# Cellular Origin of IgE Recall Responses

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2023 · $239,377

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Allergic immune responses contribute to the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. Antibodies of the IgE isotype
play a critical role in the initiation of allergic immune responses. In allergic individuals, IgE is produced with
specificity for environmental or food antigens. Typically, this IgE production occurs in response to repetitive
antigen exposure. However, at a fundamental level, remarkably little is known about the cellular dynamics of
IgE production upon repetitive antigen exposure in antibody recall responses. In order to overcome technical
difficulties in studying the cells that produce IgE, we and other groups developed methodology, including the
generation of fluorescent IgE reporter mice, to directly detect IgE B cells and plasma cells by flow cytometry
and microscopy. These methodological advances have thus far provided critical new insights into the distinct
characteristics of B cells and plasma cells expressing IgE compared with other isotypes during primary
immune responses. We now propose to apply this methodology to directly study IgE-expressing B cells and
plasma cells in the context of re-exposure to antigen. The overall objective of this study is to characterize
features of antibody recall responses that promote or suppress IgE production. The specific goals of this study
are to: 1) determine the cellular origin(s) of IgE plasma cells in antibody recall responses and 2) elucidate how
memory B cells and germinal center B cells affect IgE responses to secondary immunization. These studies
will provide critical new insights into how IgE responses are regulated during antibody recall responses, which
will increase our understanding of how IgE production occurs in allergic disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10728196
- **Project number:** 1R21AI178524-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher David Caballero Allen
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $239,377
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-06-08 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10728196

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10728196, Cellular Origin of IgE Recall Responses (1R21AI178524-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10728196. Licensed CC0.

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