IUBio

IIMMUNOTHERAPIC MEETING HAVANA-CUBA

Ctro Inmunologia Molecular monoclon at infomed.sld.cu
Thu Mar 10 04:13:16 EST 1994


IMMUNOTHERAPY IN THE NINETIES:
The impact of molecular immunology in the treatment
of cancer and autoimmune diseases
 
International Workshop
Center of Molecular Immunology
Havana City, Cuba
May 16-20, 1994
SPONSORED BY:
PAN-AMERICAN
HEALTH ORGANIZATION
 
 
T H I R D   A N N O U N C E M E N T
 
I.- MEETING COMPOSITION
 
In the previous 2nd Announcement, the organizing committe advanced some ideas
about the reasons for this meeting, the topics to be discussed and the
fundamental questions to be addressed. These ideas were well received by the
scientific community active in the field.
 
Up to now, the following scientists have expressed intention to participate:
 
List of Invited Speakers
 
             NAME                COUNTRY               POSITION
 
1. Prof. Peter Biberfeld         Sweden        Head, Lab of Immunopathology,
                                                   Karolinska Institute.
 
2. Prof. G. Dighiero             France        Chief,  Service of Immunohematology and
                                               Immunopathology.
                                               Pasteur Institute.
 
3. Dr. James Larrick            USA            Scientific Director, Palo Alto Institute
                                               for Molecular                                                                           Medicine.
 
4. Prof. Jesper Zeuthen         Denmark        Head, Department of Tumor Cell
                                               Biology, The Fibiger Institute,                                                          Danish Cancer Center.
 
5. Prof. Philip                 USA            Head, Clinical Livingston Immunology Service,
                                               Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer                                                                        Center.
 
6. Prof. Willian J.  Harris     UK             President and Chief
   Harris                                      Scientific Officer, Scotgen                                                                                         Biopharmaceuticals.
 
7. Prof. Sherie L.              USA            Chairman and Profesor,
   Morrison                                    Dept. of Microbiology and Genetics
                                               UCLA, University of California.
 
8. Dr. Dan Holmberg             Sweden         Chief, Dept. for Cell and Molecular Biology.  University                                                            of Umea.
 
9. Dr. Tadashi Tai              Japan          Chief of Dept. of Tumor Immunology.
                                               Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science.
 
10. Prof. Donald Marcus         USA            Chief, Section on Rheumatic Diseases.
                                               Baylor College of Medicine.
 
11. Dr. Jacques                 France         Director of  Research
   Portoukalian                                Inserm. Institut National de nti et de la Recherche
                                               Modicale
 
12. Prof. Carlos                Spain           Director, Centro de Biologia Molecular
    Martinez                                    Universidad Autonoma de Madrid.
 
13. Dr. Andrew                  UK              Senior Scientist
    Griffiths                                   Medical Research Council (MRC), Cambridge Centre
                                                for Protein Engineering.
 
14. Dr. Heinz Kohler           USA             Medical Doctor, Ph.D. University of Kentuchy.
 
15. Dr. Jacques Aubry          France          Senior Scientist. University of  Nantes.
                                               Institut National de la                                                                 Santi et de la
                                               Recherche Midicale.
 
16. Dra. Cecilia                Chile          Head of the Immunology
    Sepulveda                                  Unit. University of Chile.
 
17. Dra. Christiane             Argentina      Head, Dpt. Medicine
    Dosne                                      National Academy of Medicine.
                                               Buenos Aires.
 
18. Dr. Agustin Lage           Cuba            Director. Center of Molecular Immunology
 
19. Dr. Rolando Perez          Cuba            Research Director Center of Molecular
                                                Immunology.
 
20. Dr. Luis Fernandez         Cuba            Head of Immunochemistry
                                               Lab. Center of Molecular Immunology.
 
21. Dr. Jorge Gavilondo        Cuba            Head of the Diagnostic Division. Center of
                                               Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology.
 
22. Dr. Carlos Garcia          Cuba            Head of the Clinical Immunology Lab.
                                               National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology.
 
23. Dr. Gustavo Sierra         Cuba            Vice-President. Finlay Institute.
 
 
Representations of scientific journals are also being invited.
 
The meeting will gather around 50 people, in a context adequate  for intensive
discussion.
 
II.- MEETING ORGANIZATION
 
In the previous 2nd announcement, the organizers advanced several questions
around which discussions could be focussed.
 
These were:
 
Is it practically possible to re-program the adult immune system for
recognizing tumors as "nonself"?
 
