Christopher Allen, PhD
Associate Professor
Cardiovascular Research Inst
School of Medicine

As a major area of emphasis, we are studying the generation and function of IgE antibodies that initiate allergic inflammation. We generated fluorescent IgE reporter mice and allowing us to identify and track rare IgE-producing B cells in vivo. We also optimized a flow cytometry procedure to identify rare IgE-producing B cells in both mouse and human samples, facilitating mechanistic studies. Our work has revealed that the IgE B cell receptor exhibits antigen (ligand)-independent signaling that promotes plasma cell differentiation and limits IgE germinal center B cell responses. We are also imaging the lungs and associated lymphoid tissues by two-photon laser scanning microscopy to directly visualize cellular interactions in situ. Using this approach, we achieved the first in vivo analysis of the interactions of CD4 T cells with basophils, which are rare IgE effector cells. We are now analyzing the interactions of basophils with other cell types during secondary immune responses to further elucidate the functions of these cells. More broadly, we are considering the combined cellular interactions among various types of inflammatory cells in the lungs in mouse models of asthma.

• Macrophage Cx43 Is Necessary for Fibroblast Cytosolic Calcium and Lung Fibrosis After Injury.
  Frontiers in immunology 2022 Bhattacharyya A, Torre P, Yadav P, Boostanpour K, Chen TY, Tsukui T, Sheppard D, Muramatsu R, Seed RI, Nishimura SL, Jung JB, Tang XZ, Allen CDC, Bhattacharya M
• CD97 promotes spleen dendritic cell homeostasis through the mechanosensing of red blood cells.
  Science (New York, N.Y.) 2022 Liu D, Duan L, Rodda LB, Lu E, Xu Y, An J, Qiu L, Liu F, Looney MR, Yang Z, Allen CDC, Li Z, Marson A, Cyster JG
• MicroRNA-directed pathway discovery elucidates an miR-221/222-mediated regulatory circuit in class switch recombination.
  The Journal of experimental medicine 2021 Wigton EJ, Mikami Y, McMonigle RJ, Castellanos CA, Wade-Vallance AK, Zhou SK, Kageyama R, Litterman A, Roy S, Kitamura D, Dykhuizen EC, Allen CDC, Hu H, O'Shea JJ, Ansel KM
• Chick cranial neural crest cells use progressive polarity refinement, not contact inhibition of locomotion, to guide their migration.
  Developmental biology 2018 Genuth MA, Allen CDC, Mikawa T, Weiner OD
• The Affinity of IgE for Antigen is a Primary Determinant of Basophil Activation.
  Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 2018 James B. Jung, Christopher D.C. Allen
• The Eph-related tyrosine kinase ligand Ephrin-B1 marks germinal center and memory precursor B cells.
  The Journal of experimental medicine 2017 Laidlaw BJ, Schmidt TH, Green JA, Allen CD, Okada T, Cyster JG
• IL-4 Haploinsufficiency Specifically Impairs IgE Responses against Allergens in Mice.
  Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 2017 Robinson MJ, Prout M, Mearns H, Kyle R, Camberis M, Forbes-Blom EE, Paul WE, Allen CD, Le Gros G
• Germinal center quality control: death by Fas.
  Immunity 2015 Allen CD
• IgE-activated basophils regulate eosinophil tissue entry by modulating endothelial function.
  The Journal of Cell Biology 2015 Laurence E. Cheng, Brandon M. Sullivan, Lizett E. Retana, Christopher D.C. Allen, Hong-Erh Liang, Richard M. Locksley
• IgE-activated basophils regulate eosinophil tissue entry by modulating endothelial function.
  The Journal of experimental medicine 2015 Cheng LE, Sullivan BM, Retana LE, Allen CD, Liang HE, Locksley RM
• Germinal Center Centroblasts Transition to a Centrocyte Phenotype According to a Timed Program and Depend on the Dark Zone for Effective Selection.
  Immunity 2013 Oliver Bannard, Robert M. Horton, Christopher D.C. Allen, Jinping An, Takashi Nagasawa, Jason G. Cyster
• Germinal center centroblasts transition to a centrocyte phenotype according to a timed program and depend on the dark zone for effective selection.
  Immunity 2013 Bannard O, Horton RM, Allen CD, An J, Nagasawa T, Cyster JG
• MicroRNA-29 regulates T-box transcription factors and interferon-γ production in helper T cells.
  Immunity 2011 Steiner DF, Thomas MF, Hu JK, Yang Z, Babiarz JE, Allen CD, Matloubian M, Blelloch R, Ansel KM
• The sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor S1P₂ maintains the homeostasis of germinal center B cells and promotes niche confinement.
  Nature immunology 2011 Green JA, Suzuki K, Cho B, Willison LD, Palmer D, Allen CD, Schmidt TH, Xu Y, Proia RL, Coughlin SR, Cyster JG
• B cells within germinal centers migrate preferentially from dark to light zone.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2011 Beltman JB, Allen CD, Cyster JG, de Boer RJ
• Role of CXCR5 and CCR7 in follicular Th cell positioning and appearance of a programmed cell death gene-1high germinal center-associated subpopulation.
  Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) 2007 Haynes NM, Allen CD, Lesley R, Ansel KM, Killeen N, Cyster JG
• TIM-2 is expressed on B cells and in liver and kidney and is a receptor for H-ferritin endocytosis.
  The Journal of experimental medicine 2005 Chen TT, Li L, Chung DH, Allen CD, Torti SV, Torti FM, Cyster JG, Chen CY, Brodsky FM, Niemi EC, Nakamura MC, Seaman WE, Daws MR