Previous CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Proceedings from the 7th International Conference on New Trends in Immunosuppression and Immunotherapy are being published in a special issue of the journal International Immunopharmacology Volume 6, Issues 13-14.

Below is a short summary of these proceedings:

New trends in immunosuppression and immunotherapy

Shuiping Jiang,  and Giovanna Lombardi.

Abstract
In the past years, research on immune regulation has exploded thanks to the re-emergence of T suppressor cells (Ts), now coined as regulatory T cells (Tregs). It has been established that different populations of Tregs exist in the immune system, and the generation, mechanism of suppression and the cellular and molecular targets of Tregs are being unraveled. This will lead to new opportunities for immune intervention to treat autoimmune disease and to achieve clinical transplantation tolerance. The scientific progress in the field of translational medicine was presented at the 7th International Conference on New Trends in Immunosuppression and Immunotherapy in Berlin in February 2006. In this special issue of International Immunopharmacology, several papers submitted to this congress will highlight some of the advances in this burgeoning field of translational medicine.

Article Outline

1. Current clinical trials using immunosuppressive agents and the need for
   “drug-free” immune tolerance
2. Pharmacological agents for in-vivo activation of Tregs
3. Adoptive Treg cell therapy for transplantation tolerance and autoimmune disease
4. Monitoring immune tolerance
5. Stem cell therapy
6. Alternative targets and new trends for immunosuppression
7. Conclusion
8. References