Which  molecules could be the best targets for an autoimmune rejection of
tumors? Can growth factors and growth factor receptors be presented as
autoantigens?
 
Which ways are available today to modify presentation of tumor-associated
antigens?
 
Is it possible to induce a mature response (high affinity antibodies produced
by conventional B cells in germinal centers) to T-independent self-antigens?
Can the conventional B cell repertoire be induced to react to the antigens of
the B-CD5+ repertoire?
 
What experimental strategies can be designed in order to identify meaningful
cross-reactive idiotopes on human V-regions and to evaluate the clinical
significance of their measurement?
 
Can idiotypic connectivity be artificially manipulated (increased or
decreased) in the adults central immune system? Which would be the predicted
outcomes of such an intervention? Is it possible to design a laboratory test
for the measurement of idiotypic connectivity in adult humans?
 
Is it possible to design a laboratory test for measuring the reduction of
diversity that take place in the B-CD5+ repertoire during aging? Can this
reduction of diversity be related to the increase in the incidence of tumors
and autoimmune disease with aging?
 
What is the predictable impact of antibody engineering technology on the
therapeutic efficacy of monoclonal antibodies?
 
What is the role of B-1a (CD5+), B-1b (sister) and B-conventional lymphocyte
subpopulations in the immune response to tumor antigens?
 
Which procedures can be designed today in order to induce (or suppress)
specifically selected idiotypes in the adults repertoire?
 
These questions are still non-operational. It is, they can not be directly
translated into experiments to answer them.
 
This is  surely a very difficult task. In fact, the formulation of the critical
questions which are both meaningful and experimentally  accesible is the core
of scientific creativity.
 
Immunology is full of non-operational concepts. For items such as network
antigen, self-related antigen, regulatory idiotope, suppresor clone, idiotypic
conectivity, and many others there is not a clear-cut experiment to define it.
 
The therapeutic manipulation of the repertoire of immune receptors in order to
reprogram the system to reject new antigens (cancer) or to accept other ones
(autoimmune diseases, organ transplantation), is a very appealing idea.
 
If the meeting is able:
 
to define each concept in operational (experimentally accessible) terms,
 
to decompose each question into questions susceptible to be addressed through
an experiment,
 
then meeting would have contributed to the advancement of "Immunotherapy in
the Nineties".
 
The organization of the meeting has been conceived to create possibilities for
this intellectual enterprise.
 
The following is a preliminary Program. Any suggestion of participants about
this preliminary Program will be highly appreciated and taken into account.
 
 
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
 
 
MONDAY 16
Morning
 
9:00    . Wellcome speech
          Dr. Miguel Marquez
          Head of WHO/PAHO
          Office in Havana.
 
        . Acreditation of
          participants.
 
        . Overview of facilities
	  of the Center of
          Molecular Immunology.
 
 10:30 . Coffee Break
 
11:00 . Opening Conference.
          Fundamental obstacles
          for a rational thera-
          peutic manipulation of the
          repertoire of immune
          receptors.
          Dr. Agustmn Lage
          (Cuba)
 
12:00 . Discussion
 
 
1:00  . Lunch
                                                                                                                    identification of
                                                                                               human diseases
 
 
 
MONDAY 16						 
Afternoon						
Chairman: Dr. Cristina Mateo
 
2:00	. Enhancement of Antibody
	  Function.
	  Dr. Sherie L. Morrison 
	  (USA)
 
2:30	. Discussion
 
3:00	. Production of Humanised
	  Monoclonal Antibodies
	  for in vivo imaging and
	  therapy.
	  Dr. W.J. Harris (UK)
 
3:30	. General Discussion
 
4:00	. Coffee Break
 
4:30	. Monoclonal Antibodies from
	  combinatorial immunoglobulin
	  libraries. Prospects and 
	  current limitations.
	  Dr. Donald Marcus (USA)
 
5:00	. Discussion
 
5:30	. Antibody engineering. New
	  perspectives.
	  Dr. Andrew Griffiths (UK)
 
6:00	. Discussion
 
TUESDAY 17
Morning
Chairman: Dr. Amparo Macmas
 
9:00    . Natural Antibodies.
          Dr. G. Dighiero
          (France)                                                                            ven clone selection, affinity
 
 
9:30    . Discussion
10:00 . Coffee Break		
 
10:30 . Natural Antibodies,
        effective B-Cell
        repertoire develop-
        ment and autoimmune
        pathogenesis.
        Dr. Dan Holmberg
	   (Sweden)
 
11:00 . Discussion			
 
11:30 . Current status of
        idiotypic vaccines
        for  cancer therapy.
        Heinz Kohler
        (USA)
 
