Cytokines in translational research: bench to bedside

This meeting will take place at The Biopark, Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden, City, Hertfordshire  on Thursday 8th July 2010

"This meeting will review the importance of efficient cytokine detection in translational medicine from the bench to bedside. From basic research to clinical trials the optimal way to assess cytokine levels will be discussed evaluating relatively low-tech methods such as ELISA to high throughput multiplex platform technologies. The best way to evaluate cytokines as mediators of pathology, as immunotherapeutics and as biomarkers will be addressed"  Meeting Chair - Dr Stephen J Thompson, King's College London

This event  has CPD accreditation and will have a  troubleshooting panel session. 

On registration you will be able to submit your questions to the panel that will be asked by the chair on the day of the event

20th April is the Early Registration Deadline.  If you would like to book a place, please visit : www.regonline.co.uk/cytokines10

The Agenda includes

Introduction by the Chair: Dr Stephen J Thompson, King's College London

BiP: an anti-inflammatory mediator which induces a TH2 cytokine profile

 Dr Valerie Corrigall, KCL School of Medicine at Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals, London, UK

Translational research, from bench to bedside, has many difficulties not least due to the differences that arise following the transfer from in vitro to in vivo systems across species.  Our research with BiP has involved human in vitro, murine in vivo and a human/murine xenogeneic ex vivo models. Throughout our investigations we have shown a consistency in the pattern of cytokine production induced by BiP with sustained IL-10 production in conjunction with increased TH2 cytokines, IL-4 and IL-5, and downregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF alpha.  This anti-inflammatory cytokine profile is at least partially responsible for the immunomodulatory characteristics of BiP.

Th17: a missing link in immunity

Dr Marc Veldhoen, MRC National Institute for Medical Research, UK

KeyNote Speaker: Talk title to be confirmed

Professor Berent Prakken, University Medical Centre Utrecht , The Netherlands 

Flow cytometry to analyse T cell subsets in tissue & Th17 cells

Dr Alistair Noble, King's College London

Direct ex vivo analysis of T cell subsets in inflamed peripheral tissues by intracellular cytokine staining can be hampered by high background staining and low percentages of cytokine-positive cells. We have analysed T cell cytokine phenotypes in allergic airway disease and obtained cytokine profiles of T cell subsets during the acute and chronic stages of inflammation. Despite low levels of secreted IL-17 in lavage fluid at the acute stage we demonstrated the predominance of the CD4 Th17 subset in inflamed lung tissue and in the airways. Collaboration between Th17 and Th2 cells in the lung may regulate the progression of asthmatic disease via remodelling of the airways.               

Question and Answer Session

Delegates will be asked to submit questions to a panel of experts.  Questions can be submitted before the event or on the day

Cytokine secretion for the isolation of antigen specific T cells - from rare cell analysis to cellular therapuetics

 Dr John Campell – Miltenyi Biotec Ltd, Surrey, UK

Antigen-specific T cells secrete cytokines in response to stimulation with their cognate antigen. Using the cytokine capture system, we can harness this to examine and isolate antigen specific T cells even at very low frequencies from complex mixtures. The ultimate application of this is in the clinical-grade isolation of antigen-specific T cells for therapeuetic use. Here I will discuss the applications of this technology in both the diagnostic and therapeutic settings.

Cytokine-based strategies for diagnostics and therapeutics in autoimmune disease

Professor Mark Peakman, Kings College, London

Type 1 diabetes arises when the immune system becomes poorly regulated and destroys the beta cells in the pancreas, which make insulin, a hormone that controls blood glucose levels and is therefore vital to life. The immune attack is the result of a genetic predisposition, and is probably triggered by a common environmental insult. Our research focuses on the role of autoreactive T cells in this process and in recent years we have unravelled elements of the pathways to disease using cytokine-based approaches.

Effector and Regulatory T cells in CNS autoimmune disease

Professor Steve Anderton, University of Edinburgh, Scotland

Chairman’s summing up.