The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 1996-1997

Epidermal Cell Expression of Co-Stimulatory Activity in the Induction of Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Anthony Gaspari, MD
University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, New York

Gaspari and colleagues propose to develop laboratory techniques to identify allergens based on genetically modified cultured human cells. The methodology is based upon the hypothesis that the regulation of epidermal antigen presentation is critical for the primary inductive phase of allergic contact dermatitis as well as the secondary (recall) phase of the allergic reaction. The investigators are building on previous observations which revealed that the expression of costimulatory molecules by epidermal keratinocytes is an important event in the process of allergic contact dermatitis. In the current studies, they plan to study the gene for the costimulator B7-1 by cloning the promoter elements into a reporter gene and testing them for cell-specific activity and response to cytokines that are known inducers of B7-1 expression. The B7 promoter test will serve as a model to study other costimulatory molecules and develop a molecular screen for allergens, based on multiple endpoints.