PROJECT SUMMARY
The chemokine system consists of structurally related protein chemoattractants, their cognate G-protein coupled
receptors (GPCRs), and a family of atypical receptors (ACKRs), which are structurally related but do not couple
to G-proteins. It is an unusually diverse network involved in almost every physiological process of jawed
vertebrates. The complexity of the chemokine-GPCR-ACKR network requires unique tools, approaches and
techniques. A prominent feature of the chemokine system is to guide cell migration, primarily of immune cells,
and position these cells in specific niches both in homeostatic conditions as well as in pathologies such as
infection, inflammation, and cancer. The 2024 Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Chemotactic Cytokines:
“Navigating Cells into Tissue Niches and Controlling their Fate and Functions in Health and Pathologies” is an
internationally renowned meeting dedicated to the mechanisms and functions of the chemokine system. This will
be the 15th edition of the Chemokine GRC. As in previous meetings, the Chemotactic Cytokine GRC 2024 will
attract scientists from diverse cell biology, biochemistry and biomedical disciplines to discuss their latest
published and unpublished results. The proposed program calls on outstanding specialists that will present new
findings and concepts with potential translational perspectives. New focus will be given to chemokine-GPCR
interactions mediating tumor specific immunity and immunotherapy, neuroinflammation, as well as neuronal
development. New developments of chemokine-GPCR related drugs and treatment strategies will also be
discussed. The GRC will, as in the recent five editions, be accompanied by a satellite Gordon Research Seminar
(GRS) on Chemotactic Cytokines. The GRS "Emerging perspectives in chemokine network interactions and
functions" is particularly designed for young scientists, graduate students and early postdocs. These next
generation scientists will present their work and receive feedback on their research projects from their peers and
from a select panel of senior internationally renowned field experts who will attend both the GRS and the GRC
meetings. The GRS will cover both the major themes of the GRC as well as several molecular aspects of
structural biology of chemokines and their receptors not discussed in the main GRC and will therefore attract
additional participants. Importantly, this GRS forum will also promote networking within the field of chemokine
research of the next generation of chemokine and GPCR experts. NIH funding is requested to provide partial
support for registration of the participants to both meetings. We anticipate that the main speaker presentations
including the keynote lectures, the scientific discussions during the plenary sessions and the parallel, poster
sessions, and the informal interactions between the participants during meals and leisure activities will jointly
contribute to advancing our understanding of chemokine involvement in health and disease. The conference will
also foster the development of new collaborative projects and approaches to treat human pathologies, including
inflammatory, autoimmune, and infectious diseases, and improve immune based therapies for malignancies.