Events and Meetings

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Speaker: Professor Edward Conway, Centre for Blood Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

Host: Julien Bergeron

Just over one year ago, the world was visited by a new betacoronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, named for its propensity to cause severe lung damage. But SARS-CoV-2 does more than that: It causes a multisystem disease (COVID-19) that involves multiple organs, and has a high risk of thrombosis, associated with striking elevations in pro-inflammatory cytokines, D-dimers and fibrinogen. Postmortem studies confirm the high incidence of thromboembolism, and reveal diffuse microvascular thrombi with endothelial swelling and deposition of complement activation fragments, consistent with a thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA). The presentation thus parallels that of other genetic disorders, such as atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), that are caused by heightened activation of complement. This raises the specter that the thrombotic complications arising from SARS-CoV-2 may be triggered and/or exacerbated by excess complement activation. Such a finding is potentially relevant, as currently available anti-complement therapies that are highly effective in protecting against thrombosis in aHUS could be efficacious in COVID-19. In this seminar, I will review the evidence for complement participating in the pathophysiology underlying the thrombotic diathesis associated with pathogenic coronaviruses, provide some mechanistic insights, and propose lines of study to identify novel therapeutic targets.

Contact: zeinab.el_mikatti@kcl.ac.uk

Conference postponed to June 12-17, 2021

The purpose of the 17th Innate Immunity is to bring together scientists from all over the world to discuss their latest findings on the various aspects of Innate Immunity.

The specific topics include: Evolution of the innate immune system, Host-microbe interactions, Interactions with adaptive immunity, Neuroimmunology, Pathophysiology-Inflammation, Structural biology, and Therapeutic applications.

Conference postponed to June 17-22, 2021

This conference aims to bring together academic and industry scientists and clinical development experts who are focused on contemporary and emerging aspects of complement-mediated disease pathogenesis and the development of therapeutics that modulate this system in a beneficial manner. Topics discussed during the conference include: Molecular mechanisms and targets in complement-related diseases; Novel inhibitors & pipeline compounds; Haematological disorders; Organ & cell transplantation, I/R injury and chronic rejection; Kidney diseases; Neurological & ocular diseases; Acute and chronic inflammatory disorders; Infectious diseases & sepsis; Cancer; Informative complement biomarkers in therapeutic development; Novel and unexpected indications

This 3rd conference on Antibodies & Complement will focus attention on key advances in both fields with the aim at fostering discussions between antibody experts and complement experts. Some of the critical topics to be covered include:

• antibody & complement (novel) functions
• human antibody repertoires
• complement structure and subcellular localization
• novel technologies
• complement and antibody therapies

After the success of the two first editions (EMBO workshop June 2018 & May 2019), this third edition of conference on Antibodies & Complement should again be a forum for leaders in the field and new investigators coming from academia, industry and research institutes to discuss where the field is going and what challenges lie ahead.