# Hormones in allergic disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $392,411

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Epithelial barrier dysfunction has been implicated as central to initiation and propagation of allergic disease.
Despite differences in location and histology, the epithelium of the skin, airway, and intestine commonly
functions as a critical barrier against the environment, providing innate defense against pathogens and bridging
innate and adaptive immune responses. Atopic march, high co-morbidities among allergic diseases, unity of
mucosal responses in upper and lower airway allergic disease, and barrier defects in intact non-lesional skin of
atopic dermatitis patients all point to a systemic aspect of allergy. However, systemic mechanisms that would
drive common epithelial dysfunction in seemingly disparate allergic diseases remain elusive and are not well
understood. By conducting comparative bioinformatics analysis of epithelial barriers in different diseases, we
made striking preliminary observations about unexpected hormonal imbalances associated with epithelial
dysfunction in allergy. In concordance with these findings, we detected significant changes in circulating levels
of hormones in pediatric patients with asthma and eczema when compared to healthy controls, including a
decrease in plasma levels of insulin and an increase in levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and growth hormone
(GH). Strikingly, we found that hormone levels were equally altered in the plasma of food allergy patients
avoiding trigger foods and not experiencing allergic inflammation, suggesting that hormonal changes may
represent an overlooked but significant underlying component of allergic disease at the systemic level. Based
on our preliminary findings, we formulated our central hypothesis that systemic changes in hormone levels
promote regional dysfunction and remodeling of epithelial barriers in allergic disease. We propose to test this
hypothesis with the following three specific aims: 1) to identify hormone-responsive genes and signaling
networks in multiple allergic diseases, consistent with the concept of systemic pathogenesis, using a
computational approach; 2) to determine whether systemic levels of hormones in allergic individuals are
altered and correlate with tissue expression of hormone-responsive genes; and 3) to test whether hormonal
imbalance promotes epithelial barrier dysfunction in absence of active inflammatory process, in organotypic
epithelial cultures. Collectively, this study will investigate the connection between hormonal changes and
epithelial dysfunction in asthma, atopic dermatitis, and food allergy, which represents an entirely overlooked
systemic aspect of these diseases that has potential to be transformative to the field of allergy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9824454
- **Project number:** 5R01AI127783-04
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sergejs Berdnikovs
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $392,411
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-12-07 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9824454

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9824454, Hormones in allergic disease (5R01AI127783-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9824454. Licensed CC0.

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