Project Grant R21AI193447

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded the University of New Hampshire $244,410 on September 1, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to investigate the role of the C1ORF150 protein in mast cell activation and chronic urticaria.

Chronic urticaria affects approximately 800,000 individuals in the U.S. and persists for more than six weeks, with 30–50 percent of patients failing to respond to standard anti-histamine and anti-IgE monoclonal antibody therapies. Genome-wide association studies identified a donor-acceptor splice variant at the C1ORF150 locus as a significant urticaria-associated genetic marker. The variant produces an altered protein isoform lacking an N-terminal 20-amino-acid domain. The research will test the hypothesis that the full-length C1ORF150 protein normally suppresses mast cell activation and degranulation, while the truncated isoform impairs this suppression through compromised interaction with co-effector proteins at key receptor ligation sites (FCER1, MRGPRX2, and KIT). The work involves ectopic expression of both full-length C1ORF150 and the C1ORF150-EXON2 isoform in LAD2 cells and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mast cells to characterize effects on ligand-induced degranulation and receptor-mediated mast cell activation.

The award is a Project Grant with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028. Performance occurs in New Hampshire.