 
12:00 . Discussion
		
1:00    . Lunch                                                                                                internal world seems to
 
TUESDAY 17
Afternoon
Chairman: Dr. Amparo Macias
 
2:00  . MRL/lpr A5 a model for
        developing and testing
        models in immunotherapy.
        Dr. Carlos Martinez
          (Spain)
 
2:30	. Discussion
 
3:00	. The EGF-system as a 
	  target of cancer 
	  immunotherapy.
          Dr. Agustin Lage (Cuba)
 
3:30	. Discussion
 
4:00	. Coffee Break
 
4:30	. Recurrent Idiotypes and
	  idiotype-induced T Cell
	  suppresion concepts:
	  their impact in cancer
	  vaccine design.
	  Dr. Rolando Pirez (Cuba)
 
5:00	. General Discussion
 
 
WEDNESDAY 18
Morning
Chairman: Dr. Oscar Valiente
 
9:00    . Immunotherapy of human
	  tumor-associated
          gangliosides: a pilot
          study of the EORTC
          melanoma group.
          Dr. Jacques Portoukalian
          (France)
 
9:30    . Discussion                                                                                                               carrier sequences
 
10:00 . Coffee Break
 
10:30 . Towards v-gene repertoire
        of antiganglioside anti
          bodies.
          Dr. Jacques Aubry (France)
 
 
11:00 . Discussion
 
11:30 . Ganglioside-KLH conjugate
        vaccines plus a potent
        immunological adyuvant,
        results in prolonged IgM
        and IgG antibody responses
        in patients with melanoma.
        Dr. Philip Livingston (USA)
 
12:00 . Discussion                                                                                                                     session about vaccine                                                                   design will
 
 
1:00	. Lunch
WEDNESDAY 18
Afternoon
Chairman: Dr. Oscar Valiente
 
2:00	. Characterization of
	  ganglioside expression
	  in human melanoma cells:
	  Immunological and 
	  biochemical analysis.
	  Dr. Tadashi Tai (Japan)
 
2:30	. Discussion
 
3:00	. Monosialoganglioside,
	  GM3 and derivatives as
	  targets for cancer 
	  immunotherapy.
	  Dr. Luis E. Fernandez (Cuba)
 
3:30	. Discussion
 
4:00	. Coffee Break
 
4:30	. Computer-assisted modeling
	  of ganglioside antigens: 
	  energetic mapping of self
	  epitopes.
	  Dr. Juan D. Garrido (Cuba)
 
5:00	. Discussion
 
5:30	. Selection of carriers, 
	  adjuvants and potentiators
	  for new vaccines.
	  Dr. Gustavo Sierra (Cuba)
 
6:00	. General Discussion
 
 
THURSDAY 19
Morning
Chairman: Dr. Ana M. Vazquez (Cuba)
 
9:00    . T-Cell receptor variable
          gene usage in tumor infil-
          trating lymphocytes in
          malignant melanoma.
          Dr. Jesper Zeuthen
	  (Denmark)
 
9:30    . Discussion
 
10:00 . Coffee Break
 
10:30 . Anti B-7 therapeutics.
        The therapeutic use of
        recent knowledge about
        the CD28-B7 pathway.
        Dr. James W. Larrick (USA)
 
11:00 . Discussion
 
11:30 . The dual role of the
        immune system in tumor
        development.
        Dr. Christiane D.
        Pasqualini (Argentina)
 
12:00 . Discussion
 
1:00    . Lunch
 
 
THURSDAY 19
Afternoon
Chairman: Dr. Ana M. Vazquez
 
2:00	. New anti IL-6 and 
	  immunoprotocol for
	  treatment of AIDS
	  lymphoma. A model for
	  anti-growth factor
	  immunotherapy.
	  Dr. Peter Biberfeld (Sweden)
 
2:30	. Discussion
 
3:00	. The treatment of lymphoma
	  with anti-CD6 monoclonal
	  antibodies.
	  Dr. Carlos Garcma (Cuba)
 
3:30	. Discussion
 
4:00	. Coffee Break
 
4:30	. Expression of Antibody
	  Fragments in E. Coli.
	  Dr. Jorge Gavilondo (Cuba)
 
5:00	. General Discussion
 
 
FRIDAY 20
Morning
""Buffer" Session: topics to be  The morning session is
announced.
 
FRIDAY 20
Afternoon
 
2:00	. Visit to biotechnology
          facilities in the west
          zone of Havana.
 
4:00    . Concluding session.
 
 



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