P01AI168258

Targeting Trained Immunity in Transplantation - Summary – Overview

Transplantation has revolutionized the lives of patients suffering from organ failure. The design of modern immunosuppression has employed a time-honored focus on controlling T cell-mediated responses. However, current immunosuppressive therapies have suboptimal success rates and induce significant side effects, including increased susceptibility to infections, metabolic toxicity, and cancer risk.

Given the growing body of evidence showing that innate immunity is also critical to alloresponse initiation and allograft survival, it is not surprising that current immunosuppressive regimens do not achieve satisfactory long-term graft and patient survival. Recent work by this P01’s investigators has shown that trained immunity plays a vital role in allograft survival. Trained immunity is a long-term increase in the functional responsiveness of innate immune cells, which is maintained by epigenetic modifications and can be considered de facto innate immune memory.

On a systems level, we demonstrated that trained immunity is regulated and maintained by epigenetic modifications in bone marrow hematopoietic progenitors, which consequently release trained innate immune cells with augmented inflammatory and antimicrobial function. Our preclinical and clinical preliminary data revealed a discrete causative connection between allograft transplantation, the induction of trained immunity, systemic inflammatory response, and activated or amplified T cell-mediated alloimmunity. Furthermore, we identified trained immunity as a compelling therapeutic target in mouse and non-human primate heart allograft models.

Based on these results, our central hypothesis is that trained immunity is a critical mechanism that amplifies and sustains both innate and adaptive rejection responses and is therefore a compelling clinical therapeutic target for achieving long-term allograft survival without requiring chronic immunosuppression. In this P01, we will address our central hypothesis by drawing on the expertise of authorities in the fields of immunology and bioengineering.

This multidisciplinary team of scientists and clinicians will work together to:

I) Understand trained immunity's clinical relevance in kidney transplantation
II) Elucidate the mechanisms by which trained immunity is induced and leads to organ rejection
III) Develop bioengineering solutions for diagnosing and therapeutically regulating trained immunity in transplantation

We anticipate that, together, these highly interactive projects will generate innovative new therapeutic strategies to more effectively prevent rejection and potentially achieve immune tolerance. If successful, these studies could impact the entire field of transplantation and provide insights that could also be highly relevant for bone marrow transplantation and autoimmune disease.

Icahn School Of Medicine At Mount Sinai

TO ASSIST PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO ESTABLISH, EXPAND AND IMPROVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS, TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS. TO ASSIST PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS, TO PROVIDE RESEARCH SERVICES AS REQUIRED BY THE AGENCY FOR PROGRAMS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES, AND CONTROLLING DISEASE CAUSED BY INFECTIOUS OR PARASITIC AGENTS, ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS. PROJECTS RANGE FROM STUDIES OF MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANTIGENIC STRUCTURE TO COLLABORATIVE TRIALS OF EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND VACCINES, MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS AS WELL AS RESEARCH DEALING WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS OR COMMUNITY POPULATIONS AND PROGRESS IN ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES. BECAUSE OF THIS DUAL FOCUS, THE PROGRAM ENCOMPASSES BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM EXPANDS AND IMPROVES PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE SBIR PROGRAM INTENDS TO INCREASE AND FACILITATE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTISTS DURING THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS) ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO APPROVE APPLICANTS FOR RESEARCH TRAINING IN SPECIFIED BIOMEDICAL SHORTAGE AREAS. IN ADDITION, INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS ARE MADE TO ENABLE INSTITUTIONS TO SELECT AND MAKE AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE TRAINING UNDER THE AEGIS OF THEIR INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAM.

93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [HHS - NIH]

New York, New York 100296504 United States

Single Zip Code

NIAID Investigator Initiated Program Project Applications (P01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PAR-20-072)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 200% from $3,012,041 to $9,041,583.