15th International Conference on Complement Therapeutics

Program

Important: The program online is copyrighted to each author and should not be copied and pasted!
  • Aegean Conferences Communication  

    Please note that our registration fees include hotel accommodations and therefore no additional reservations are required. The only communication you should receive is from Aegean Conferences and if your paying by credit card, payment receipts from Conferex LLC. SCAM Alert: Beware of any third party companies calling and/or emailing you to reserve hotel accommodations for you during our conferences

    Registration 

    In completing the online registration form you are not automatically accepted to attend the conference nor are you automatically registered for the conference. Final registration to the conference shall occur after you have been accepted and notified by the conference chair of your acceptance to the conference. If you have been charged the registration fee but your attendance has been declined you will be reimbursed in full.

    Airport

    Please note that Crete has two airports. You want to arrive at the Chania International Airport (code: CHQ) and take a taxi from the airport to the hotel (~60 EUR). You may also rent a car at the airport and drive to the conference center. Alternatively the other airport (HER) is a two-hour drive to the Conference Center.

    Accommodation Tax

    An accommodation tax of € 4.00 per room night will apply, and will be charged automatically to the individual guest’s extras accounts. 

    Accommodations

    Accommodations for the conference are at the Avra Imperial Hotel.  The hotel is located in Kolymbari, 39 km from Chania International Airport, 23 km from the Souda Harbor, and 23 km west of Chania town center.  Please take a taxi from the airport to the conference venue. 

    Arrival and Check-in

    It is expected that attendees will arrive/check-in after 3:00 PM. Anyone arriving after 10:30 pm on the first day should make alternative dinner arrangements.

    Conference Venue

    The Avra Imperial Conference Center is located at the hotel. 

    Handicapped Accessibility

    The site is fully handicapped accessible.

    Oral Presentations

    Speakers are asked to bring their USB flash drive to the reception desk at least 30 minutes prior to the session.  The allocated time for all presentations, unless otherwise indicated, includes five minutes Q&A.

    City Tour

    Buses for the city tour will depart from the hotel front lobby at 3:30 pm. Badges are required for participation. 

    Breakfast

    Breakfast for registered participants and registered accompanying persons will be served at the Avra Imperial Hotel main restaurant during the hours scheduled in this program. 

    Lunches/Informal Discussions

    Lunches for registered participants and registered accompanying persons will be served during the times indicated in this program at the main restaurant and only after the session has finished. Badges are required for admission.

    Dinners/Informal Discussions

    Three of the dinners/informal discussion will be served during the times indicated in the program. Vegetarian entrees are available only upon request in advance of the meeting.  Please contact info@aegeanconferences.org. 

    Internet, Phone, & Computer

    Wireless Internet access is located throughout the conference center free of charge during meeting hours. There are computers available in the hotel’s business center for the use of the attendees. Phone service is available for an additional charge from your hotel room.

    Certificate of Participation

    A Certificate of Participation will be distributed to a participant for those sessions that the participant has attended. A participant must attend an entire session to receive credit for that particular session. Late arrivals and early departures from a session will preclude a participant from receiving credit for that session. 

    Passports and Visa
    Participants are advised to check on their individual requirements before attending any Aegean Conference meeting. Visa applications should be filed at the nearest Greek Embassy in the country in which you are resident, at least three months prior to the anticipated departure date.

    Letters of Invitation
    Letters of invitation to attend an Aegean Conference meeting will be issued only to:

    • Authors of accepted abstracts
    • Fully paid registrants

    Note: Invitations are issued at the discretion of Aegean Conferences, and requests for letters will be accepted only 60 days prior to the conference start date.

    Liability and Insurance
    Neither the organizers, nor the Aegean Conferences will assume any responsibility whatsoever for damage or injury to persons or property during meeting period. Participants are advised to arrange their own personal travel and health insurance.  

    Other Information

    Animals are not permitted on site.

    Badges are required for admission to all events.

    All Aegean Conferences events are non-smoking.

    No Photographs and Recording Devices

    Participants are not allowed to photograph and/or record using cameras, mobile telephones and other recording devices during the slide and poster presentations. 

    Code of Conduct Policy 

    Aegean Conferences is committed to making its meetings an inclusive space for sharing ideas and knowledge. The code of conduct can be viewed here. 

