Madison Mauser
Research Mentor: Allison Wang
Mentor Department: Immunology, Medicine
Author(s): Madison Mauser, Allison Wang
Session: Session 4 (1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 68
Abstract
Food allergies affect 11% of adults in the United States, yet there is a lack of reliable therapies to prevent anaphylaxis, a rapid and potentially fatal allergic reaction. Anaphylaxis is driven by mast cell (MC), a granule-rich immune cell, degranulation upon activation through IgE-FceRI crosslinking. Because MCs are anatomically positioned near sensory neurons, neuro-immune signaling may generate the rapid allergic response. Previous publications have shown that cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1) mediates the binding of mast cells to dorsal root ganglia sensory neurons. This project is interested in assessing mast cell growth in vitro with increased frequency of media and cytokines changes, and CADM1 expression throughout IgE activation. An in vitro culture system of murine bone marrow mast cells (BMMC) was used as a model to measure degranulation and CADM1 expression. Up to three consecutive days of media changes were tolerated by the cell cultures and indicated similar proliferation relative to cultures changed every three days. At two weeks, BMMCs that underwent three consecutive media changes were 73.94% FceRla+ and 74.934% CD117+. Preliminary qPCR data suggests CADM1 expression decreases with sensitization alone (0.69-fold), but is upregulated upon antigen stimulation of sensitized cells (4.42-fold). Defining CADM1’s role in anaphylaxis could potentially identify a new therapeutic target capable of blocking the initiation of anaphylaxis.
