On June 18, ICIS hosted the first-ever IL-9-focused symposium at the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS) annual meeting. Devotees of all things IL-9 gathered in San Francisco to hear about “IL-9: from birth to breath.”
The symposium was organized by IL-9 guru Mark Kaplan and newcomer (and Signals+ Co-Editor in Chief) Daniella Schwartz. The talks did in fact start with “birth”: Nardhy Gomez-Lopez presented exciting data implicating IL-9 as a major driver of preterm labor, a major health issues that affects over 10% of pregnancies. Matthew Olson discussed the cooperative effects of IL-1β and IL-2 in promoting Th9 differentiation, while Paula Licona-Limón described a novel Th9 lineage-specific role for PKA/PKIB signaling. Daniella Schwartz presented data on the role of IL-9 epigenetics and signaling in autoimmune diseases, while Lionel Apetoh described his seminal work establishing the antitumor roles of IL-9-producing T cells. Finally, ending at “breath”, Josalyn Cho presented her recent findings implicating allergen-induced IL-9 as a major driver of the shift from non-asthmatic allergy to allergic asthma, through the profiling of human airway-resident Th2 cells.
Scheduled towards the end of the member society symposia and immediately before the keynote address, the ICIS/FOCIS mini-symposium was very well-attended. Attendees were engaged, and speakers received a broad range of questions ranging from basic mechanisms to clinical implications. After the meeting speakers traded thoughts on IL-9 over dinner at The Stinking Rose while Mark and Daniella distributed IL-9 swag. While Th9 cells may sometimes be seen as the “black sheep” of T helper subsets – somewhere between a stable subset and a transient state – IL-9 is enjoying a renaissance as its functions in health and disease becomes more apparent. While this may have been the first gathering of IL-9 devotees, the organizers sincerely hope that our black sheep will finally be admired for her beauty, and they are grateful to the ICIS for making the IL-9 symposium a reality.
Post symposium non-CME eligible quiz.
1. FOCIS actually stands for:
a. For Our Cytokines It’s Safety
b. Follicle Off Center In Scranton
c. For Our Cytokines I Shout
2. IL-9 is…
a. a great cytokine
b. the greatest cytokine
3. An IL-9 symposium, would most obviously be sponsored by…
a. ICIS, the International Cytokine and Interferon Society
b. The Foundation for Underrepresented Cytokines
c. The Society for Troubled Chairs
d. The Ninth Circle
e. Steve’s Bakery