List of Topics

1) ETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS 2) GENETICS 3) MECHANISM 4) TOLERANCE 5) DIAGNOSTICS 6) HORMONAL

7) INFECTION 8) ANIMAL MODELS 9) DISEASES 10) THERAPY 11) PROGNOSIS 12) CANCER 13) PROTEOMIC AND GENOMIC

1) ETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS

• Somatic hypermutation in human autoantibodies
• Innate autoimmunity and adoptive autoimmunity
• Toll-like receptors in autoimmunity
• Apoptosis and autoimmunity
• Molecular signalling in apoptosis of T cell subsets
• Vascular injury: insights gained through proteomics and genomics
• Tracking CD4+ T cells in the pathogenesis of human autoimmune diseases
• Effectors of autoimmune tissue injury
• Autoimmune epitopes: autoepitopes
• Pathogenic mechanisms involving cytokines
• The role of interferons in the pathogenesis of lupus
• Neurotransmitters and immunology interactions
• Infections as a cause of autoimmune diseases
• Role of infection in vascular injury
• Pathogenesis of autoimmune cardiomyopathy
• Pathogenic potential of ANCA
• Tissue factor and autoimmunity
• Complement and autoimmunity
• Origins of rheumatoid arthritis

 

2) GENETICS

• Genetics of autoimmune diseases (CD4/CD25 regulatory T cells)
• Autoimmunity predisposing genes
• Genes involved in tolerance and autoimmunity
• Gene expression in multiple sclerosis
• Express yourself! Gene expression profiling in rheumatic diseases
• Immunoglobulin gene regulation in autoimmunity
• The genetics of SLE
• Immunogenetics of autoimmune thyroid diseases
• Genome wide SNP analyses on rheumatoid arthritis
• TCR gene transfer for controlling autoimmunity

 

3) MECHANISM

• Penetration of autoantibodies into living cells
• Role of dendritic cells in the induction of tolerance/autoimmunity
• Chemokines and their receptors in autoimmune diseases
• Cell adhesion molecules in arthritis and autoimmune diseases
• Food antigens and autoimmunity
• Environment versus genetics in autoimmunity
• Migration of autoimmune T cells
• Autoimmune B cells
• B lymphocytes in autoimmune diseases
• BlyS and anti-BlyS
• Fc-gamma receptors
• Immunological homunculus
• The role of MHC/peptide tetramers for tracking autoreactive T cells
• Mast cells and autoimmunity
• Anti-receptor autoantibodies
• Intrathymic expression of self-antigens
• T cell receptor antagonism
• Angiogenesis in arthritis
• Anti heat shock protein 60 immunity and atherosclerosis
• Signals for T cell activation and regulation
• Role of innate V/S acquired autoimmune responses in human cardiomyopathies
• Primary epitopes for MHC restricted autoimmune disorders
• Regulatory T cells in rheumatic diseases – from bench to bedside
• Antibody affinity maturation
• Multiple pathways of apoptosis in naïve and memory lymphocytes
• Regulation of cytokine production by PI3K
• Human NK cells: their surface receptors and function
• Atherosclerosis, angiogenesis, and autoimmunity and gamma delta T cell
• Complement and kidney disease
• Innate autoreactivity
• Neutrophil alteration in autoimmune diseases
• Molecular signaling of apoptosis in aging and autoimmunity
• Structure, function and pathogenetic significance of Ro ribonucleoproteins
• NKT cell biology; their mechanisms in disease control
• Antiendothelial cell antibodies, with special emphasis on HSP-60
• New Cytokines in autoimmunity

 

4) TOLERANCE

• Mechanisms of immune tolerance
• Mechanisms and promise of immune tolerance in therapy of SLE
• Tolerance deficits that are of most relevance to human autoimmunity
• Mucosal tolerance for the treatment of autoimmune diseases
• Natural autoimmunity
• Differences in tolerance mechanisms in the T and B cell compartments
• Susceptibility/resistance to autoimmunity
• Nuclear molecules as mediators of inflammation

 

