The meeting was chaired by Ziad Mallat (Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK) and Christoph Binder (Professor of Atherosclerosis Research, Medical University of Vienna, Austria).

Faculty included 3 plenary speakers: Joseph Witztum (UCSD, San Diego), Peter Libby (Harvard Medical School), Goran Hansson (Karolinska Institute, Stockholm), and 22 speakers (including the Chair and Co-Chair): Ajay Chawla (UCSF, San Francisco), Andreas Habenicht (Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich), Caetano Reis e Sousa (Francis Crick Institute, London), Cecile Benezech (University of Edinburgh), Christopher Glass (UCSD, San Diego), Claudia Kemper (King’s College, London), Edward A. Fisher (NYU School of Medicine), Eicke Latz (University of Bonn), Filip Swirski (Harvard Medical School), Gary Owens (University of Virginia), Guo-Ping Shi (Harvard University), Hanjoong Jo (Emory University), Ira Tabas (Columbia University, New York), Kathryn J Moore (New York University Medical Centre), Laurent Yvan-Charvet (Inserm, Nice), Manolis Pasparakis (University of Cologne), Mark Febbraio (Garvan Institute for Medical Research, Sydney), Matthew Spite (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School), Michael Sieweke (Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille Luminy), and Venizelos Papayannopoulos (Francis Crick Institute, London)

The meeting was unique in assembling world-leading experts from diverse disciplines, within and outside the field of atherosclerosis. The meeting highlighted several exciting areas at the interface of immunity and metabolism in the context of atherosclerosis: 1) Vascular Cell Activation and Dysfunction, 2) Monocytes/macrophages and lipid handling in health and disease, 3) Innate immunity, NETosis, necroptosis, inflammasome, 4) T and B Cell Immune Responses in atherosclerosis, 5) Adipose Tissue Inflammation, Microbiome and Atherosclerosis, 6) Immunometabolism, and 7) Resolution of Inflammation and Immuno-metabolic therapies.

Attendees listened to and interacted with the finest minds in those fields of research, which led to fruitful discussions and interrogation of new ideas and concepts between established and young investigators and trainees, and cross-fertilization among scientists from a variety of backgrounds.

All speakers and attendees were very pleased with the high quality of the science and the professional organisation led by Fusion Conferences, and we received a lot of positive feedback:

“Dear Ziad and Christoph,

I wanted to express my deep appreciation for the invitation to present our work in the Fusion Conference in Cancun.  It was one of the best meetings that I attended and I learned a lot, especially immunology and metabolism in atherosclerosis. I got a few really interesting ideas that I am going to test in my lab very soon.  The venue was fantastic and highly conducive to making new connections to the leaders in the field”.

“Dear Ziad and Christoph,

Just a note to thank you for the truly outstanding meeting.  You really did a marvellous job in bringing together many experts in our field, but also experts in novel areas that were most revealing. I know how difficult it is to put together such meetings and I know how hard you worked on this…”

We hope that this meeting will become a significant series of symposia within the atherosclerosis community.

Atherosclerosis and its complications remain the major cause of death in the industrialized world and emerging economies worldwide. The disease is initiated after retention of cholesterol-rich lipoproteins within the arterial wall at sites characterized by low shear stress. Modification of retained lipoproteins and activation of endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells trigger an inflammatory response and provoke a series of cellular events involving complex interactions between vascular cells,  innate immune cells (e.g., neutrophils, monocytes/macrophages, dendritic cells, mast cells, B1 B lymphocytes, innate lymphoid cells) and cells involved in adaptive immunity to atherosclerosis-related antigens (e.g., Th1, Tregs, B2 lymphocytes). Depending on the balance between pro-inflammatory responses and resolution promoting pathways, lesion development is either delayed or accelerated towards the formation of advanced and complex plaques characterized by chronic unresolved inflammation, extensive matrix remodelling and formation of large thrombogenic necrotic cores. Defective repair and weakening of the protective fibrous cap ultimately leads to plaque disruption, which triggers acute thrombosis and vascular occlusion.  The whole process of atherogenesis is also to put in the context of significant systemic disturbances, particularly metabolic dysfunction, in which adipose tissue inflammation plays a determinant role.

The goal of this meeting is to provide attendees with a comprehensive overview of current research on atherosclerosis with a focus on the latest and most exciting developments in the immuno-metabolic mechanisms that govern disease initiation and progression. There is little doubt that the next most exciting therapy to combat cardiovascular disease will be based on targeting a biological pathway that will have been discussed during this conference.

Seven sessions are planned and will highlight the following major research areas: vascular cell activation, monocyte/macrophage identity and activation by lipoproteins, microRNAs and immuno-metabolism, innate immune mechanisms involving inflammasome activation, NETosis, necroptosis and their interplay with the cell metabolic environment, pro- and anti-atherogenic mechanisms operated by selective subsets of T and B lymphocytes, adipose tissue inflammation, microbiome and immunometabolism. We will also review the pathways that govern inflammation resolution, their regulation by bioactive lipids, and how they can be harnessed to develop new therapeutic strategies to combat the disease. Finally, we will discuss existing and validated targets that are now in late-phase clinical trials.

This conference will bring together a restricted but high-level group of scientists from different disciplines and participants from all career levels enabling thorough discussions of the latest research between established and young investigators and trainees, and cross-fertilization among scientists from a variety of backgrounds.

Ziad Mallat (Chair) and Christoph Binder (Co-Chair) look forward to welcoming you to the Fiesta Americana Condesa, Cancun, Mexico from March 11-14, 2017.

Key Sessions

1. Vascular Cell Activation and Dysfunction
2. Arterial monocytes/macrophages in health and disease
3. Innate immunity, NETosis, necroptosis, inflammasome
4. T Cell Immune Responses
5. B Cell Immune Responses
6. Adipose Tissue Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Atherosclerosis
7. Resolution of Inflammation, Immunotherapies