RF1AG094722
Project Grant
Overview
Grant Description
EFFLUX ROUTE RESPONSES OF CEREBRAL WASTE CLEARANCE DURING PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE - ABSTRACT THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS PROPOSAL ARE TO OPTIMIZE AND VALIDATE DETECTION OF MICROVESSELS IN THE CEREBRAL VASCULAR, GLYMPHATIC AND MENINGEAL LYMPHATIC (ML) SYSTEMS USING SUPERPARAMAGNETIC IRON OXIDE (SPIO)-ENHANCED SUSCEPTIBILITY WEIGHTED IMAGING (SWI, SPIO-SWI), AND THEN TO INVESTIGATE THE CEREBRAL WASTE CLEARANCE IN THE VASCULAR, GLYMPHATIC AND ML SYSTEMS DURING PROGRESSION OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD). EMERGING DATA INDICATE THAT THE WASTE CLEARANCE FROM THE BRAIN PARENCHYMA PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES, ESPECIALLY NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES1-9. WASTE CLEARANCE FROM BRAIN IS CLOSELY RELATED TO ALTERATIONS IN SMALL BLOOD AND LYMPHATIC VESSELS AND PERIVASCULAR SPACES OF THE BRAIN7-9. THE GLYMPHATIC SYSTEM AND ITS PERI-VASCULAR PATHWAY FOR WASTE CLEARANCE HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO BE SENSITIVE BIOMARKERS FOR NEUROLOGICAL DISEASES8,10-15. DESPITE MANY MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENTS, CONCLUSIVE FINDINGS ON THE BRAIN WASTE CLEARANCE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE BLOOD AND LYMPHATIC VESSELS, AND PERIVASCULAR SPACES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO AD ARE ABSENT. THE PAUCITY OF RESEARCH INTO THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE CHANGES IN CEREBRAL BLOOD VESSELS, LYMPHATIC VESSELS, PERIVASCULAR SPACES, AND THE OUTCOMES OF DISEASES MAY BE ATTRIBUTED, IN PART, TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. ALTHOUGH THE CURRENTLY USED TWO-PHOTON IMAGING (TPI) IS EXCELLENT FOR VESSEL DETECTION IN SMALL SURFACE AREAS, IT IS INVASIVE AND IS NOT SUITABLE FOR WHOLE BRAIN STUDIES. MRI CAN OVERCOME THE WEAK POINTS OF TPI AND PROVIDE NON-INVASIVE WHOLE BRAIN REAL-TIME IMAGING OF THE VASCULAR, GLYMPHATIC AND LYMPHATIC SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, CONVENTIONAL MRI SENSITIVITY IS INSUFFICIENT TO INVESTIGATE MICROVESSELS OF THE VASCULAR, GLYMPHATIC AND LYMPHATIC SYSTEMS. WE HAVE OPTIMIZED HIGHLY SENSITIVE MRI METHODS USING THE SPIO-SWI TO DETECT ~10 MICROMETER CEREBRAL MICROVESSELS (FIG. 1-4)16,17. OUR PRELIMINARY DATA INDICATE THAT CLEARANCE OF INTRACISTERNAL INJECTED MRI CONTRAST AGENT DECREASES WITH AD SEVERITY AND CONCOMITANTLY WITH INCREASED BETA-AMYLOID AROUND THE VASCULATURE AND WITH FUNCTIONAL DEFICITS IN A RAT MODEL OF AD. BASED ON OUR NOVEL PRELIMINARY DATA, WE POSIT THAT THE SPIO-SWI TECHNIQUE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE DETECTION SENSITIVITY OF MICROVESSELS IN VASCULAR, GLYMPHATIC AND ML SYSTEMS AND THEREBY PERMIT DETAILED INVESTIGATION OF THE INTERACTION AMONG THE CHANGES IN CEREBRAL BLOOD VESSELS, LYMPHATIC VESSELS, AND PERIVASCULAR SPACES DURING PROGRESSION OF AD. TO TEST THESE HYPOTHESES, WE WILL FIRST (AIM 1) OPTIMIZE AND VALIDATE OUR APPROACH TO ENHANCE THE DETECTION SENSITIVITY FOR BOTH GLYMPHATIC AND ML MICROVESSELS. IN AIM 2, USING THE OPTIMIZED SPIO-SWI TECHNIQUE, WE WILL PERFORM LONGITUDINAL MEASUREMENTS TO INVESTIGATE THE INTERACTION AMONG VASCULAR, GLYMPHATIC AND ML SYSTEMS FOR WASTE CLEARANCE DURING PROGRESSION OF AD. DATA GENERATED FROM THIS APPLICATION WILL PROVIDE NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE EFFLUX PATHWAYS OF BRAIN WASTE CLEARANCE WITH PROGRESSION OF AD.
Funding Goals
TO ENCOURAGE BIOMEDICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING DIRECTED TOWARD GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE AGING PROCESS AND THE DISEASES, SPECIAL PROBLEMS, AND NEEDS OF PEOPLE AS THEY AGE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING HAS ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS TO PURSUE THESE GOALS. THE DIVISION OF AGING BIOLOGY EMPHASIZES UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF AGING. THE DIVISION OF GERIATRICS AND CLINICAL GERONTOLOGY SUPPORTS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE THE ABILITIES OF HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS TO RESPOND TO THE DISEASES AND OTHER CLINICAL PROBLEMS OF OLDER PEOPLE. THE DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT WILL LEAD TO GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT BOTH THE PROCESS OF GROWING OLD AND THE PLACE OF OLDER PEOPLE IN SOCIETY. THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE FOSTERS RESEARCH CONCERNED WITH THE AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE RELATED SENSORY, PERCEPTUAL, AND COGNITIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH AGING AND HAS A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE 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. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH 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.
Grant Program (CFDA)
Awarding / Funding Agency
Place of Performance
Michigan
United States
Geographic Scope
State-Wide
Related Opportunity
Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences was awarded
Efflux Route Responses in Alzheimer's Disease: SPIO-SWI Study
Project Grant RF1AG094722
worth $3,062,355
from National Institute on Aging in September 2025 with work to be completed primarily in Michigan United States.
The grant
has a duration of 4 years and
was awarded through assistance program 93.866 Aging Research.
The Project Grant was awarded through grant opportunity NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed).
Status
(Ongoing)
Last Modified 9/24/25
Period of Performance
9/15/25
Start Date
8/31/29
End Date
Funding Split
$3.1M
Federal Obligation
$0.0
Non-Federal Obligation
$3.1M
Total Obligated
Activity Timeline
Additional Detail
Award ID FAIN
RF1AG094722
SAI Number
RF1AG094722-1341922161
Award ID URI
SAI UNAVAILABLE
Awardee Classifications
Public/State Controlled Institution Of Higher Education
Awarding Office
75NN00 NIH National Insitute on Aging
Funding Office
75NN00 NIH National Insitute on Aging
Awardee UEI
NH77YPDEGG84
Awardee CAGE
9CWB0
Performance District
MI-90
Senators
Debbie Stabenow
Gary Peters
Gary Peters
Modified: 9/24/25