Friday, May 26

06:30 PM - 07:30 PM
Conference Registration
07:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Welcome Reception & Dinner

Saturday, May 27

08:00 AM - 08:50 AM
Breakfast
08:50 AM - 09:00 AM
Welcome & Opening Remarks - John Lambris (on behalf of the Organizing Committee)
Structural insights and mechanisms of activation, regulation and crosstalk
Chairs: Anna Blom and Brian Geisbrecht
09:00 AM - 09:20 AM
structural insight on the function of properdin in the alternative pathway
Josefine Lorentzen, Dennis Pedersen, Trine Gadeberg, and Gregers Andersen
09:20 AM - 09:40 AM
A review of the double inhibition of complement and TLRs - from the origin on the bench through animal studies and possible clinical applications.
Tom Mollnes
09:40 AM - 10:00 AM
FcγR-mediated Trogocytosis 2.0: Revisiting History gives rise to a Unifying Hypothesis
Ronald Taylor
10:00 AM - 10:20 AM
Cytosolic C3 in cellular homeostasis and defence
Ben King
10:20 AM - 10:35 AM
Granzyme K activates a new complement pathway
Carlos Donado1,2, Helena Jonsson1,2, and Erin Theisen1,2
10:35 AM - 11:15 AM
Coffee Break and Poster Viewing
Therapeutic development: novel complement inhibitors
Chairs: Monica Olcina and Daniel Ricklin
11:15 AM - 11:35 AM
The dawn of clinical C3 inhibition: the story, its milestones and what lies ahead
John Lambris & collaborators
11:35 AM - 11:55 AM
Mechanistic and therapeutic aspects in complement-driven periodontal disease
George Hajishengallis1, Hatice Hasturk2, Dimitrios Mastellos3, Despina Yancopoulou4, and John Lambris5
11:55 AM - 12:15 PM
A new treatment paradigm for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria: the era of proximal complement inhibitors
Antonio M. Risitano1,2, Camilla Frieri1, Luana Marano1, Despina Yancopoulou3, Dimitris Mastellos5, and John D. Lambris4
12:15 PM - 12:35 PM
Drug and Druggability: A new era in complement-targeted therapeutics and novel approaches off the conventional path
Daniel Ricklin1, Said Rabbani1, Oliver Schwardt1, Rachel Hevey1, Ekaterina Umnyakova1, Peter Rüthemann1, Clément Bechtler1, Kevin Widmer1, Aleksandra Blagojevic1, Stephanie Vogt1, Jannes Felsch1, Murielle Golomingi2, Christina Lamers1, Richard Pouw1, Martin Smiesko1, Markus Lill1, Verena Schroeder2, Christoph Schmidt3, and John Lambris4
12:35 PM - 12:55 PM
Continued investigations of modified DNA aptamers as inhibitors of complement proteins and their complexes
Brian Geisbrecht, Huiquan Duan, and Ying Zhang
12:55 PM - 01:10 PM
An Oral C5aR receptor antagonist blocks disease in the C3 gain-of-function mouse model of aHUS.
Kate Smith-Jackson1,3, Isabel Pappworth1,3, Beth Gibson1,3, Thomas Hoyler2, Marianne Martinic2, Mark Murphy 2, and Kevin Marchbank1,3
01:10 PM - 01:25 PM
Complement inhibition prevents paranodal loop injury in an anti-GM1 antibody-mediated paranodal demyelinating mouse model.
Inge Van de Walle1, Clare Campbell2, Rhona McGonigal2, Jennifer Barrie2, Jolien Delaere1, Laura Bracke1, Madelaine Cunningham2, Denggao Yao2, Tim Delahaye2, and Hugh Willison2
01:25 PM - 01:40 PM
Probing C3 modulation in the intracellular space: Cellular internalization of compstatin-based C3 inhibitors and its functional implications
Dimitrios C. Mastellos1, Rebecca Lee2, Merita Rumano2, George Hajishengallis3, Despina Yancopoulou4, and John D. Lambris2
01:40 PM - 03:00 PM
Lunch and Informal Discussions
03:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Informal Discussions
07:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Dinner and Informal Discussions