5) DIAGNOSTICS

• Peptides as autoantigens
• Novel recombinant autoantigens
• Micro-array technology for probing the immune system
• Tetramers for detection of autoreactive T cells
• New technologies in the detection of autoantibodies especially antigen arrays and
  addressable laser beads
• Novel autoantigens in neurological diseases: diagnostic and pathogenic considerations
• Challenges for the clinical autoantibody laboratory
• Algorithms in autoimmunity diagnostics
• Immune informatics
• Definition of autoimmune epitopes
• Prediction and prevention of type 1 diabetes
• Antinucleophosmin antibodies in murine and human SLE

 

6) HORMONAL

• Autoimmunity and pregnancy
• Pregnancy and lupus/antiphospholipid syndrome
• Sex-based differences
• The role of glucocorticoid hormones in T cell differentiation and selection
• Pregnancy and connective tissue diseases
• Prolactin and autoimmunity

  

7) INFECTION

• Infectious components and autoimmunity and/or mucosal immunity and autoimmunity
• Microbial B cell super antigens and their potential to cause inflammation
• Vaccination and autoimmunity
• Adjuvant and autoimmunity
• Coxsackie viruses and autoimmune epithelitis
• The role of commensal bacteria in inflammation and autoimmunity

 

8) ANIMAL MODELS

• Animal models of vasculitis and glomerulonephritis
• New knockout mice

 

9) DISEASES

• Atherosclerosis and autoimmunity
• Vasculitis
• Sjøgren's disease
• Monoclonal thyroid stimulating antibodies and thyroid autoimmunity
• The cellular and molecular basis of primary biliary cirrhosis
• Antiphospholipid Abs in reproductive failure/infertility
• Antiphospholipid antibody and mechanism of the thrombus formation
• Rheumatoid arthritis as a paradigm of new therapies for autoimmune disorders
• The role of the thymus in myasthenia gravis
• Autoimmune hepatitis
• Pemphigus vulgaris
• Autoimmune bullous dermatoses
• Systemic autoimmune diseases presenting with skin symptoms
• Borderline, ligand diseases between autoimmunity and different fields of dermatology
• Allergy and autoimmunity
• The associations between different autoimmune diseases
• Multiple sclerosis and regulatory cells
• Neuroimmunology
• Early microvascular changes in scleroderma
• The role of antibody and B cells in rheumatoid arthritis
• Autoimmunity associated with immune deficiency diseases
• Paraneoplastic autoimmunity
• Type 1 diabetes
• Immunology of cardiovascular disease
• The role of thrombin in autoimmune neurological disease
• Autoimmunity to HSP and ox-LDL in atherosclerosis/vasculitis
• Cognition and autoimmunity
• Therapy of ANCA-associated vasculitis
• Inflammatory clearance of apoptotic cells in vasculitis and lupus
• Immunoendocrine changes in healthy subjects and SLE patients during pregnancy
• Pulmonary hypertension in scleroderma
• Autoimmunity in the central nervous system
• Autoimmunity to endothelial cells – from scleroderma to atherosclerosis
• Cardiovascular involvement in rheumatic diseases
• B cells and primary biliary cirrhosis
• B cell clonality in Sjøgren’s Syndrome: histopathological analysis and response to
  rituximab
• Snow white duodenum as an underlying disease in autoimmune
• Immune reactions against silicone implants

 

10) THERAPY

• IVIG
• Gene therapy and autoimmune disease
• Wheat as a source of compounds against cancer and autoimmune diseases
• Peptide therapy for autoimmune disease
• Adoptive cellular gene therapy of autoimmune disease
• Immunopoiesis, transplantation and the treatment of autoimmunity
• Remodelling in systemic autoimmune diseases by differentiated stem cells or gene therapy
• Clinical and management aspects of SLE
• Therapeutic vaccines for autoimmune disease, T cell vaccination, drug- vaccines against
• myasthenia gravis, drugs-vaccines against lupus
• Statins in treatment of autoimmune disease
• Novel biologics in autoimmune disorders
• Cellcept – an advance in the treatment of lupus nephritis
  Use of monocloral therapy for the treatment of uveitis
• Leflunomide-induced lung injury
• Therapeutic strategies in systemic necrotizing vasculitis

 

11) PROGNOSIS

• Predicting autoimmunity
• Preventive measurements in autoimmunity
• Clinical activity indexes

 

12) CANCER

• Tumor-associated autoantibodies as indicators of cancer development
• Nutraceuticals in supportive treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases
• Lymphoma and autoimmune rheumatic diseases

13) PROTEOMIC AND GENOMIC