Biological effects of the interferons and other cytokines

There were seven workshops that primarily concerned the biological effects of the interferons and the other cytokines. These were: Workshop 6, The refractory state in the reponse to interferons (IFNs) and antibodies in treated patients; Workshop 7, IFNs, multiple sclerosis, and the nervous system; Workshop 9, Viral inhibition of the response to IFNs and other cytokines; Workshop 10, Cell growth inhibition by IFNs and other cytokines; Workshop 12, Cytokines and cell death; Workshop 13, Interactions between cytokines; and, Workshop 14, Cytokine gene therapy. Summaries of each of these sessions follow.     

Meeting report: European Congress on Biotechnology 2009

Keynote lectures Sessions IP protection in the biotech and pharma industry Workshop: Scientific writing Workshop: Microreactors in applied biocatalysis     

High concordance between marker profiles of 22 human leukemia-lymphoma cell lines tested with the same monoclonal antibodies before and during the second international workshop on human differentiation antigens

Summary Our laboratory participated in the Second International Workshop and Conference on Human Leucocyte Differentiation Antigens. In this international study the reactivity profiles of monoclonal antibodies were analyzed on normal and malignant hematopoietic cells. The Workshop was divided into three categories: the T-cell, B-cell and myelomonocytic cell studies. We blindly tested 159 coded monoclonal antibodies of the panel for the T-cell study on 22 permanently established leukemia cell lines. The monoclonal antibodies were provided by the Workshop Committee and their reactivity with the target cells was visualized by standardized indirect immunofluorescence. After decoding it was recognized that 11 monoclonal antibodies had been examined on these cell lines prior to the Workshop. The reactivity of these 11 monoclonal antibodies was analyzed and compared with the earlier results. From a total of 217 paired tests done blindly in the Workshop study and prior to the Workshop, 191 tests (88%) did not show significantly different data. The possible reasons for discrepancies include nonspecific Fc-receptor-binding on some cell lines and a relatively nonspecific reactivity of some monoclonal antibodies.This analysis demonstrates the stability of the antigen expression on human leukemia-lymphoma cell lines grown at consistently optimal conditions, for the tests, using the same monoclonal antibodies as in the Workshop, had been performed 0.5–5 years prior to the Workshop study. On the other hand, nonspecific Fc-binding, wide specificity of monoclonal antibodies and a shift in antigen expression of the cells (due to poor growth conditions, involuntary induction of differentiation and other factors) must be taken into consideration upon immunological analysis.This study was supported in part by Veterans Administration RAG GrantH. G. D. is recipient of a Research Training Fellowship awarded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Dr 157/1-1)     

European coding system for tissues and cells: a challenge unmet?

The Comité Européen de Normalisation (European Committee for Standardization, CEN) Workshop on Coding of Information and Traceability of Human Tissues and Cells was established by the Expert Working Group of the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs of the European Commission (DG SANCO) to identify requirements concerning the coding of information and the traceability of human tissues and cells, and propose guidelines and recommendations to permit the implementation of the European Coding system required by the European Tissues and Cells Directive 2004/23/EC (ED). The Workshop included over 70 voluntary participants from tissue, blood and eye banks, national ministries for healthcare, transplant organisations, universities and coding organisations; mainly from Europe with a small number of representatives from professionals in Canada, Australia, USA and Japan. The Workshop commenced in April 2007 and held its final meeting in February 2008. The draft Workshop Agreement went through a public comment phase from 15 December 2007 until 15 January 2008 and the endorsement period ran from 9 April 2008 until 2 May 2008. The endorsed CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) set out the issues regarding a common coding system, qualitatively assessed what the industry felt was required of a coding system, reviewed coding systems that were put forward as potential European coding systems and established a basic specification for a proposed European coding system for human tissues and cells, based on ISBT 128, and which is compatible with existing systems of donation identification, traceability and nomenclatures, indicating how implementation of that system could be approached. The CWA, and the associated Workshop proposals with recommendations, were finally submitted to the European Commission and to the Committee of Member States that assists its management process under article 29 of the Directive 2004/23/EC on May 25 2008. In 2009 the European Commission initiated an impact assessment on the Workshop proposals and recommendations. In the absence of an agreed pan-European direction various initiatives have continued work using, adopting or adapting their preferred, or existing, methods.     