Sunday, May 28

08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Breakfast
Targeting complement in neurological diseases
Chairs: Andrea Tenner and Wioleta Zelek
09:00 AM - 09:20 AM
Complement in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases.
Paul Morgan
09:20 AM - 09:40 AM
progressive neurological injury, early neurological deterioration and microvascular dysfunction following endovascular thrombectomy for larger vessel stroke: a target for anti-complement therapeutics
E Connolly
09:40 AM - 10:00 AM
A detrimental role for complement C5aR1 activation in Huntington’s disease
John Lee, Jenny Fung, Jianina Marallag, Ning Liu, and Trent Woodruff
10:00 AM - 10:20 AM
New Shot on Goal: Targeting Inflammation and Synapse Loss to Suppress Alzheimer’s Disease
Andrea Tenner1,2, Nicole Schartz1, Heidi Liang3, Shu-Hui Chu1, Angela Gomez-Arboledas1, and Ali Mortazavi3
10:20 AM - 10:40 AM
Generation and characterization of C3 inducible conditional KO Alzheimer’s-like mice
Brijendra Singh1, Andre Batista1, Maren Schroeder1, Khyrul Khan1, Emma Spooner1, Takashi Saito5, Hiroki Sasaguri4, Takaomi Saido4, Michael Carroll3, and Cynthia Lemere1
10:40 AM - 11:00 AM
The therapeutic potential of C3aR agonists in the post-acute phase after stroke
Marcela Pekna
11:00 AM - 11:20 AM
The role of terminal pathway in driving pathology in dementia.
Wioleta Zelek, Ryan Bevan, and Paul Morgan
11:20 AM - 11:40 AM
Aberrant protein S-nitrosylation of C3 activates phagocytosis of neuronal synapses by microglia in Alzheimer's disease
Hongmei Yang1,2, Chang-ki Oh1,2, Haitham Amal1,2, John S. Wishnok1,2, Sarah Lewis1,2, Emily Schahrer1,2, Dorit Trudler1,2, Tomohiro Nakamura1,2, Steven R. Tannenbaum1,2, and Stuart A. Lipton1,2
11:40 AM - 12:15 PM
Coffee Break and Poster Viewing
Complement in thromboinflammation
Chairs: Lubka Roumenina and Mikkel-Ole Skjoedt
12:15 PM - 12:35 PM
The complement regulator MAP-1 interacts with activated FXII and attenuates the coagulation system
Mikkel-Ole Skjoedt
12:35 PM - 12:55 PM
An alternative binding and activation mechanism of native C3 induced by contact with biosurfaces without involvement of the thioester
Bo Nilsson, Anna Adler, Osama Hamad, Claudia Dührkop, Roland Ebert, Yuji Teramura, Kristina Ekdahl, and Karin Fromell
12:55 PM - 01:10 PM
The Escherichia coli-induced platelet aggregation in human whole blood is inhibited by compstatin and is C3b dependent
Anne Landsem1, Åse Emblem1, Corinna Lau1, Dorte Christiansen1, Alexandra Gerogianni2, Bård Karlsen1, Tom Mollnes1,3, Per Nilsson2, and Ole Brekke1,4
01:10 PM - 01:25 PM
A MaGical cASe: a story on the cell-specific effects of C3-mediated neurodegeneration
Maria-Tzousi Papavergi1,2, Brijendra Singh1,3, Andre Batista1,3, Praveen Bathini1,3, Emma Spooner1, Shaomin Li1,3, and Cynthia Lemere1,3
01:25 PM - 03:00 PM
Lunch and Informal Discussions
03:00 PM - 07:30 PM
Informal Discussions
07:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Dinner and Informal Discussions

Monday, May 29

08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Breakfast
Targeting Complement in cancer and kidney diseases
Chairs: sophie Chauvet and Ruben Pio
09:00 AM - 09:20 AM
The C5a/C5aR1 axis in tumor-associated myeloid cells
Ruben Pio
09:20 AM - 09:35 AM
Complement downregulation promotes an inflammatory signature that renders colorectal cancer susceptible to immunotherapy
Carsten Krieg1, Lukas Weber2, Bruno Fosso3, Marinella Marzano3, Monica Olcina5, Enric Domingo5, Mark Robinson4, and Silvia Guglietta6
09:35 AM - 09:55 AM
Understanding the role of C5aR1 in tumours with immunosuppressive microenvironments
Monica Olcina
09:55 AM - 10:15 AM
Intracellular Functions of Complement proteins in health and in Diseases affecting the Kidney
Lubka Roumenina
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
In situ Complementomics in kidney diseases and cancer
Idris Boudhabhay, Margot Revel, Marie Sophie Meuleman, Amine Majdi, Antonin Bourdin, Sophie Chauvet, and Lubka Roumenina
10:30 AM - 10:45 AM
Impact of C3 and soluble C5b-9 levels on renal outcomes in C3 glomerulopathy : results from a national-wide retrospective cohort
Sophie Chauvet
10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
Evaluation of minimal factor H therapy administered to kidneys during ex vivo normothermic perfusion as a treatment to improve ischaemia reperfusion injury
Chloe Connelly, Beth Gibson, Balaji Mahendran, Samuel Tingle, Lucy Bates, Madison Cooper, Emily Thompson, Colin Wilson, Neil Sheerin, and Kevin Marchbank
11:00 AM - 11:40 AM
Coffee Break and Poster Viewing
Complement in ocular inflammation and infectious diseases
Chairs: Cecilia Garlanda and Ben King
11:40 AM - 12:00 PM
Age-related Macular Degeneration: a Tale of Two RPE-centric Diseases, of Which Only One is Complement-driven
Gregory Hageman, Brandi Williams, Jin Liu, Robert Anstadt, Nathan Seager, Julie Thomas, Jill Hageman, Steffen Schmitz-Valckenberg, Monika Fleckenstein, Karen Curtin, Chris Pappas, Moussa Zouache, and Burt Richards
12:00 PM - 12:20 PM
Bacterial evasion strategy as basis for novel antimicrobial treatment.
Anna Blom
12:20 PM - 12:40 PM
The mannose-binding lectin (MBL) in MIS-C: relationship between MBL genotype, levels, and functional activity against SARS-CoV-2
Matteo Stravalaci1,2, Isabel Pagani3, Hang Zhong1, Marina Sironi1, Simone Bondesan6, Federica Barzaghi6, Paola Carrera6, Francesca Izzo9, Elena Zoia9, Elisa Vicenzi3, Barbara Bottazzi1, Rosanna Asselta2, Giorgio Casari4,7, Alessandro Aiuti4,5, Alberto Mantovani1,2,8, and Cecilia Garlanda1,2
12:40 PM - 12:55 PM
(15 min) ‘Flash’ poster session A
12:55 PM - 03:00 PM
Lunch and Informal Discussions
03:30 PM - 07:30 PM
City Tour
07:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Dinner and Informal Discussions

