BioPark Hertfordshire, Welwyn Garden City
19th June 2009
9:00 – 9:45 Registration 9:45 – 10:00 Introduction by the Chair: Dr. Richard Williams, Imperial College London, UK 10:00 – 10:30 Immunotherapy of rheumatoid arthritis: lessons learnt from animal models Dr Steven Thompson, Kings College London, UK Stress proteins are upregulated at the site of inflammation such as that found within the joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Initially these proteins were identified as autoantigens and hence targets for immune attack. However, subsequent studies both in man and mouse have characterised these antigens as either stimulators of anti-inflammatory mediators or are themselves in fact targets of regulatory T cells. Both these observations make stress proteins attractive candidates for the development of novel immunotherapeutics. The translational research aimed at developing such biologics for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis will be discussed.
10:30 – 11:00 Autoimmune Models of Multiple Sclerosis Professor David Baker, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London For many years multiple sclerosis (MS) has been thought to be an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). This concept has been underpinned by numerous studies in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) models of MS. Although autoimmune CNS disease can be induced in many different rodent strains and primates, there has been quite poor translation from models to the clinic. Whilst this in part may represent frailties of the models systems themselves it also reflects the way in which models are interpreted and used. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of complex pathology that probably needs complex modelling. 11:00- 11:15 Speakers photo 11:15 – 11:45 Mid-morning break 11:45 – 12:15 Inflammatory mediators and lupus autoimmunity Professor Rizgar A Mageed, William Harvey Research Institute,
St Barts and the Royal London, UK It is established that the immune and inflammatory responses cross-regulate each other. In this study we show that manipulation of the immune system in murine lupus by administration of recombinant TNFa, or blocking endogenous TNFa with antibody profoundly influences lupus autoimmunity. The studies have also shown that in this setting TNFa/anti-TNFa act directly on T and B-lymphocytes and profoundly affect their proliferation, cytokine production and a number of other vital functions with consequent effects on autoimmunity. We explore the pathways through which these responses are effected. Further, the relevance of the studies to human diseases will be discussed.
12:15 – 12:45 Selected Abstracts
12:45 – 13:00 Brief introduction to the Biopark 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch and Poster Viewing 14:00 – 14:30 Animal models for autoimmune diabetes Dr Lucienne Chatenoud, Hôpital Necker, France 14:30 – 15:00 What knockout mice have taught us about the pathogenesis of lupus Professor Marina Botto 15:00 – 15:30 Afternoon Tea/Coffee and Last Poster Viewing 15:30 - 16:00 Talk title to be confirmed Professor David Abraham, University College London ¸UK 16:00 – 16:30 Selected Abstracts 16:30 – 17:00 Chairman’s summing up. 18:00 Soiree at *The Best Western Homestead Court Hotel for all the participants (further details provided on the day of the event)
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