant for this conference provided by:

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Grant No. 1 R13 AI51294-01

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