Tuesday, May 30

08:00 AM - 09:00 AM
Breakfast
Mechanisms and therapeutic targets in immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases
Chairs: Silvia Guglietta and Paul Morgan
09:00 AM - 09:20 AM
Modulation of lung injury by tissue-specific C3 expression
Hrishikesh S Kulkarni
09:20 AM - 09:40 AM
RNA Profiling and protein expression studies in the synovium of both rheumatoid arthritis and post-traumatic injury identify causal pathogenic mechanisms for complement activation in both diseases
V Michael Holers and Nirmal Banda
09:40 AM - 10:00 AM
Compstatins abolish pathogenic fibroblast function associated with inflammatory tissue priming
Jasna Friscic1, Xi Chen1,2, John Lambris3, and Markus Hoffmann1
10:00 AM - 10:20 AM
C5a-licensed phagocytes drive sterilizing immunity during systemic fungal infection
Jigar Desai1, Claudia Kemper2, Ben Afzali4, Jörg Köhl4, and Michail Lionakis1
10:20 AM - 10:40 AM
Both liver-derived and intracellular complement modulate hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell metabolism and stress response.
MARIUSZ RATAJCZAK
10:40 AM - 11:00 AM
Xenotransplantation: Using Genome Editing to Overcome Pig-to-Human Incompatibilities.
Robert Montgomery, Brendan Keating, Alexander Loupy, Nader Moazami, Jeffrey Stern, Jacqueline Kim, Massimo Mangiola, Adam Griesemer, Sapna Mehta, Deane Smith, and Jef Boeke
11:00 AM - 11:15 AM
‘Flash’ poster session B
11:15 AM - 11:55 AM
Coffee Break and Poster Viewing
Disease biomarkers and complement diagnostics
Chairs: Veronique Fremeaux-Bacchi and Zoltan Prohaszka
11:55 AM - 12:15 PM
Stratification of patients with complement mediated diseases for complement targeted therapies: the perspective from the diagnostic complement laboratory
Ashley Frazer-Abel 1, Michael Kirschfink 2, and Zoltán Prohászka3
12:15 PM - 12:35 PM
Comprehensive genetic evaluation for the diagnosis of complement alternative pathway-mediated kidney diseases
veronique fremeaux-Bacchi
12:35 PM - 12:50 PM
Ex vivo complement activation on endothelial cells: set up of a new functional tool to explore complement dysregulation
Anna Duval1,3, Marie-Sophie Meuleman1, Lubka Roumenina1, Sophie Caillard2, and Véronique Frémeaux-Bacchi1,3
12:50 PM - 01:05 PM
Identification of genes involved in the protective response of C3aR in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis pathology
Jenny Fung, John Lee, and Trent Woodruff
01:05 PM - 01:20 PM
Distinct cell-bound complement activation products associate with disease activity and immune transcriptional programs in systemic lupus erythematosus
Gabriel Arguelles, Lynne Mitchell, Dennis Hourcade, John Atkinson, Elisha Roberson, and Alfred Kim
01:20 PM - 01:40 PM
Natural antibody targeted complement inhibitor ameliorates the development of chronic heart and lung transplant rejection
Zhenxiao Tu, Changhai Li, Kunal Patel, Stephen Tomlinson, and Carl Atkinson
01:40 PM - 01:50 PM
Closing Remarks - Lubka Roumenina, Dimitrios Mastellos (On behalf of the organizing committee)
01:50 PM - 03:00 PM
Lunch and Informal Discussions
03:00 PM - 07:00 PM
Informal Discussions
07:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Farewell Dinner

Wednesday, May 31

08:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Breakfast
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Departure