# UTILIZING SOLUBLE VIMENTIN AND ITS COMPONENTS TO ATTENUATE INFLAMMATION

> **NIH NIH K08** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2021 · $180,175

## Abstract

Project Abstract
I am an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) with a long-
standing interest in the complex interaction between neutrophils, platelets, and endothelium in
the microcirculation. As a Pediatric Critical Care Medicine physician, my main career goal is to
become a successful independent investigator with a focus on pathology inflammation and how
it contributes to the morbidity and mortality in critically-ill patients, such as in acute lung injury
and sepsis (severe infection). As a post-doctoral clinical fellow, I investigated the
proinflammatory effect of platelets on neutrophil transmigration that lay the groundwork for this
proposal. The primary objective of this K08 proposal is to obtain additional expertise in protein
biochemistry and animal studies to be able to discover and test novel therapies for these
devastating conditions. This proposal will allow me to have protected time to attend classes in
molecular biology and biochemistry as well as hone my technical skills in the laboratory.
Additionally, it will allow me to enroll in the Clinical Scientist Training Program at BCM, which
will improve my knowledge in experimental design, scientific writing, research ethics, and
biostatistics. My primary research mentor, Dr. Miguel Cruz, is a renowned researcher with
successful funding on studying microvascular thrombosis in systemic inflammation. He has
been successful in creating recombinant proteins, including the soluble vimentin used in this
proposal. In addition to Dr. Cruz, my research advisory committee consists of Drs. Timothy
Palkzill (Pharmacology), David Corry (Murine models of lung inflammation), C Wayne Smith
(leukocyte trafficking), and Perumal Thiagarajn (platelet biology), who are all experts in their
respective fields related to this proposal. We have observed that soluble vimentin decreases
inflammation by blocking leukocyte adhesion to both platelets and endothelial cells through
blocking the interaction between P-selectin and its counter-part, P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1
(PSGL-1). Our preliminary studies in mice suggest that soluble vimentin decreases injury to the
lung in one model of sepsis. Whether soluble vimentin results in decreasing lung injury and
mortality due to sepsis is unknown. My proposal will test the central hypothesis that soluble
vimentin attenuates inflammation by blocking P-selectin-PSGL-1 interactions to decrease
leukocyte adhesion and transmigration across endothelium. I will test this hypothesis through
the following 3 specific aims: (1) Identify the active motif and binding kinetics of vimentin-P-
selectin interactions, (2) Evaluate the effect of soluble vimentin on platelet-enhanced neutrophil
transmigration across inflamed endothelium in vitro, and (3) Evaluate the efficacy of soluble
vimentin, and its components, in reducing secondary acute lung injury in mice in two models of
experimental sepsis, endotoxemia and cecal-ligation and perforation. I...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10124405
- **Project number:** 5K08GM123261-05
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** FONG WILSON LAM
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $180,175
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10124405

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10124405, UTILIZING SOLUBLE VIMENTIN AND ITS COMPONENTS TO ATTENUATE INFLAMMATION (5K08GM123261-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10124405. Licensed CC0.

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