This is a request for partial funding for a conference on """"""""The Impact of Nutritional Status on Immune Function and Health"""""""" to be held in Saxons River, Vermont on July 5-10, 2003 under the auspices of FASEB. There is a dynamic link between immune status and nutritional status, the alteration of which affects the health of a substantial portion of Americans. Even modest deficits in nutrients can substantially alter cell and antibody mediated responses creating greater secondary infections and compromising health. Chronic diseases also alter nutritional status (e.g., AIDS, cancer, renal disease, GI disorders, alcoholism) that, in turn, affect immune defense. In the USA, overeating, high lipid diets and food allergies can heighten inflammatory responses. To take advantage of the resurgence of interest in nutritional-immunology, we will gather together pioneers in the field as well as new investigators to include basic scientists as well as clinicians to exchange ideas and form collaborations. Nutritional-immunologists have not had an opportunity to meet together in over a decade. We have also taken care to invite immunologists and specialists to emphasize the importance of identifying the mechanistic interactions of nutrients and cells of the immune system at the molecular level. There will be additional emphasis on developing interventions key to patient care. Session topics include (1) lectures on the fundamentals of T and B cell responses, inflammatory reactions, and gut immunology, (2) the role of cytokines and lipid mediators in regulation of inflammatory responses and metabolism, (3) nutrient modulation of molecular mechanisms involved regulation of cells of the immune system, (4) the impact of nutritional status on immune development and capacity especially in children, (5) the protective and deleterious impact of nutrients on immunosenescence, (6) the amplification of viral parasitic and bacterial infections by nutrients deficiencies, (7) reports from human trials on modifications of immune response and infections by nutrition, (8) impact of nutrients on neoplasma and autoimmunity, (9) modulation of inflammatory diseases by nutrients.
