Monday, June 30, 2025 6/30/2025

Trained immunity and the regulation of anti-fungal defense

Award Number: R01AI169769
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: 02/01/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2027

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Trained immunity and the regulation of anti-fungal defense - Abstract: Although often overlooked as a significant health problem, pulmonary infections with fungal pathogens present a clinical problem of growing concern. Aspergillus fumigatus (Af) and Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) are two clinically important fungal pathogens that affect immunosuppressed patients worldwide. Both infections are difficult to treat and are associated with high mortality rates. A better understanding of immune mechanisms of host defense against fungi hold the promise of providing the basis for the future development of novel, immune based interventions to improve patient outcomes. Pulmonary macrophages are critical, front-line mediators of host protection against fungi and other pulmonary pathogens. Despite the well-defined role of lung macrophages as crucial initiators of immunity to diverse sets of pathogens, our understanding of how previous infection history shapes subsequent macrophage responses to fungal infection in the lung remain poorly defined. Moreover, an emerging body of literature has now revealed that macrophage populations in the lung are more heterogeneous than originally appreciated and can undergo innate training; an enhanced response to diverse secondary challenges. It is now also understood that alveolar macrophages present in the lung can originate from embryonic precursors (tissue-derived alveolar macrophages-TD-AMs) or from blood monocytes (monocyte-derived alveolar macrophages-Mo-AMs). Whether TD-AM and Mo-AM are equally capable of undergoing innate training is currently unclear. It is also unknown whether innate training is a conserved response to any infectious stimuli or regulated by specific pathways. In preliminary studies, we uncovered that priming with an immunogenic strain of Cn (HK-fbp1) could confer heterologous protection against infection with Af even in the context of drug-induced immunosuppression and in a T cell-independent manner. Preliminary data gathered, suggest that neutrophils and STAT1-dependent signals are important regulators of antifungal monocytes and their differentiation into monocyte-derived cells. Based on our aggregate observations, the central hypothesis of this project is that: CCR2+mo are critical mediators of antifungal immunity and can be instructed by HK-fbp1 into trained mo-AM via the coordinated actions of neutrophils and an interferon (IFN) cascade. We will address two related but independent aims: Aim 1: Investigate the impact of HK-fbp1 immunization to pulmonary innate cell priming and training to promote antifungal immunity; Aim 2: Decipher the contributions of neutrophils in the regulation of antifungal trained immunity.


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 = $598,736 )
2025	2025	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	4	1/17/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$598,736
														Subtotal = $598,736

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $625,596 )
2024	2024	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	003	3	5/24/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$62,558
2024	2024	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	3	2/2/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$563,038
2024	2023	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	002	2	2/2/2024	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$87,437
2024	2022	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	001	1	2/2/2024	NEW	-$87,437
														Subtotal = $625,596

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $630,799 )
2023	2023	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	65 BERGEN ST	NEWARK	NJ	07107	ESSEX	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	001	2	1/30/2023	CHANGE OF GRANTEE / TRAINING INSTITUTION / AWARDING INSTITUTION	$630,799
2023	2022	RUTGERS THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	1	1/30/2023	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $630,799

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $635,850 )
2022	2022	RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY	185 S ORANGE AVE	NEWARK	NJ	07103	ESSEX	USA	Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research	000	1	1/28/2022	NEW	$635,850
														Subtotal = $635,850

Grand Total All Awards = $2,490,981

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Trained immunity and the regulation of anti-fungal defense

Award Number: R01AI169769

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: 02/01/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2027

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