Tuesday, July 1, 2025 7/1/2025

Type-I Interferons drive cell-autonomous immunity to malaria

Award Number: R01AI168307
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/21/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2027

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Type-I Interferons drive cell-autonomous immunity to malaria - PROJECT SUMMARY Malaria, caused by the protozoan Plasmodium is a devastating disease that kills close to half a million people each year. Plasmodium transmitted by mosquitoes undergo asymptomatic development and replication in the liver, before transitioning into infecting the red blood cells and causing the deadly clinical disease. Therefore, hindering Plasmodium infection in the liver has been pursued as a strategy to delay, reduce the severity of, or prevent clinical malaria. Although natural immune responses are known to control Plasmodium infection in the liver, we understand very little about the mechanisms that underlie this process. This has prevented us from harnessing the innate immune pathways in the liver to develop immunological or therapeutic approaches to impede or eliminate Plasmodium infection in its liver-stage. Our group's long-term goal is to understand the innate immune mechanisms that control Plasmodium in the liver. The objective of this application is to deter- mine how type-1 interferons (IFNs) facilitate the elimination of Plasmodium from its host hepatocytes. Our central hypothesis is that type-1 IFN signaling in the hepatocytes would enable the destruction of the para- sitophorous vacuolar membrane (PVM), as well as the Plasmodium contained in it through `non-canonical au- tophagy'. We propose to determine the mechanisms by which type-1 IFNs recruit the autophagy protein LC3 to facilitate the destruction of Plasmodium contained within the parasitophorous vacuole through lysosomal degradation in Specific Aim 1, and how type-1 IFNs enable a class of interferon induced GTPases, called guanylate binding proteins to cause mechano-enzymatic degradation of the PVM itself, to initiate a pathway of programmed cell-death in the infected hepatocytes in Specific Aim 2. Type-1 IFNs are known to induce multiple genes and pathways in various cell types. The rationale for the proposed research is that, by determining the specific molecular mediators of type-1 IFN signaling pathway that enable the elimination of Plasmodium in hepatocytes, we will have identified new, and specific therapeutic opportunities to better control or eliminate Plasmodium in the liver. This knowledge will be applicable for the development of new immunoprophylactic antimalarial drugs for travelers, or mass drug administration in malaria endemic areas. Such therapies can also potentially clear dormant Plasmodium infections in the liver, or help improve live-attenuated anti-malarial vac- cine candidates targeting the liver-stage of malaria. Our proposed research will employ a series of innovative tools such as Cre-recombinase expressing Plasmodium capable of ablating specific host genes in only the infected hepatocytes, and reporter hepatocytes that distinguish the lysis of Plasmodium from that of its PVM. In addition to taking us a step closer to the control and possible eradication of malaria, at a fundamental level, the completion of this proposal will foster the expansion of our knowledge pertinent to the improvement of human health, advancing the core mission of the NIH.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $755,000 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	001	4	6/13/2025	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$755,000
2025	2024	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	3	6/12/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $755,000

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $377,500 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 E CAMPUS RD RM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	3	5/9/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$377,500
														Subtotal = $377,500

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $377,500 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	2	5/3/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$377,500
														Subtotal = $377,500

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $377,500 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.	310 EAST CAMPUS RD TUCKER HALL ROOM 409	ATHENS	GA	30602	CLARKE	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	1	6/21/2022	NEW	$377,500
														Subtotal = $377,500

Grand Total All Awards = $1,887,500

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Type-I Interferons drive cell-autonomous immunity to malaria

Award Number: R01AI168307

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/21/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2027

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