Abstract

Within lymphoid organs, non-hematopoietic stromal cells organize and interact with leukocytes in immunologically important ways. In addition to organizing T and B cell segregation and expressing lymphocyte survival factors, stromal cells support the migration of and interactions between antigen-presenting cells and na�ve T and B cells during the initiation of immune responses and influence the outcome between tolerance and immunity. Recent studies in rodents, non-human primates and humans have demonstrated that stromal cells also play instrumental roles in coordinating immune responses in non-lymphoid tissues, in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases and in chronic infection. Furthermore, stromal cells are being harnessed for therapeutic applications in a number of different clinical indications, an area that holds great promise for improving human health. Our understanding of stromal cell populations and their contributions to innate and adaptive immunity as well as immunological diseases, cancer and vaccination has grown exponentially over the past few years. This emerging field has gained enormous momentum due to highly sophisticated and in-depth efforts to dissect the fundamental biology and clinical importance of this cellular compartment. These critical advances as well as work that is on the cusp of being published or in the pipeline are the focus of this meeting. This meeting is being held jointly with  Fibrosis: From Basic Mechanisms to Targeted Therapies.