Title Participants Abstract "Precision medicine in patients with allergic diseases: Airway diseases and atopic dermatitis-PRACTALL document of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology" "Peter Hellings, Sven Seys" "In this consensus document we summarize the current knowledge on major asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis endotypes under the auspices of the PRACTALL collaboration platform. PRACTALL is an initiative of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology aiming to harmonize the European and American approaches to best allergy practice and science. Precision medicine is of broad relevance for the management of asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis in the context of a better selection of treatment responders, risk prediction, and design of disease-modifying strategies. Progress has been made in profiling the type 2 immune response-driven asthma. The endotype driven approach for non-type 2 immune response asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis is lagging behind. Validation and qualification of biomarkers are needed to facilitate their translation into pathway-specific diagnostic tests. Wide consensus between academia, governmental regulators, and industry for further development and application of precision medicine in management of allergic diseases is of utmost importance. Improved knowledge of disease pathogenesis together with defining validated and qualified biomarkers are key approaches to precision medicine." "Endotypes and phenotypes of chronic rhinosinusitis: a PRACTALL document of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology" "Peter Hellings" "Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a complex disease consisting of several disease variants with different underlying pathophysiologies. Limited knowledge of the mechanisms of these disease subgroups is possibly the greatest obstacle in understanding the causes of CRS and improving treatment. It is generally agreed that there are clinically relevant CRS phenotypes defined by an observable characteristic or trait, such as the presence or absence of nasal polyps. Defining the phenotype of the patient is useful in making therapeutic decisions. However, clinical phenotypes do not provide full insight into all underlying cellular and molecular pathophysiologic mechanisms of CRS. Recognition of the heterogeneity of CRS has promoted the concept that CRS consists of multiple groups of biological subtypes, or ""endotypes,"" which are defined by distinct pathophysiologic mechanisms that might be identified by corresponding biomarkers. Different CRS endotypes can be characterized by differences in responsiveness to different treatments, including topical intranasal corticosteroids and biological agents, such as anti-IL-5 and anti-IgE mAb, and can be based on different biomarkers that are linked to underlying mechanisms. CRS has been regarded as a single disease entity in clinical and genetic studies in the past, which can explain the failure to identify consistent genetic and environmental correlations. In addition, better identification of endotypes might permit individualization of therapy that can be targeted against the pathophysiologic processes of a patient's endotype, with potential for more effective treatment and better patient outcomes." "Immunology of COVID‐19: mechanisms, clinical outcome, diagnostics and perspectives – a report of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI)" "Inge Kortekaas Krohn" "With the worldwide spread of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) resulting in declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, the SARS-CoV-2-induced coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has become one of the main challenges of our times. The high infection rate and the severe disease course led to major safety and social restriction measures worldwide. There is an urgent need of unbiased expert knowledge guiding the development of efficient treatment and prevention strategies. This report summarizes current immunological data on mechanisms associated with the SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 development and progression to the most severe forms. We characterize the differences between adequate innate and adaptive immune response in mild disease and the deep immune dysfunction in the severe multiorgan disease. The similarities of the human immune response to SARS-CoV-2 and the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV are underlined. We also summarize known and potential SARS-CoV-2 receptors on epithelial barriers, immune cells, endothelium and clinically involved organs such as lung, gut, kidney, cardiovascular, and neuronal system. Finally, we discuss the known and potential mechanisms underlying the involvement of comorbidities, gender, and age in development of COVID-19. Consequently, we highlight the knowledge gaps and urgent research requirements to provide a quick roadmap for ongoing and needed COVID-19 studies." "Editorial : immunology of vitiligo" "Julien Seneschal, John E. Harris, I. Caroline Le Poole, Thierry Passeron, Reinhart Speeckaert, Katia Boniface" "Advancing lung immunology research : an official American Thoracic Society workshop report" "Rod A. Rahimi, Josalyn L. Cho, V Jakubzick, Claudia, Shabaana A. Khader, Bart Lambrecht, Clare M. Lloyd, Ari B. Molofsky, Sebastien Talbot, Catherine A. Bonham, Wonder P. Drake, I Sperling, Anne, Benjamin D. Singer" "The mammalian airways and lungs are exposed to a myriad of inhaled particulate matter, allergens, and pathogens. The immune system plays an essential role in protecting the host from respiratory pathogens, but a dysregulated immune response during respiratory infection can impair pathogen clearance and lead to immunopathology. Furthermore, inappropriate immunity to inhaled antigens can lead to pulmonary diseases. A complex network of epithelial, neural, stromal, and immune cells has evolved to sense and respond to inhaled antigens, including the decision to promote tolerance versus a rapid, robust, and targeted immune response. Although there has been great