5TH CONFERENCE--DRUG ABUSE, IMMUNOMODULATION AND AIDS

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DESCRIPTION: (Applicant's Abstract) Susceptibility of drug addicts to disease has been reported anecdotally for a century. Since the initial reports of impaired phagocytosis by leukocytes from opium addicts, many models of immunomodulation by opiates and cannabinoids have demonstrated the ability of these drugs to alter the immune systems of a variety of animals including rodent, cat, primate and human. The cloning of neuronal opiate and marihuana receptors has opened a new avenue for investigating the role of these drugs in the peripheral immune system. Despite this clear pathway of linked results suggesting that opiates modulate immune function via G-coupled receptors, and that this modulation has significant health consequences for the animal subject, it has not been possible to demonstrate a relationship between drug abuse and AIDS progression using epidemiological methods. To explore the implication of these results, it is proposed that a satellite meeting be held in conjunction with the 1997 CPDD meeting to be held in Nashville, TN. The proposed topics range from basic studies on the expression of drug receptors on peripheral cells and signal transduction through interactions with various neuroimmune circulatory hormones, like the cytokines, to studies of the interrelationship between drug abuse and infectious disease in various animals. The aims of the meeting are to bring together both basic researchers and clinical investigators to discuss the relevance of their findings. A number of beginning scientists will be given Young Investigator travel awards to stimulate their interest in the area of drug abuse in general and neuroimmunology in particular. Finally, the results of the meeting will be published either as a series of reviews in the Journal of Neuroimmunology or a book of individual papers. It is hoped that the meeting will foster a better understanding of the dichotomy between the basic results and animal model studies with the human AIDS studies.