Christopher Allen, PhD

Associate Professor

Cardiovascular Research Institute

Research Interests

Cellular dynamics of allergic immune responses underlying asthma

[email protected]

+1 415 476-5178

Faculty Type

Core CVRI Faculty

Research Summary:
Asthma is a chronic lung disease that afflicts tens of millions of people in the US and is particularly prevalent in children. In the majority of individuals with asthma, underlying allergic inflammation in the lung makes a significant contribution to the disease etiology. In order to understand the cellular and molecular events driving this allergic inflammation, we use advanced technologies, including two-photon microscopy and flow cytometry, to directly visualize and characterize inflammatory cells in the lungs as well as in lymphoid organs that 'prime' cells for immune responses in the respiratory tract. A particular emphasis of our research is on the generation and function of the IgE class of antibodies that contribute to allergic responses.

Publications

Epigenetic patient stratification reveals a sub-endotype of type 2 asthma with altered B-cell response.

medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences

Gorla A, Witonsky J, Chen ZJ, Elhawary JR, Mefford J, Perez-Garcia J, Madore AM, Huntsman S, Hu D, Eng C, Bhakta NR, Woodruff PG, Laprise C, Sankararaman S, Flint J, Allen CDC, Ziv E, Zaitlen N, Burchard E, Rahmani E

BCR ligation selectively inhibits IgE class switch recombination.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology

Wade-Vallance AK, Yang Z, Libang JB, Krishnapura AR, Jung JB, Matcham EW, Robinson MJ, Allen CDC

B cell receptor ligation induces IgE plasma cell elimination.

The Journal of experimental medicine

Wade-Vallance AK, Yang Z, Libang JB, Robinson MJ, Tarlinton DM, Allen CDC

Bronchus-associated macrophages efficiently capture and present soluble inhaled antigens and are capable of local Th2 cell activation.

eLife

Tang XZ, Kreuk LSM, Cho C, Metzger RJ, Allen CDC

Macrophage Cx43 Is Necessary for Fibroblast Cytosolic Calcium and Lung Fibrosis After Injury.

Frontiers in immunology

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.)

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

Features of B Cell Responses Relevant to Allergic Disease.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)

Allen CDC

MicroRNA-directed pathway discovery elucidates an miR-221/222-mediated regulatory circuit in class switch recombination.

The Journal of experimental medicine

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

Intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of IgE B cell responses.

Current opinion in immunology

Wade-Vallance AK, Allen CDC

IL-21 is a broad negative regulator of IgE class switch recombination in mouse and human B cells.

The Journal of experimental medicine

Yang Z, Wu CM, Targ S, Allen CDC

B Cell Responses: Cell Interaction Dynamics and Decisions.

Cell

Cyster JG, Allen CDC

A case of mistaken identity: The MAR-1 antibody to mouse FcεRIα cross-reacts with FcγRI and FcγRIV.

The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology

Tang XZ, Jung JB, Allen CDC

Genetic engineering in primary human B cells with CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins.

Journal of immunological methods

Wu CM, Roth TL, Baglaenko Y, Ferri DM, Brauer P, Zuniga-Pflucker JC, Rosbe KW, Wither JE, Marson A, Allen CDC

Chick cranial neural crest cells use progressive polarity refinement, not contact inhibition of locomotion, to guide their migration.

Developmental biology

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

James B. Jung, Christopher D.C. Allen

Expression of Exogenous Genes in Murine Primary B Cells and B Cell Lines Using Retroviral Vectors.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)

Yang Z, Allen CDC

Study of IgE-Producing B Cells Using the Verigem Fluorescent Reporter Mouse.

Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.)

Yang Z, Jung JB, Allen CDC

The Eph-related tyrosine kinase ligand Ephrin-B1 marks germinal center and memory precursor B cells.

The Journal of experimental medicine

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)

Robinson MJ, Prout M, Mearns H, Kyle R, Camberis M, Forbes-Blom EE, Paul WE, Allen CD, Le Gros G

Regulation of B cell fate by chronic activity of the IgE B cell receptor.

eLife

Yang Z, Robinson MJ, Chen X, Smith GA, Taunton J, Liu W, Allen CD

Germinal center quality control: death by Fas.

Immunity

Allen CD

IgE-activated basophils regulate eosinophil tissue entry by modulating endothelial function.

The Journal of Cell Biology

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

Cheng LE, Sullivan BM, Retana LE, Allen CD, Liang HE, Locksley RM

Regulatory constraints in the generation and differentiation of IgE-expressing B cells.

