The latest Business updates from the science industry


by Heather Hobbs emc2020 now rescheduled as emc2024


The Executive Board of the European Microscopy Society (EMS) announced on April 22 that the European Microscopy Congress (emc2020) would not be held in Copenhagen in August.


The Board had been monitoring the situation in the hope that there would be some indication that lockdown measures would have eased enough for emc2020 to go ahead. However, the Danish Government then announced that gatherings of more than 500 would not be allowed until September at the earliest.


The decision is a huge disappointment for the large team, headed by the Conference Chair, Professor Klaus Qvortrup. It had dedicated signifi cant resources to making the event a success.


“It is the correct and only decision available, but it is still hugely disappointing,” said Klaus. “SCANDEM has been aiming to bring a congress to Scandinavia since long before we submitted our bid in 2016. We were relishing the opportunity to welcome the microscopy community to Denmark. And, from a wider viewpoint, I feel most sorry for those who entrusted us with their abstracts and who were looking forward to showcasing their work in August. It is also a huge blow for the exhibitors who have been so supportive since the beginning and I thank them for that.”


Whilst Klaus sympathises with delegates and companies, his input should not be overlooked. Allison Winton is CEO of the Royal Microscopical Society – the professional conference organisers of emc2020. She said, “Klaus has given so much of his time and has been the driving force behind everything. In addition, he has done so with unrelenting enthusiasm and good humour. He had a vision


and together we came very close to achieving it.”


emc2020 had promised to be one of the largest events in the history of the series. An impressive 1,232 abstracts were submitted before COVID-19 intervened. Had it not, it is believed that a record number would have been received. In addition, 1,671 square metres of exhibition space had been sold to 95 companies. The Bella Centre promised to be an excellent host venue with its well-equipped and well-furnished lecture theatres surrounding the vast exhibition hall. Furthermore, Copenhagen is a city renowned for hospitality, history, and architecture. Alas, it was not to be, or at least not this year…


On 27 May 2020, a virtual meeting of the Executive Council was called to decide the future of emc2020. In recognition of the progress made towards making it a success and the unfortunate circumstances that led to its cancellation, 94% of the voting members voted for the next congress to be held in Copenhagen. As a result, the bidding process for 2024 (which would have concluded at emc2020) has been cancelled, and bidding countries are encouraged to resubmit in four years’ time.


“We were all disappointed when we were forced to cancel,” said Klaus. “Microscopy is important to us; we care about it and we wish for it to thrive. However, we can draw comfort and a degree of pride that we are part of a community that is playing an important role in the fi ghtback against COVID-19. And, we will always have a part to play in preventing situations like this in the future. To microscopists everywhere, I wish that you stay safe. I am very grateful to the EMS Executive Council for its decision and I look forward to welcoming


you to Copenhagen in 2024. I can imagine that pathogens and immunology might feature quite strongly in the programme.”


Details of the dates of emc2024 will be made available as soon as they are confi rmed.


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Cancer Cells Build Protection Against Viral Therapies


Scientists have discovered how cancer cells can protect themselves from viruses that are harmful to tumours but not to healthy cells, opening opportunities for other research leading to improved viral treatments for the disease.


Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute were able to identify a mechanism that protects cancer cells from oncolytic viruses, which are sometimes used as a treatment to destroy cancer cells and stimulate an immune response against the tumour. However, they only work in a minority of patients and the reasons whether they are effective or not are not yet fully understood.


The team examined the environment surrounding a tumour and how cancer cells interact with their neighbours, in particular, cancer-associated fi broblasts (CAFs), which researchers know play a signifi cant role in cancer protection, growth and spread.


They found that when cancer cells are in direct contact with CAFs, this leads to infl ammation that can alert the surrounding tissue, making it harder for viruses to invade and replicate within the cancer cell.


This protective infl ammatory response occurs when cancer cells pass small amounts of cytoplasm, the fl uid in their cells, through to the CAFs. This triggers the fi broblasts to signal to nearby cells to release cytokines, molecules that cause infl ammation [1].


Erik Sahai, paper author and group leader of the Tumour Cell Biology Laboratory at the Crick says: “This process only occurs when cancer cells and fi broblasts are in direct contact with each other. In healthy tissue, this type of infl ammatory response would only happen during injury, as there is usually a membrane keeping them apart.


“This is an excellent example of the way cancer hijacks our body’s protective mechanisms for its own gain.”


Importantly, when the researchers blocked the signalling pathway in cell cultures and in tumours grown in the laboratory, they found that the cancer cells became more sensitive to oncolytic viruses.


They hope these fi ndings may, in the future, help to develop a treatment that could modulate the infl ammation and so help oncolytic viruses to more effectively target cancer cells.


Emma Milford, co-lead author and Phd student in the Tumour Cell Biology Laboratory at the Crick says: “If we can more fully understand how cancer cells protect themselves from oncolytic viruses and fi nd effective ways to stop these protective mechanisms, these viruses could become a more powerful tool doctors can use to treat cancer. This research is an important, early step towards this.”


Antonio Rullan, co-lead author and clinical research fellow in the Tumour Cell Biology Laboratory at the Crick adds: “These viruses prefer to target cancer cells over healthy cells, which has made them of interest for scientists over the last few decades. However, much more remains to be understood about how they interact with tumours and the immune system.”


The researchers plan to continue this work and study exactly how the cytoplasm is transferred from one cell to another.


[1] The transfer of cytoplasm from cancer cells into fi broblasts leads to the activation of STING and IRF3-mediated expression of interferon-β1 and other cytokines.


Published in Nature Cell Biology


Image shows CAFs (magenta) colliding with cancer cells (cyan). Credit: Francis Crick Institute


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