Advances in Checkpoints Immunology from Autoimmunity to Oncology to Infectious Diseases is a conference focused on Autoimmunity and opportunities that stimulate new directions for investigation in Oncology and other diseases.
The mechanisms by which checkpoints regulate immune responses is burgeoning; molecular insights into checkpoint signaling, and complexities regarding degrees of checkpoint regulation in immune exhaustion vs. immune homeostasis are coming to light. The use of checkpoint antagonist therapeutics in Oncology has ushered in a transformation for treatment and led to major leaps in our understanding of checkpoint functions, both in health and in the context of immune responses to tumors. There are also rapidly emerging insights into the role of checkpoints in immune dysfunction seen in Autoimmune diseases, and checkpoint-targeted therapies for Autoimmune diseases are now in clinical studies. Further, treatment-associated autoimmunity syndromes comprise an important adverse event for cancer immunotherapy. While these syndromes are currently poorly understood, their analysis promises to shed new insights into improving tolerability of cancer treatment as well as into immune dysfunction in Autoimmune diseases.
