Soman Ninan Abraham

About

Soman Ninan Abraham is the Grace Kerby Distinguished Professor of Pathology at Duke University, holding multiple professorships in Pathology, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Integrative Immunobiology, and Cell Biology. He is also a member of the Duke Cancer Institute. His laboratory focuses on two main research areas. The first area investigates the role of mast cells in modulating immune responses to microbial pathogens. His studies have demonstrated that mast cells act as key sentinels during bacterial or viral infections, modulating both innate and adaptive immune responses through the release of immunomodulatory molecules contained in granules. Current research in his lab aims to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which mast cells mediate their immunomodulatory functions, as well as exploring mast cell-targeted strategies to enhance immunity to infections and mitigate pathological consequences. The second research focus is on the cross-talk between the immune system and various infectious agents such as Uropathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Yersinia pestis. His work has identified that different pathogens employ distinct mechanisms to evade or manipulate immune cells to establish infection. The lab is developing novel pathogen-specific strategies to combat these infections. Professor Abraham's research contributes to a deeper understanding of host-pathogen interactions and immune regulation, with implications for improving…

Research topics

• Immunology
• Internal medicine
• Pathology
• Biology
• Medicine
• Cell biology
• Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Endocrinology
• Pharmacology

Selected publications

• Structure, function and pharmacology of human itch GPCRs

  Nature · 2021 · 221 citations

  DOI

• A highly polarized TH2 bladder response to infection promotes epithelial repair at the expense of preventing new infections

  Nature Immunology · 2020 · 67 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• A mast cell–thermoregulatory neuron circuit axis regulates hypothermia in anaphylaxis

  Science Immunology · 2023-03-17 · 61 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  IgE-mediated anaphylaxis is an acute life-threatening systemic reaction to allergens, including certain foods and venoms. Anaphylaxis is triggered when blood-borne allergens activate IgE-bound perivascular mast cells (MCs) throughout the body, causing an extensive systemic release of MC mediators. Through precipitating vasodilatation and vascular leakage, these mediators are believed to trigger a sharp drop in blood pressure in humans and in core body temperature in animals. We report that the I…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Mast Cells as a Target—A Comprehensive Review of Recent Therapeutic Approaches

  Cells · 2023-04-19 · 53 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Mast cells (MCs) are the immune cells distributed throughout nearly all tissues, mainly in the skin, near blood vessels and lymph vessels, nerves, lungs, and the intestines. Although MCs are essential to the healthy immune response, their overactivity and pathological states can lead to numerous health hazards. The side effect of mast cell activity is usually caused by degranulation. It can be triggered by immunological factors, such as immunoglobulins, lymphocytes, or antigen-antibody complexes…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Platelets trigger perivascular mast cell degranulation to cause inflammatory responses and tissue injury

  Science Advances · 2020 · 52 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Platelet responses have been associated with end-organ injury and mortality following complex insults such as cardiac surgery, but how platelets contribute to these pathologies remains unclear. Our studies originated from the observation of microvascular platelet retention in a rat cardiac surgery model. Ensuing work supported the proximity of platelet aggregates with perivascular mast cells (MCs) and demonstrated that platelet activation triggered systemic MC activation. We then identified plat…

  DOI

Recent grants

• Mechanism of Bacterial Expulsion from Infected Bladder Cells.

  NIH · $200k · 2012–2014

• NIH Grant R01CA029767

  NIH · $479k · 1990

• NIH Grant R21AI056101

  NIH · $308k · 2007

Frequent coauthors

• Herman F. Staats

  121 shared

• Ashley L. St. John

  Duke-NUS Medical School

  119 shared

• Hae Woong Choi

  Duke Medical Center

  102 shared

• Matthew J. Duncan

  48 shared

• Yuxuan Miao

  University of Chicago

  45 shared

• Zhimin Gao

  Guangzhou Medical University

  44 shared

• Jianxuan Wu

  Duke Medical Center

  42 shared

• Christopher P. Shelburne

  42 shared

Education

• BSc, Microbiology

  Ahmadu Bello University

• MSc, Microbiology

  Ahmadu Bello University

  1978

Similar researchers at Duke University

• Jiaoti Huangh-105
• Maureane Hoffmanh-88
• Rex Colle Bentleyh-80