ABSTRACT
Support is requested for a Keystone Symposia conference entitled Integrating Metabolism and Immunity,
organized by Drs. Marc Y. Donath, Tom Thuren, Bruce M. Spiegelman and Diane Mathis. The conference will
be held in Keystone, Colorado from April 3-7, 2020.
Traditionally, metabolism and immunity have been perceived as two distinct systems with distinct functions:
metabolism regulates the disposal and transformation of nutrients, whereas the immune system is responsible
for host defense. However, in a broader sense, these two processes are both an organism’s response to
stressors, with the aim of restoring homeostasis. An increasing amount of evidence has demonstrated that the
chronic activation of the immune system associated with overnutrition may be deleterious, contributing
importantly to diabetes and long-term complications, such as cardiovascular disorders. Such dysregulation of
the immune system may reflect the duration and magnitude of the metabolic stress, along with genetic
predispositions. Accordingly, anti-inflammatory treatments of metabolic diseases emerge as therapies
interfering with the pathogenesis of these illnesses and offer disease-modifying potential. Therefore, it is critical
that clinical translation be based on an understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of the role of the
immune system in metabolism. This conference will bring together basic scientists and clinicians from both
disciplines in order to spark innovative ways of understanding the interactions between the immune system
and metabolism. The conference organizers anticipate that the conference will lead to the development of
novel therapeutic concepts based on the pathways underlying the pathogenesis of diseases rather than on the
manifestation of symptoms belonging to a specific clinical discipline.