Allergy and Immunology

J. Pablo Abonia, MD

Title

Assistant Professor

Email

pablo.abonia@cchmc.org

Phone

513-636-9463

Fax

513-636-3310

Bio

J. Pablo Abonia's, MD, work primarily focuses upon the identification of the integrin and chemokine cell surface determinants that allow for trafficking of mouse mast cells progenitors (MCp) to pulmonary tissues under experimentally induced inflammatory conditions. Utilizing colony formation assays, Dr. Abonia has demonstrated that in Beta7-integrin deficient mice, the pulmonary recruitment of MCp following ovalbumin induced inflammation is reduced 67% relative to C57BL/6 control animals. This deficiency in pulmonary MCp recruitment is mirrored in mice with a defect in the Beta7 counterpart ligand, vascular cellular adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). In these mice, an approximate 85% reduction in pulmonary MCp was apparent, suggesting that VCAM-1 plays the predominant role in pulmonary MCp recruitment following the aerosolized ovalbumin challenges. The role of chemokine receptors in MCp recruitment is also being assessed, and mice deficient in the CXCR2 chemokine receptor have a 52% reduction in pulmonary MCp recruitment, following sensitization and challenge when compared to BALB / c control mice. Future goals include an assessment of the impact of these pulmonary MCp deficiencies on airway hyperreactivity, and the identification of the major determinants required for the inflammatory recruitment of MCp to the intestine.

Credentials

MD: University of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 1997.

Residency: Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, 2000.

Certification: American Board of Pediatrics, 2001; American Board of Allergy and Immunology, 2003.

Research

Mast cell progenitor homing / recruitment and its involvement in allergic disorders

Research Grants and Contracts

Principal Investigator, NIAID/NIH, Recruitment of Murine Mast Cell
Progenitors, 2004.

Aventis / AAAAI President's Grant-in-Aid Award in Allergy, 2001.

Sepracor Rapid Program Grant, 2001.

Publications, Most Recent

Abonia, J.P., Austen, K.F., Rollins, B.J., Joshi, S.K, Flavell, R.A., Kuziel, W.A., Koni, P.A., and Gurish, M.F.: Constitutive homing of mast cell progenitors to the intestine depends on autologous expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR2.Blood 105: 4308-4313, 2005.

Abonia, J.P., Friend, D.S., Austen, Jr., W.G., Moore, Jr., F.D., Carroll, M.C., Chan, R., Humbles, A., Gerard, C., Knight, P., Kanaoka, Y., Yasuda, S., Austen, K.F., Stevens, R.L., and Gurish, M.F.: Mast cell protease 5 mediates post-ischemic reperfusion injury to mouse skeletal muscle.Journal of Immunology 174: 7285-7291, 2005.

Blanchard, C., Wang, N., Stringer, K. S., Mishra, A., Fulkerson, P. C., Abonia, J. P., Jameson, S. C., Kirby, C., Konikoff, M., Collins, M. H., Cohen, M. B., Akers, R., Hogan, S. P., Assa'ad, A. H., Putnam, P. E., Aronow, B. J., and Rothenberg, M. E.: Eotaxin-3/CCL26 and a uniquely conserved gene-expression profile in eosinophilic esophagitis.Journal of Clinical Investigation 116: 536-547, 2006.

Abonia, J.P., Hallgren, J., Jones, T., Shi, T., Xu, Y., Koni, P., Flavell, R.A., Boyce, J.A., Austen, K.F., and Gurish. M.F.: α4 integrins and VCAM-1, but not MAdCAM-1, are essential for recruitment of mast cell progenitors to the inflamed lung.Blood 108: 1588-1594, 2006.

Professional Organization Memberships

Abstracts

Abonia, J. P.; Gurish, M. F.; Friend, D. S.; Austen, K. F.; Boyce, J. A.: alpha4beta7 integrin is required for the inflammatory recruitment of mast cell progenitors to the lung (Abstract).Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 113(2), S86. 2004.

Abonia, J. P.; Gurish, M. F.; Austen, K. F.; Friend, D.; Boyce, J. A.: CXCR2 is a required Chemokine Receptor for Mast Cell Progenitor Homing to the Murine Intestine (Abstract).Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 111(2), S186. 2003.

Special Interests

Immunodeficiency

Presentations

Abonia, J. P.; Friend, D. S.; Moore, F. D. Jr.; Carroll, M. C.; Chan, R.; Oakes, S.; Austen, W. G.; Jr.; Knight, P.; Miller, H.; Yasuda, S.; Austen, K. F.; Gurish, M. F.: Mast Cell Activation Releases Mouse Mast Cell Protease-5 during Ischemia-Reperfusion which Mediates Cytotoxic Injury of Skeletal Muscle. Presented at Keystone Symposia, March 3, 2004.