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The Role of Residential Bioaerosol Exposure in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis

Award Number: R01HL182922
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/15/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/31/2031

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The Role of Residential Bioaerosol Exposure in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis - Summary/Abstract Sarcoidosis a rare systemic inflammatory disease with high morbidity and increasing mortality. Granulomatous inflammation affects the lungs in 90% of cases, with ~1/3 of patients progressing to experience severe pulmonary disease that can result in lung transplant or death. Sarcoidosis is thought to be due to interaction between an unknown environmental antigen and host genetic susceptibility. Extensive epidemiological evidence supports the involvement of bioaerosol in pulmonary sarcoidosis. However, only one component of bioaerosol has been directly measured in a cohort of patients with sarcoidosis. We hypothesize residential bioaerosol exposure drives immune dysregulation in pulmonary sarcoidosis leading to severe lung disease. We will test this through three aims: Specific Aim 1: Determine how residential bioaerosol (rBio) associates with clinical and radiographic attributes of patients with sarcoidosis. We hypothesize bioaerosol exposures are unique within residences of those experiencing symptomatic progressive pulmonary sarcoidosis compared to those of patients with minimal or no lung fibrosis and controls in both rural and urban settings. We will collect rBio and analyze its composition using traditional and micro/mycobiome techniques, then analyze how both the constituents and quantity of rBio relate to symptoms, lung function and quantitative measures of chest CT imaging. Specific Aim 2: Determine the role of rBio in peripheral blood immune dysregulation in fibrotic pulmonary sarcoidosis. We hypothesize that people with severe pulmonary sarcoidosis will have profibrotic cytokines in relation to their residential BDG. We will quantify and compare serum biomarkers and immune cell profile to rBio. We will compare these findings to controls, and to patient pulmonary disease severity using patient symptoms, lung function, and chest imaging. Specific Aim 3: Assess the airway epithelial functional responses to personalized rBio in pulmonary sarcoidosis. We hypothesize epithelial airway cells from patients with fibrotic pulmonary sarcoidosis will have impaired epithelial barrier integrity in response to the subject’s own rBio and its components (eg LPS, BDG), mediated by IL-18. We will test this hypothesis in vitro by exposing primary human airway epithelial cells collected from recruited subjects to BDG, LPS and mixed bioaerosol from residences. We will then assess protein expression, transcriptomic and functional responses. Completion of this proposal will inform potential disease mechanisms, diagnostic and progression biomarkers, and novel treatments for people with sarcoidosis including environmental remediation.


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: 2026 ( Subtotal = $783,781 )
2026	2026	THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	105 JESSUP HALL	IOWA CITY	IA	52242	JOHNSON	USA	Lung Diseases Research	000	1	6/19/2026	NEW	$783,781
														Subtotal = $783,781

Grand Total All Awards = $783,781

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The Role of Residential Bioaerosol Exposure in Pulmonary Sarcoidosis

Award Number: R01HL182922

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL HEART, LUNG, & BLOOD INSTITUTE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 06/15/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 03/31/2031

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