progress in understanding the mechanisms governing immunity to respiratory pathogens and aeroantigens, we are only beginning to develop an integrated understanding of the cellular networks governing tissue immunity within the lungs and how it changes after inflammation and over the human life course. An integrated model of airway and lung immunity will be necessary to improve mucosal vaccine design as well as prevent and treat acute and chronic inflammatory pulmonary diseases. Given the importance of immunology in pulmonary research, the American Thoracic Society convened a working group to highlight central areas of investigation to advance the science of lung immunology and improve human health." "Epidemiology, immunology and chemotherapy of Schistosoma mansoni infections in a recently exposed community in Senegal" "Bruno Gryseels, FF Stelma, I Talla, GJ Van Dam, Katja Polman, Seydou Sow, M Diaw, RF Sturrock, E Doehring-Schwerdtfeger, R Kardorff, C Decam, M Niang, AM Deelder" "The added value of reporting likelihood ratios to laboratory test results in allergy and clinical immunology" "Xavier Bossuyt, Glynis Frans" "Pathogenesis, immunology, and immune-targeted management of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) or pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS)" "Wojciech Feleszko, Magdalena Okarska-Napierała, Emilie Pauline Buddingh, Marketa Bloomfield, Anna Sediva, Carles Bautista-Rodriguez, Helen A Brough, Philippe A Eigenmann, Thomas Eiwegger, Andrzej Eljaszewicz, Stefanie Eyerich, Cristina Gomez-Casado, Alain Fraisse, Jozef Janda, Rodrigo Jiménez-Saiz, Tilmann Kallinich, Inge Kortekaas Krohn, Charlotte G Mortz, Carmen Riggioni, Joaquin Sastre, Milena Sokolowska, Ziemowit Strzelczyk, Eva Untersmayr, Gerdien Tramper-Stranders" "Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a rare, but severe complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It develops approximately 4 weeks after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and involves hyperinflammation with multisystem injury, commonly progressing to shock. The exact pathomechanism of MIS-C is not known, but immunological dysregulation leading to cytokine storm plays a central role. In response to the emergence of MIS-C, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) established a task force (TF) within the Immunology Section in May 2021. With the use of an online Delphi process, TF formulated clinical statements regarding immunological background of MIS-C, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up, and the role of COVID-19 vaccinations. MIS-C case definition is broad, and diagnosis is made based on clinical presentation. The immunological mechanism leading to MIS-C is unclear and depends on activating multiple pathways leading to hyperinflammation. Current management of MIS-C relies on supportive care in combination with immunosuppressive and/or immunomodulatory agents. The most frequently used agents are systemic steroids and intravenous immunoglobulin. Despite good overall short-term outcome, MIS-C patients should be followed-up at regular intervals after discharge, focusing on cardiac disease, organ damage, and inflammatory activity. COVID-19 vaccination is a safe and effective measure to prevent MIS-C. In anticipation of further research, we propose a convenient and clinically practical algorithm for managing MIS-C developed by the Immunology Section of the EAACI." "Immunology Futures: a dialog on our research discipline and careers" "Adrian Liston" "Immunology Futures is a new articles series for Immunology & Cell Biology. Immunology Futures is designed as a forum to promote dialog with the immunology research community, in particular early-career researchers. The series aims to be a platform for career advice and to elevate the voices of diverse immunologists to provide multiple perspectives on a successful career in immunology." "Machine learning for decision support in adaptive immunology" "Nicolas De Neuter" "Our body has developed several defense mechanisms to remain in a healthy state. Collectively, these mechanisms are referred to as our immune system. This system can be largely decomposed into two major components: the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system. The importance of understanding the immune system cannot be overstated with regards to human health as it is implicated in infectious diseases, in cancer and in autoimmune disease and understanding it is instrumental to many of our solutions to these health threats. However, due to the complexity of this system, it is far from trivial to understand its intricacies and to generate new insights. During the past decades, computer algorithms have been developed to allow computers to derive patterns and learn from data without any human assistance. Specifically, the field of machine learning aims to develop algorithms that can learn and generalize from data without human intervention. These algorithms are able to discern complex patterns from data at a level that is impossible for humans. In this thesis, we aimed to apply several of such machine learning methods to tackle immunological or immunology-related questions. We were able to demonstrate the possibility of predicting which T cell receptors are capable of binding an epitope within the context of two HIV-derived, HLA-B*08 restricted epitopes. In addition, we show that it is possible to predict the cytomegalovirus serostatus based on the presence of specific T cell receptor sequences present on CD4+ memory T cells. Also for the cytomegalovirus virus, we found several risk factors for the reactivation of the virus in kidney transplant patients and created a classification model to predict this reactivation. Finally, we were able to relate early changes in gene expression to long term vaccination outcomes for both a hepatitis B vaccine and a measles-mumps-rubella booster vaccine. Overall, we show that machine learning methods are able to generate new immunological insights and that it is possible to create sensible, high-performing models that can support both investigators and clinicians working in immunology-related fields."