TheSocietyforMucosalImmunology?s(SMI)biennialmeeting,the18thInternationalCongressofMucosal Immunology(ICMI)iswidelyrecognizedasthepre?eminentconferenceonmucosalimmunologycombininghigh? qualitybasicsciencewiththeclinicalsituation.Scientificsessionswillpromoteexcellenceinresearchand educationinthefieldofmucosalimmunologyandwillfosterfuturecommunicationandscientificadvancement amongimmunologists.ThisICMIfollows17successfulbiennialmeetings,recentlyheldinBerlinin2015, Vancouverin2013,inParisin2011,inBostonin2009andinTokyoin2007,whereinnearly1,000scientistsinthe broadfieldsofmucosalimmunologyassembled. ICMI2017,co?chairedbyDrs.MarshaWills?KarpandBrianKelsall,willdeliveranotherexcitingscientificmeeting. Themeetingincludes60keynoteandplenaryspeakerswhowillpresentnewinformationinareasrelatingtothe molecularbasisofmicrobialimmuneinteractionsatthemucosalsurfaces,newinsightsintotheunderstandingof mucosaldiseasesofhumans,regulatorycellsandtheirrelationshiptomucosalimmunology,mechanismsof inflammation,theepithelialbarrierinimmunity,innateimmunity,immunoglobulinandB?cellfunctions,mucosal vaccinesandgenetics. Thesesessionswillbeenhancedbyanadditional30invitedspeakerswhowillchairabstract?drivensessionson antigenuptake,immunecellmigration,innatelymphoidcells,dendriticcells,monocytesandmacrophages, mucosalBcells,effectorTcellsandcytokines,epithelialcellsininnateimmunity,mucosaltolerance,mucosal infections,HIV,respiratoryvirusinfections,mucosalvaccines,immunologyoftheeye,immunologyofthe urogenitaltract,celiacdisease,inflammatoryboweldisease(basicandclinical),foodallergy,immunologyof asthma(basicandclinical),host/microbiotainteractions,MALT+organogenesis,mucosalimmunologyinthe neonate,agingandmucosalimmunity,amongothertopics. TheeducationalcontentofICMI2017wasdevelopedbySMI?sInternationalPlanningCommittee,whichis comprisedofleadersinthemucosalimmunologyfield.Asexperts,committeemembersengageindiscussionsin whichtopicsareidentifiedanddevelopedintosessions.Committeemembersdrawfromtheirextensive knowledge,andalsoconsultevaluationsandtopicsuggestionscollectedfrompreviouscongressestocreatea programthataddressesthemostrelevantandpressingtopicsinmucosalimmunology.Theyalsorefertodata collectedfrommembershipsurveysrequestingtopicsuggestionsandperceivedgapsinknowledge. Inadditiontohighlightingthebestscience,ICMI2017isanincubatorfordevelopingscientistsandpractitioners aliketomeetwithoneanotheralongwithrepresentativesofrelevantbiotechnologyandpharmaceutical industry.Thefirstthreedaysincludeposterandoralabstractpresentationstogiveyounginvestigatorsthe changetohavetheirworkpresentedandcritiqued.SMItakesaspecificinterestinthedevelopmentofyoung investigatorsandprovidestravelawardstothemtosupplementtheircoststoattendthemeeting. Inadditiontoencouragingtheparticipationofnewinvestigators,SMIrecognizestheimportanceofparticipation fromawiderangeofdemographics.EveryeffortismadetoincludeadiverserepresentationwithintheICMI InternationalPlanningCommitteeandtheICMI?sScientificProgram.Thesuccessoftheprevious17ICMI meetingsatteststothiseffort.SupportisnowrequestedtosupportICMI2017,whichwillcontinuethisvaluable effort.
Whilemostimmunologiststypicallystudyimmuneresponsesinthespleen,lymphnodesorblood,mucosal immunologistsfocusonthesitesincontactwiththeexternalenvironmentwhichareexposedtocontinuous antigenicbombardment.Theprincipaltissuesinvolvedarethegutandthelung,butthereisalsomajorinterest intheupperrespiratorytract,urogenitaltractandtheeye.Thesesurfacesareimportantasthefirstlineof defenseagainstanarrayofpathogenicmicrobes,andremarkably,themucosalimmunesysteminhealthcan distinguishbetweenpathogens,thecommensalfloraandinnocuousdietaryantigens,andmountanappropriate responsetoeachtypeofchallenge.Thegutisalsothemajorlymphoidorganinthebody,containingthemajority ofantibodysecretingcellsand70percentofthelymphoidtissue. Decipheringthecueswhichseparatetolerancefromeffectiveimmunityatmucosalsurfacesliesatthecoreofthe ICMI.Thecorollaryofthis,however,isthatmanypathogenssuccessfullycolonizemucosalsurfaces,oruse mucosalsurfacestoenterthetissues,soelucidatinghowthesepathogensdothis,andthemechanismsof effectiveimmunityremainimportant.Atthesametime,thechallengesofprotectingmucosalsurfacesfrom infectionthroughvaccinationimmediatelycomeupagainsttheproblemoftolerance. Therevolutioninmucosalimmunology/microbiologyinthelastfewyearsisevidenceoftheappreciationofthe importantroleofthecommensalflorainmucosalimmunity.Themicrobialbiomeanditsroleinhealthand diseaseisnowbeingrecognized.Atthesametime,whileithasbeenlongappreciatedthatinappropriatetissue damagingimmuneresponsescanoccurtofoodssuchaswheatandcow?smilk,itisnowobviousthat inappropriateimmuneresponses,oftengeneticallydetermined,areinvolvedininflammatoryboweldisease. TheICMIeducationalinitiativeisbasedonrecentresearchanddataregardingdocumentedunmetmedicalneed inthefieldofmucosalimmunology.Since1990mucosalimmunologyhasexpandedfromwhatmanyconsidereda nichedisciplinetooneofthehottestareasinimmunobiologytoday.Between1980and1990400paperswere listedonPubMedasbeingrelatedtomucosalimmunology;between1990and2000thatnumbergrewto1,000. Moresignificantstillisthegrowthbetween2000and2007whenthenumberofmucosalimmunologypaperson PubMedexceeded15,000.Thegrowthtrendhascontinuedtothepresent.