Current opinion in immunology

Yang Z, Robinson MJ, Allen CD

Germinal Center Centroblasts Transition to a Centrocyte Phenotype According to a Timed Program and Depend on the Dark Zone for Effective Selection.

Immunity

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

Bannard O, Horton RM, Allen CD, An J, Nagasawa T, Cyster JG

Fluorescent in vivo detection reveals that IgE(+) B cells are restrained by an intrinsic cell fate predisposition.

Immunity

Yang Z, Sullivan BM, Allen CD

MicroRNA-29 regulates T-box transcription factors and interferon-γ production in helper T cells.

Immunity

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

Green JA, Suzuki K, Cho B, Willison LD, Palmer D, Allen CD, Schmidt TH, Xu Y, Proia RL, Coughlin SR, Cyster JG

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)

Haynes NM, Allen CD, Lesley R, Ansel KM, Killeen N, Cyster JG

https://profiles.ucsf.edu/christopher.allen

Address

555 & 535 Mission Bay Blvd Sou, Rm 452R
UCSF Box 3122
San Francisco, CA 94158
United States

Christopher Allen, PhD

Publications

Epigenetic patient stratification reveals a sub-endotype of type 2 asthma with altered B-cell response.

BCR ligation selectively inhibits IgE class switch recombination.

B cell receptor ligation induces IgE plasma cell elimination.

Bronchus-associated macrophages efficiently capture and present soluble inhaled antigens and are capable of local Th2 cell activation.

Macrophage Cx43 Is Necessary for Fibroblast Cytosolic Calcium and Lung Fibrosis After Injury.

CD97 promotes spleen dendritic cell homeostasis through the mechanosensing of red blood cells.

Features of B Cell Responses Relevant to Allergic Disease.

MicroRNA-directed pathway discovery elucidates an miR-221/222-mediated regulatory circuit in class switch recombination.

Intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of IgE B cell responses.

IL-21 is a broad negative regulator of IgE class switch recombination in mouse and human B cells.

B Cell Responses: Cell Interaction Dynamics and Decisions.

A case of mistaken identity: The MAR-1 antibody to mouse FcεRIα cross-reacts with FcγRI and FcγRIV.

Genetic engineering in primary human B cells with CRISPR-Cas9 ribonucleoproteins.

Chick cranial neural crest cells use progressive polarity refinement, not contact inhibition of locomotion, to guide their migration.

The Affinity of IgE for Antigen is a Primary Determinant of Basophil Activation.

Expression of Exogenous Genes in Murine Primary B Cells and B Cell Lines Using Retroviral Vectors.

Study of IgE-Producing B Cells Using the Verigem Fluorescent Reporter Mouse.

The Eph-related tyrosine kinase ligand Ephrin-B1 marks germinal center and memory precursor B cells.

IL-4 Haploinsufficiency Specifically Impairs IgE Responses against Allergens in Mice.

Regulation of B cell fate by chronic activity of the IgE B cell receptor.

Germinal center quality control: death by Fas.

IgE-activated basophils regulate eosinophil tissue entry by modulating endothelial function.

IgE-activated basophils regulate eosinophil tissue entry by modulating endothelial function.

Regulatory constraints in the generation and differentiation of IgE-expressing B cells.

Germinal Center Centroblasts Transition to a Centrocyte Phenotype According to a Timed Program and Depend on the Dark Zone for Effective Selection.

Germinal center centroblasts transition to a centrocyte phenotype according to a timed program and depend on the dark zone for effective selection.

Fluorescent in vivo detection reveals that IgE(+) B cells are restrained by an intrinsic cell fate predisposition.

MicroRNA-29 regulates T-box transcription factors and interferon-γ production in helper T cells.

The sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor S1P₂ maintains the homeostasis of germinal center B cells and promotes niche confinement.

B cells within germinal centers migrate preferentially from dark to light zone.

Genetic analysis of basophil function in vivo.

Follicular dendritic cell networks of primary follicles and germinal centers: phenotype and function.

Role of CXCR5 and CCR7 in follicular Th cell positioning and appearance of a programmed cell death gene-1high germinal center-associated subpopulation.

Germinal-center organization and cellular dynamics.

Imaging of germinal center selection events during affinity maturation.

TIM-2 is expressed on B cells and in liver and kidney and is a receptor for H-ferritin endocytosis.

Germinal center dark and light zone organization is mediated by CXCR4 and CXCR5.