The secrets of the immune system explored using Nobel prize-winning technology
During a conference at Karolinska Institutet, researchers will discuss how new technology may contribute to advancements within immunology. These advancements may in turn have a major impact on the treatment of diseases such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
Journalists are welcome to attend the conference and interview the participants.
Conference: Novel fluorescence-based methods in immunology
Time: 9–10 February 2015
Place: Stockholm, Karolinska Institutet Campus Solna, Tomtebodavägen 6, Samuelsson Lecture Hall.
The inventors of the nanoscope were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year. The new technology of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy has made it possible to study molecules on a nanoscale. It is for example possible to look at how proteins form aggregates in Parkinson’s disease, or what the connections between the nerve cells of the brain look like. This technology is now also being used within immunology to study the cells of the immune system. Much of the conference at Karolinska Institutet will be devoted to this method. In addition to a lecture by Hans Blom, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SciLifeLab, Eilon Sherman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, will also talk about how immunology can benefit from this technology.
There are also several other methods based on fluorescent light. Theo Lasser, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland, will talk more about this in his lecture Seeing is believing. The whole conference focuses on how technologies such as these can be used to study the molecular dynamics of the immune system. Subjects include the movement of immune cells and how they are controlled in terms of time and space. Using these new methods, it is possible to find out where on the surface of the cells the receptors are placed and how these signal and activate the cells.
"Molecular dynamics is a relatively new concept in immunology. The fact that the cells of the immune system are mobile is a great difference compared to other cells. The immune cells course through the body, scanning other cells to see if there are any foreign substances found. Using these new fluorescent technologies we can learn much more about the cells than we could with previous methods,” says Sofia Johansson, Department of Microbiology, Tumour and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, who is organising the conference together with Elina Staaf from the same department.
Björn Önfelt, KTH and SciLifeLab, has developed a method that allows researchers to study a single cell and the activity that takes place around it. This is made possible through a microchip that contains a great number of wells, where one cell is placed in each well. More on this subject during the conference.
These methods will to a great extent be used for basic research within immunology. By extension, this will also lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of diseases. There are already cell-based methods of cancer treatment. It is possible to transplant immune cells between people. It is also possible to extract a patient’s own cells, treat them outside of the body and then retransplant them into the patient. These are areas that can be expanded with the help of the new knowledge that is being developed.
Programme
If you have any questions, please contact:
Research Associate Sofia Johansson
+46 73-634 16 48
sofia.e.johansson@ki.se
Postdoc Elina Staaf
+46 8-524 863 70
elina.staaf@ki.se
Press Officer Sabina Bossi
+46 8-524 860 66 or +46 70-614 60 66
sabina.bossi@ki.se
Karolinska Institutet is one of the world's leading medical universities. Its vision is to significantly contribute to the improvement of human health. Karolinska Institutet accounts for over 40 per cent of the medical academic research conducted in Sweden and offers the country´s broadest range of education in medicine and health sciences. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet selects the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine.
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