Why Mosquitoes Matter

Recorded on February 19, 2017

Pre Meeting Workshop

Malaria: From Innovation to Eradication

Feb 19 - Feb 23, 2017 | Kampala, Uganda

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This Keystone Symposia SciTalk was made possible by a grant from the

The goal of the pre meeting workshop is to provide valuable background on what to expect for the upcoming Keystone Symposia. The intent is to bring participants up to speed on the concepts to be presented at the meeting and enable the them to maximize their experience.

Novel Tools and Genomics Approaches Supporting Vaccine Development

Recorded on May 22, 2016

Pre Meeting Workshop

Vaccines for Tropical Diseases

May 22 - May 26, 2016 | Cape Town , South Africa

The goal of the pre meeting workshop is to provide valuable background on what to expect for the upcoming Keystone Symposia. The intent is to bring participants up to speed on the concepts to be presented at the meeting and enable the them to maximize their experience.

This Keystone Symposia SciTalk was made possible by a grant from the

Immunogen Design

Recorded on March 26, 2017

Pre Meeting Workshop

HIV VACCINES

March 26 - March 30, 2017

Steamboat Springs, Colorado, USA

This Keystone Symposia SciTalk was made possible by a grant from the

The goal of the pre meeting workshop is to provide valuable background on what to expect for the upcoming Keystone Symposia. The intent is to bring participants up to speed on the concepts to be presented at the meeting and enable the them to maximize their experience.

SCARF1 in the Pathogenesis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

SCARF1 in the Pathogenesis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
April Jorge1, Taotao Lao1, Terry K. Means1,2, Zaida G. Ramirez-Ortiz1,3
1 Massachusetts General Hospital. Department of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology. Charlestown, MA 02129
2 Sanofi Immunology and Inflammation Research Therapeutic Area. Cambridge, MA 02139
3 University of Massachusetts Medical School. Department of Medicine. Worcester MA 01605


Defects at the cellular level in the detection and clearance of apoptotic cells (ACs) contribute to the pathogenesis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). We previously identified Scavenger Receptor Class F 1 (SCARF1) expressed on dendritic cells (DCs) where it functions as a receptor for C1q and mediates capture and engulfment of apoptotic cells. Deficiency in SCARF1 results in impaired removal of ACs (Figure 1) SCARF1 deficient mice develop a lupus-like autoimmune disease with symptoms similar to human SLE, such as production of anti-nuclear and anti-chromatin antibodies, nephritis and dermatitis. However, the role of human SCARF1 in the removal of ACs is unknown. We hypothesize a dysregulation of SCARF1 in SLE patients results in the accumulation of ACs and contributes to SLE disease activity. In order to identify which cells express SCARF1, we used flow cytometry from healthy donors PBMCs. We found that SCARF1 was highly expressed on DCs and monocytes. Treatment with ACs results in a significant decrease in the cell surface expression of SCARF1. Furthermore, using Nanostring and qPCR, we observed an upregulation in autophagy, TLR, and anti-inflammatory genes in cells expressing high levels of SCARF1. Next, we tested whether soluble SCARF1 (sSCARF1) can interact with ACs. Opsonizing ACs for 30 min with recombinant SCARF1 results in an upregulation of SCARF1 expression measured by flow cytometry and qPCR. Lastly, we obtained serum and PBMCs from SLE patient samples. First, we measured the expression of SCARF1 by flow cytometry in the PMBCs. Unexpectedly, there was no significant difference in SCARF1 expression in the SLE patients compared to healthy donors. Next, we measured the concentration of sSCARF1 in the serum by ELISA. We observed a significant increase in sSCARF1 in the SLE patients compared to control patients. We also detected anti-SCARF1 autoantibodies in 26% of SLE patients, which was associated with dsDNA antibody positivity and higher SLE disease activity. Our data demonstrates that human SCARF1 is an ACs receptor in DCs, playing a role in maintaining tolerance and homeostasis.

Targeting Ezh2 Selectively Alters Intratumoral T Regulatory Cells to Enhance Cancer Immunity [POSTER PRESENTATION]

Recorded during the Keystone Symposia meeting:

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy: Taking a Place in Mainstream Oncology

Mar 19 - Mar 23, 2017 | Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Targeting TNF-α and IFN-γ to Tumor Vessels Confer Efficacy to Adoptive T cell Therapy [POSTER PRESENTATION]

Recorded during the Keystone Symposia meeting:

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy: Taking a Place in Mainstream Oncology

Mar 19 - Mar 23, 2017 | Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Broadening the Immunotherapeutic Window of Cancers with Low Mutational Loads using Subclinical Doses of Radiation [POSTER PRESENTATION]

Recorded during the Keystone Symposia meeting:

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy: Taking a Place in Mainstream Oncology

Mar 19 - Mar 23, 2017 | Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Natural Tumor-Reactive T-Cells Can Be Rapidly Expanded from Human Unfractionated Peripheral Blood and Licensed for Adoptive Immunotherapy [POSTER PRESENTATION]

Recorded during the Keystone Symposia meeting:

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy: Taking a Place in Mainstream Oncology

Mar 19 - Mar 23, 2017 | Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Designed Ankyrin Repeat Proteins (DARPins) as Recognition Motifs in Chimeric Antigen Receptors [SHORT TALK]

Recorded during the Keystone Symposia meeting:

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy: Taking a Place in Mainstream Oncology

Mar 19 - Mar 23, 2017 | Whistler, British Columbia, Canada

Shared H3.3 K27M Mutation Is Recognized as a Neoantigen by Specific TCRs and Leads to Upregulation of PD-L1 on Glioma Cells [POSTER PRESENTATION]

Recorded during the Keystone Symposia meeting:

Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy: Taking a Place in Mainstream Oncology

Mar 19 - Mar 23, 2017 | Whistler, British Columbia, Canada