Geometrical Insights into the Process of Antibody Aggregation

GRAND Seminar Feb. 26, 10:30 am, Wed., 2014 ENGR 2901

Lydia Tapia
Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science
University of New Mexico

Abstract:

IgE antibodies bound to cell-surface receptors, FceRI crosslink through the binding of antigens on the cell surface. This formation of aggregates is what stimulates mast cells and basophils in order to initiate degranulation, resulting in an allergic response. Nearly 1,500 Americans die each year from anaphylactic shock predicated by aggregation.

Experimental studies have shown the spatial organization of the aggregated IgE-FceRI complexes affect transmembrane signaling that initiates allergic response. There are many factors that can affect the shape and size of aggregates including the shape and valency (number of binding sites) of an antigen. 3-D simulation of hundreds of antibodies aggregating can be computationally infeasible. However, we present methods based on robotic representations of molecular structures and Monte Carlo simulation that provide 3-D details of aggregate formation. We show that we can capture experimentally measured properties while enabling a detailed look into the geometry of aggregation formation

Short Bio:

Lydia Tapia is an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of New Mexico who researches methodologies for the simulation and analysis of motions. She has applied these ideas to both robots and disease causing proteins as the director of the Adaptive Motion Planning Research Group at UNM. Before coming to UNM, Lydia was a Computing Innovation Post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin. She received a Ph.D. from Texas A&M University and a B.S. in Computer Science from Tulane University. At A&M Tapia was a fellow of the Molecular Biophysics Training Program, GAANN, and Graduate Teaching Academy programs. She was also awarded Sloan and P.E.O. Scholarships. Prior to graduate school, she was a member of technical research staff at Sandia National Laboratories.