ICS is pleased to announce we will host a guest symposium at the upcoming AAI meeting.  The symposium will be chaired by Carl Atkinson and Monica Olcina and is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors.  

The immunological reach of the contemporary complement system goes well beyond the surveillance of the vascular space into control of tissue immunity and the cell-intrinsic control of single cell physiology. Perturbations of systemic or local complement activities are associated with a broad range of human disease conditions and complement is thus recognized (again) as a valuable therapeutic target with renewed efforts to develop innovative approaches to re-set pathological complement activities across its functional locations. Importantly, these efforts now focus majorly on targeting complement successfully not just in rare but also in common diseases.

In this guest symposium, we will highlight the newest insights and unexpected activities of complement with a specific focus on how it – systemically and locally – responds to (micro)environmental cues, such as changes in diet, fibroblast activation, and tissue ageing. We also include recent exciting – and urgently needed and awaited insights – into the exact ligand specificity and signaling capacities of the anaphylatoxin receptors, which are often considered the most critical mediators or complement activities and a current focus for pharmacological interventions across a range of diseases. This balanced mix of presentations encompassing new biological insights on complement and efforts towards translational application shall spark the interest of immunologists and clinicians across disciplines. 

Ben Afzali, Erin West, Jessy Alexander, Claudia Kemper (Organizers)

Special Thanks 
to our Sponsors