4(th) HUPO Brain Proteome Project Workshop in Munich, Germany

More than 70 interested colleagues attended the 4(th) Workshop of HUPO's Brain Proteome Project. The project was presented within nine talks mainly focusing on two running pilot studies as well as on data re-processing. A bioinformatics jamboree in Hinxton, UK, and the 5th Workshop taking place in Dublin next February were announced.     

Joint report of the Third International Workshop on Lymphocyte Alloantigens of the Horse, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, 25-27 April 1984

The Third International Workshop on Lymphocyte Alloantigens of the Horse was held on 25-27 April 1984 in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Twelve laboratories from five countries participated. The principal purpose of this Workshop was to determine the phenotypic and gene frequencies of the 10 equine lymphocyte antigens (ELA) and a non-ELA lymphocyte antigen, ELY-2.1, in several breeds of horse. A total of 86 alloantisera characterized in previous workshops were tested against lymphocytes from 1179 horses. In addition, several experimental antisera were also tested against the same panel of lymphocytes. As a result of analysis of these data, the Workshop recognized two new equine lymphocyte alloantigens: W11 of the ELA system, and ELY-1.1, an antigen not linked to the ELA system.     

On systems thinking, systems biology, and the in silico plant

The recent summary report of a Department of Energy Workshop on Plant Systems Biology (P.V. Minorsky [2003] Plant Physiol 132: 404-409) offered a welcomed advocacy for systems analysis as essential in understanding plant development, growth, and production. The goal of the Workshop was to consider methods for relating the results of molecular research to real-world challenges in plant production for increased food supplies, alternative energy sources, and environmental improvement. The rather surprising feature of this report, however, was that the Workshop largely overlooked the rich history of plant systems analysis extending over nearly 40 years (Sinclair and Seligman, 1996) that has considered exactly those challenges targeted by the Workshop. Past systems research has explored and incorporated biochemical and physiological knowledge into plant simulation models from a number of perspectives. The research has resulted in considerable understanding and insight about how to simulate plant systems and the relative contribution of various factors in influencing plant production. These past activities have contributed directly to research focused on solving the problems of increasing biomass production and crop yields. These modeling approaches are also now providing an avenue to enhance integration of molecular genetic technologies in plant improvement (Hammer et al., 2002).     

A report on the 3rd Workshop on Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue.

The 3rd Workshop on Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue was held at the National Institutes of Health from 16th to 18th November, 2000. The Workshop was sponsored by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIH Office of Rare Diseases, March of Dimes, Coalition for Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue, and the Foundation for Basic Cutaneous Research. It was supported by specific grants R13 AR46912 (US Public Health Service) and 4-FY00-4511 (March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation). The Workshop was divided into six sessions, featuring 29 invited presentations. In addition to the invited participants, more than eighty guests (scientists, NIH staff, and members of the Coalition for Heritable Disorders of Connective Tissue) attended.     

Joint Report of the Third International Workshop on Lymphocyte Alloantigens of the Horse, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, 25–27 April 1984

Summary. The Third International Workshop on Lymphocyte Alloantigens of the Horse was held on 25–27 April 1984 in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. Twelve laboratories from five countries participated. The principal purpose of this Workshop was to determine the phenotypic and gene frequencies of the 10 equine lymphocyte antigens (ELA) and a non-ELA lymphocyte antigen, ELY-2.1, in several breeds of horse. A total of 86 alloantisera characterized in previous workshops were tested against lymphocytes from 1179 horses. In addition, several experimental antisera were also tested against the same panel of lymphocytes. As a result of analysis of these data, the Workshop recognized two new equine lymphocyte alloantigens: W11 of the ELA system, and ELY-1.1, an antigen not linked to the ELA system.     

