# Prevention of Preterm Birth Using the Collectin Surfactant Protein A (SP-A)

> **NIH NIH R01** · ENDEAVOR HEALTH CLINICAL OPERATIONS · 2021 · $349,096

## Abstract

Preterm birth is the most common cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality not due to congenital anomalies.
The incidence of preterm delivery has risen over the last several decades and only recently has stabilized. The
most impactful treatment proven to prevent preterm birth (maternal administration of progesterone) applies
only to a minority of patients destined to deliver prematurely (i.e. those with a prior preterm birth or with a
shortened cervix), and cannot be used in patients already in labor. The present proposal seeks to capitalize on
findings from a mouse model of infection and inflammation showing a powerful anti-labor effect of exogenously
administered surfactant protein A (SP-A), a protein produced by fetal and maternal tissues. Newer data
suggest that this effect persists even when SP-A is administered systemically (i.e. intravenously) and hours
after the labor-inducing stimulus has taken hold, distinctions that are important for potential clinical use. This
proposal will address three objectives in studying SP-A to prevent preterm birth: 1) Identify the crucial
domain(s) of the SP-A molecule (i.e. the minimal functional unit, or MFU) for its anti-labor and anti-
inflammatory functions during labors due to either live bacterial infection or sterile inflammatory states in the
mouse; 2) Assess the safety of the SP-A MFU in mice and their offspring; and 3) Test the hypothesis that the
above effects of SP-A are dependent upon engagement of toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and its downstream signal
transduction mechanisms. As an endogenous protein produced by the developing fetus, SP-A is likely to have
an excellent safety profile. This project will lay the groundwork for developing SP-A as a preventive or
therapeutic agent for preterm labor in humans, thereby providing potential new opportunities for sparing
families and society the morbidity, suffering and costs of premature birth.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10146441
- **Project number:** 5R01HD096209-03
- **Recipient organization:** ENDEAVOR HEALTH CLINICAL OPERATIONS
- **Principal Investigator:** EMMET HIRSCH
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $349,096
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-11 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10146441

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10146441, Prevention of Preterm Birth Using the Collectin Surfactant Protein A (SP-A) (5R01HD096209-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10146441. Licensed CC0.

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