Tuberculosis: Immunology, Cell Biology and Novel Vaccination Strategies

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal requests support for a Keystone Symposia meeting entitled Tuberculosis: Immunology, Cell Biology and Novel Vaccination Strategies, organized by Stefan H.E. Kaufmann, Gerhard Walzl and Lalita Ramakrishnan, which will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from January 15 - 20, 2011. The global epidemic of Tuberculosis (TB) stems from three main problems: 1) HIV/AIDS (TB is the number one cause of death for HIV-infected individuals); 2) the requirement for long-term multidrug therapy that in turn leads to noncompliance and relapse of transmissible infection; and 3) the only available vaccine BCG affords partial protection against disseminated TB in young children but not against adult pulmonary TB which is the main source of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) transmission. Moreover, the outcomes of exposure to Mtb differ vastly even in seemingly immunocompetent individuals; differences in both innate and adaptive immunity appear to modulate outcomes. This meeting will primarily focus on immune responses underlying pathology of and protection against TB. This will pave the way towards a better understanding of basic mechanisms of host defense and also provide the basis for novel intervention strategies. Notably, it will provide information relevant for the design of novel vaccines and strategies to counteract Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS), which increasingly occurs in HIV/Mtb-infected individuals under antiretroviral therapy. This meeting will take place in parallel with the Keystone Symposia meeting on Mycobacteria: Physiology, Metabolism and Pathogenesis - Back to the Basics, which emphasizes the pathogen. These meetings will share a keynote address and four plenary sessions, including a joint session on "Systems Biology", an innovative and powerful approach that is just starting to be applied to TB research. Hence, these two Keystone Symposia meetings have a shared interest in TB but, at the same time, emphasize different aspects of this complex disease. We are convinced, therefore, that these meetings will attract all scientists and clinicians from the different areas of TB research and will therefore also facilitate the coming together of a wide variety of researchers: wet-lab researchers interested in molecular biology of the pathogen; immunologists and cell biologists focused on the host response; and clinicians developing novel intervention measures including diagnostics, vaccines and drugs. Project Narrative: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health threat globally with up to 10 million new cases and up to 2 million deaths annually. Worldwide, more than 2 billion individuals are estimated to be or to have been infected. The Keystone Symposia meeting on Tuberculosis: Immunology, Cell Biology and Novel Vaccination Strategies will focus on the immune responses to TB and how these responses affect the course of the disease. Since TB is a disease of poverty, special attention will also be paid to translational issues that relate immediately to deliverable public health measures.