Radar aeroecology: exploring the movements of aerial fauna through radio-wave remote sensing

An international and interdisciplinary Radar Aeroecology Workshop was held at the National Weather Center on 5-6 March 2012 on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, OK, USA. The workshop brought together biologists, meteorologists, radar engineers and computer scientists from 22 institutions and four countries. A central motivation behind the Radar Aeroecology Workshop was to foster better communication and cross-disciplinary collaboration among a diverse spectrum of researchers, and promote a better understanding of the ecology of animals that move within and use the Earth's lower atmosphere (aerosphere).     

Functional genomics: strict tempo and hierarchical vocabularies

A report on the Comparative and Functional Genomics Workshop, Hinxton, UK, 2-5 November 2003.     

Rhizobium goes genomic

A report from the Rhizobium Functional Genomics Workshop, Sevilla, Spain, 15-16 September 2000.     

The human leucocyte differentiation antigens （HLDA） workshops： the evolving role of antibodies in research, diagnosis and therapy

The 8^th International Workshop on Human Leucocyte Differentiation Antigens （chaired by HZ and managed by BS） was run over a 4-year period and culminated in a conference in December 2004. Here we review the achievements of the HLDA Workshops and provide links to information on CD molecules and antibodies against them, including the 93 new CDs assigned in the 8^th Workshop. We consider what remains to be achieved （including an estimate of the number of leucocyte surface molecules still to be discovered）, and how the field can best move forward.     

Insects on the rise

The Insect Genomics Workshop was held in Arlington, Virginia, from 28 to 30 October 2001.     

Slide-based cytometry and predictive medicine: the 8th Leipziger workshop and the 1st international workshop on slide-based cytometry.

Slide-based cytometry (SBC) and related techniques offer unique tools to perform complex diagnostic procedures at very early disease stages. Multicolor or polychromatic analysis of cells by SBC is of special importance, not only as a cytomics technology platform, but for patients with low blood volume such as neonates. The exact knowledge of the location of each cell on the slide allows the specimen to be restained and subsequently reanalyzed. These separate measurements can be fused to one data file (merging), increasing the information obtained per cell. Relocalization and optical evaluation of the cells, a typical feature of SBC, can be of integral importance for cytometric analysis. Predictive medicine is aimed at the detection of changes in the patient's state prior to the manifestation of deterioration or improvement. Such instances are concerned with multiorgan failure in sepsis or noninfectious posttraumatic shock in intensive care patients, or the pretherapeutic identification of high risk patients in cancer cytostatic therapy. Early anti-infectious or anti-shock therapy, as well as curative chemotherapy in combination with stem cell transplantation, may provide better survival chances for the patient as well as concomitant cost containment. Predictive medicine-guided, individualized, early reduction or cessation of therapy may lower or abrogate potential therapeutic side effects (individualized medicine). With the 8th Leipziger Workshop and the 1st International Workshop on Slide-Based Cytometry, cytomics technologies moved to more practical applications in the clinics and the clinical laboratory. This development will be continued in 2004, at the upcoming Leipziger Workshop and the International Workshop on Slide-Based Cytometry.     

Bioinformatics meets systems biology

A report on the Fifth International Workshop on Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, Berlin, Germany, 22-25 August 2005.     

Decoding the epigenetic effects of chromatin

A report on the Alan Wolffe EMBO Workshop on 'Chromatin and Epigenetics', Heidelberg, Germany, 19-22 June 2003.     

Modeling molecular networks: a systems biology approach to gene function

A report on the European Science Foundation Workshop on Modeling of Molecular Networks, Granada, Spain, 11-14 June 2002.     

Report on the 2nd Workshop on Fluorescence Chemosensors and Bioimaging,Dalian, China: one participant’s view

Abstract

I was invited to this Workshop, because I have published papers on the mechanisms of action of small molecule fluorescent probes used with living cells. The Workshop provided an opportunity to interact with some significant figures in the chemosensor and bioimaging field from across the planet; to spend time with a large, friendly and active group of local investigators and their graduate students; and to take a brief look at a vibrant modern city. Many scientific connections were made and collaborations planned for the Biological Stain Commission and for my own future work.