Program Description
The mast cell is the focus of the Mast Cell Biology Section (MCBS) research effort. This multifunctional inflammatory cell is involved in both innate and acquired immunity and plays a central role in the induction of allergic inflammation. An integrated program investigating mast cell biology includes studies into the growth and differentiation of mast cells, mast-cell signal transduction, and the products generated by mast cells that lead to disease. The MCBS program emphasizes basic research that may be translated into the clinic, where protocols include studies on the pathogenesis of urticaria, anaphylaxis, and mastocytosis. Research efforts have contributed to the identification of mutations in clonal mast cell disorders, understanding signaling through KIT and the high affinity IgE receptors, and how alterations in the control of mast cell mediator production affect human disease.
Biography
Dr. Metcalfe received his M.D. at the University of Tennessee and an M.S. in microbiology at the University of Michigan, where he also did a residency in internal medicine. Dr. Metcalfe then trained in allergy and immunology during a fellowship at NIAID, followed by training in rheumatology while a fellow in immunology at the Robert Brigham Hospital in Boston. In 1995, he was appointed as the first chief of the newly created Laboratory of Allergic Diseases at NIAID. He is a past president of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and a past chair of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology. Dr. Metcalfe is a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and a member of the Association of American Physicians, Collegium Internationale Allergologicum, and American Clinical and Climatological Association.
Research Group
Dean Metcalfe, M.D., Section Chief
Melody Carter, M.D., Staff Clinician
Hirsh Komarow, M.D., Staff Clinician
Calman Prussin, M.D., Staff Clinician
Todd Wilson, D.O., Clinical Transition Fellow
Geethani Bandara, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate
Yun Bai, M.S., Senior Research Associate
Yuzhi Yin, M.D., Ph.D., Biologist
Avanti Desai, M.S., Biologist
Glenn Cruse, Ph.D., Visiting Fellow
Valérie Hox, M.D., Ph.D., Visiting Fellow
Michael Beaven, Ph.D., Scientist Emeritus
Arnold Kirshenbaum, M.D., Special Volunteer
Alasdair Gilfillan, Ph.D., Special Volunteer
Mercy Uwakwe, UGSP Fellow
Alyssa Mitson-Salazar, Post-baccalaureate IRTA Fellow
Alicia Clark, Post-baccalaureate IRTA Fellow
Back row (left to right): Mercy Uwakwe, Glenn Cruse, Dean Metcalfe, Valérie Hox, Alyssa Mitson-Salazar, Calman Prussin, Hirsh Komarow
Front row (left to right): Yuzhi Yin, Arnold Kirshenbaum, Michael Beaven, Avanti Desai, Yun Bai, Geethani Bandara, Alicia Clark
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Selected Publications
Meyer JA, Gorbach M, Liu WM, Medic N, Young M, Nelson C, Arceo S, Desai A, Metcalfe DD, Komarow HD. Mast-cell dependent vascular changes associated with the acute allergic response. PLoS One. In press.
Cruse G, Beaven MA, Bradding P, Gilfillan AM, Metcalfe DD. A truncated splice-variant of FceRIB is critical for microtubule formation and degranulation in mast cells. Immunity. In press.
Smrz D, Bandara G, Zhang S, Mock BA, Beaven MA, Metcalfe DD, Gilfillan AM. A novel KIT-deficient mast cell line for the examination of human KIT-mediated biology. J Immunol Methods. In press.
Medic M, Desai A, Olivera A, Rivera J, Birnbaumer L, Abramovitz J, Beaven MA, Gilfillan AM, Metcalfe DD. Knockout of the Trpc1 gene reveals that TRPC1 can promote recovery from anaphylaxis by negatively regulating mast-cell TNF-a production. Cell Calcium. In press.
Jung MY, Smrz D, Desai A, Bandara G, Ito T, Iwaki S, Kang JH, Andrade MV, Hilderbrand SC, Brown JM, Beaven MA, Metcalfe DD, Gilfillan AM. IL-33 induces a hyporesponsive phenotype in human and mouse mast cells. J Immunol. 2013 Jan 15;190(2):531-8.
Visit PubMed for a complete publication listing.
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