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29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology Expert Rev. Obstet. Gynecol. 4(5), 499–500 (2009)
Silvia Daher† and Surendra Sharma Author for correspondence Department of Obstetrics, São Paulo Federal University, São Paulo, Brazil Tel.: +55 115 579 2353 Fax: +55 115 579 2353
[email protected] †
29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology (ASRI) Orlando, FL, USA, 5–9 June 2009 The 29th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology was held on 5–9 June 2009, in Orlando (FL, USA). Peter Hansen and Mary Brown co-chaired the conference. The co-chairs and a scientific committee put together an outstanding program that included the most contemporary topics in reproductive immunology, with special focus on intrauterine infections and reproductive anomalies. A highlight of the meeting was the pre-meeting postgraduate course, which was attended by a large group of young investigators and trainees. The participants in the postgraduate course and the main meeting represented an international milieu of investigators, students and health professionals.
The event began with the postgraduate course, ‘In vivo approaches and new biology at the maternal–fetal interface: from small and large animals to humans’, organized by Surendra Sharma (Brown University, RI, USA), Gerard Chaouat (INSERM, Clamart, France) and David G Clark (McMaster University, ON, Canada). During the first block of presentations, both human and animal models for the study of pregnancy, preeclampsia and preterm birth were discussed. Ultrasound approaches were reviewed and exhibited in a special demonstration session. The second group of talks explored different topics on maternal–fetal adaptations, including genetic/epigenetic, immunological and psychological aspects. A closing lecture presented experimental results on new drugs for implantation failure. The annual meeting program covered basic and clinical themes on reproductive immuno logy and sexually transmitted diseases, including discussions on approaches and applications of new technologies. The congress was inaugurated by Charles Wira, President of the American Society for Reproductive Immunology (ASRI), who also chaired a presidential symposium that featured the cuttingedge topic of genital tract propagation and transmission of HIV. Three outstanding talks covered organ-specific HIV-1 transmission in www.expert-reviews.com
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the male and female genital tracts and preventive approaches (see the meeting program for details [1]). Eight plenary sessions were presented, and after each one, there was an open discussion, which was considered by many to be very productive. Preterm birth was the subject of one of them, including a presentation on preventive treatment, and another was on Toll-like receptor signaling. Similarly, a session was devoted to male reproductive immunology. The highly interesting talks covered methodology of sperm manipulation and physiopathological aspects of the fertilization process. An update on endometrial function was the theme of another plenary session. Stem cells, endometrial regeneration and microRNA influence on normal and disease status were discussed. Emphasizing the relevance of infection on pregnancy disorders, two different sessions were presented. One focused on chlamydial infection in female fertility and health and the other explored the increasingly pertinent topic of sexually transmitted diseases. New concepts on the physiopathology of human papilo mavirus and HIV infections were discussed in two outstanding presentations. A plenary session was dedicated to a very controversial topic – autoimmunity and pregnancy. The speakers presented their most recent results
© 2009 Expert Reviews Ltd
ISSN 1747-4108
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Meeting Report
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on the effect of antiphospholipid antibodies on trophoblast differentiation and invasion, showing the development of important local inflammatory response. Some innovative experiments suggest a relevant role for IL-6 in this process. This was followed by a clinical talk on the relationship between rheumatoid disease and pregnancy. A session entitled ‘New models for pregnancy perturbations’ was very innovative. Kevin Sinclair (Nottingham University, Nottingham, UK) presented an interesting lecture on the effects of periconceptional diet and epigenetic programming on oocyte and embryo implantation. Karen McDowell (Kentucky University, KY, USA) delivered an enlightening conference on mare reproductive loss syndrome, a possible model for environmental causes of abortion. The last plenary session of the meeting was on preeclampsia, a major cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Ananth Karumanchi (Harvard Medical School, MA, USA) presented data on the significance of antiangiogenic factors in preeclampsia. Zhongbin Lai (Women and Infants Hospital, RI, USA) presented his exciting data on a new mouse model for preeclampsia based on the effects of hypoxia on pregnancy. Kirk Conrad (University of Florida, FL, USA) discussed the role of relaxin and circulatory factors in preeclampsia. A traditional highlight of the Annual ASRI Meeting is the J Christian Herr Lecture. Each year, this prize is awarded to a member of ASRI or the International Society for Immunology of Reproduction (ISIR), who has made an outstanding contribution to basic or applied research in reproductive immunology. This year, the prize went to Lucia Mincheva-Nilsson (Umeá University, Sweden). She gave a brilliant lecture summarizing her work, entitled ‘Placenta-derived exosomes: from biogenesis to immunomodulatory role in pregnancy’. The presentation and discussion of abstracts is always a highlight of the ASRI Meeting. All of the abstracts were published in the American Journal of Reproductive Immunology. The posters were widely appreciated by the viewers, who enjoyed a wine and cheese reception during the poster viewing session. There were two special sessions for discussion with the authors. Moreover, selected abstracts were presented at the end of the plenary sessions. Five of them, selected to compete for the Dr John Gusdon Memorial New Investigator Award, were presented in a special session. This award is given to a new investigator with trainee status, who has made a significant contribution by presenting an outstanding research paper, during the annual meeting of the ASRI. This year’s finalists Reference 1
American Society for Reproductive Immunology http://theasri.org/about/about.html
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were: Asreid Friebe (McMaster University, ON, Canada); Maria E Solano (Charité University Medicine, Germany); Karen E Racicot (Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA); Ingrid Cardenas (Yale University, CT, USA) and Satyan Kalkunte (Women and Infants Hospital, RI, USA). The winner was Racicot, who presented her study on ‘Characterization of an MX1-positive population of exosomes secreted by uterine glandular epithelial cells’. Congratulations to all the finalists, particularly to Racicot and her mentor, Troy Ott. One of the major goals of the Annual ASRI Meeting is to stimulate young investigators and create opportunities for their progress. Keeping this in mind, there was a luncheon workshop for discussion on ‘Funding opportunities for reproductive immunology research’. Koji Yoshinaga (NIH, MD, USA) and Michael Katz (March of Dimes, NY, USA) presented the funding opportunities offered by the NIH and March of Dimes, respectively. The audience was invited to participate in a round-table discussion. In keeping with the fine tradition of the society, there was an award banquet at the end of the meeting. Travel grants and special awards were bestowed at this ceremony. One of these was the Blackwell Munksgaard Award, which is offered annually to a senior investigator who had made outstanding contributions to the field of reproductive immunology. This year’s winner was Koji Koyama from Japan. Additionally, Joanne Kwak-Kim, Rosalind Franklin University, Chicago Medical School (IL, USA) was the winner of the Outstanding Service Award, presented by Sharma. Udo Market (Placenta–Labor, Friedrich-Schiller Universität, Jena, Germany) was the winner of the 2010 J Christian Herr Award. In summary, the 2009 ASRI meeting was recognized as an outstanding conference and we extend our hearty congratulations to the organizers, Peter Hansen and Mary Brown. Next year’s ASRI Annual meeting will be held on 17–20 May 2010 in Nemacolin, PA, USA, with Ott as the Chair. Please visit our website to stay updated with the activities of ASRI this coming year, as well as announcements about other society activities [1] . Financial & competing interests disclosure
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Affiliations •
Silvia Daher, MD, PhD Department of Obstetrics, São Paulo Federal University, São Paulo, Brazil Tel.: +55 115 579 2353 Fax: +55 115 579 2353
[email protected]
•
Surendra Sharma, MD, PhD Department of Pediatrics, Women and Infants’ Hospital, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Expert Rev. Obstet. Gynecol. 4(5), (2009)
