This proposal is to request support for a Keystone meeting entitled ?Mast Cells,? Basophils, and IgE: Host Defense and Disease?, which will be held in Copper Mountain? from January 20-24, 2007. Mast cells, basophils, and IgE form a strongly conserved? interface between innate and adaptive mucosal immune systems. Each cell is a? sensitive detector of environmental perturbations, to which they respond by generating? and releasing a distinctive profile of mediators. The development of progressively more? sophisticated experimental models has permitted the recognition of clear-cut and novel? functions for mast cells and basophils in mediating effector cell recruitment, facilitating? antigen presentation, inducing and amplifying immune responses, and modulating host? responses in disease models. This program will focus on new aspects of cell? development and trafficking of both lineages, homeostatic controls of cell activation, indepth? examination of mast cell and basophil-derived mediators, the roles of these cells? in both allergic (IgE-mediated) and non-allergic disease, and therapeutic modulation of? their roles in both mouse models and human disease.
