Preliminary topics

ETIOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS INFECTION
GENETICS ANIMAL MODELS
MECHANISM OLD & NEW AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES
TOLERANCE NOVEL THERAPIES AND BIOLOGICS
DIAGNOSTICS PROGNOSIS
HORMONES CANCER AND AUTOIMMUNITY
PREGNANCY IN AUTOIMMUNITY DISEASE ALLERGY IN AUTOIMMUNITY DISEASE

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

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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

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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
  • Regulation of cytokine production by PI3K
  • Human NK cells: their surface receptors and function
  • Atherosclerosis, angiogenesis, (VEGF) and autoimmunity and gamma delta T cell
  • New cytokines in autoimmunity
  • 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

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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/IVIG mechanisms in the T and B cell compartments
  • Susceptibility/resistance to autoimmunity
  • Nuclear molecules as mediators of inflammation

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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
  • Novel markers, Vit D, Ferritin, TRP – Predictive autoantibodies

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HORMONES

  • 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
  • Protective and autoimmunity

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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
  • Protective Infections

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ANIMAL MODELS

  • Animal models of vasculitis and glomerulonephritis
  • New knockout mice

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OLD & NEW AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

  • Atherosclerosis and autoimmunity
  • Vasculitis
  • Sjרgren'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 Sj¯gren’s Syndrome: histopathological analysis and response to rituximab
  • Snow white duodenum as an underlying disease in autoimmune

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NOVEL THERAPIES AND BIOLOGICS

  • 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

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PROGNOSIS

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

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CANCER AND AUTOIMMUNITY

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

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      Pregnancy in Autoimmunity Disease

   

      Allergy in Autoimmunity Disease