Speaker
Description
Seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC) affects up to 40% of the population; however, the complex immune signaling processes that drive ocular inflammation are not fully understood. In this work, we present a quantitative mechanistic model of the cellular immune response during SAC. A system of 23 coupled ordinary differential equations is developed to represent interactions among allergens, immune cells, cytokines, chemokines, antibodies, and histamine in the conjunctiva.
To evaluate the model uncertainty, a local and global sensitivity analyses was conducted to identify the most influential parameters. Model validation was performed by comparing simulated cytokines concentrations to experimental cytokines concentrations in tears. Predicted histamine levels were further compared with clinical symptom scores, demonstrating a strong correlation.
The model highlights which pathways may be the most effective for therapeutic targets. We are currently working on extending the model to account for treatment of SAC using antihistamine drugs administered via eye drops or released by a pre-loaded contact lens. This modeling approach demonstrates potential applications in optimizing drug dosing, evaluating new therapeutic strategies, and predicting patient responses.
