# IFI16 is a Periodontitis Modulating Protein

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $138,811

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
This application is for a Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Diversity in the Dental, Oral and
Craniofacial Research Workforce (K01) for Dr. Julie Marchesan. She is conducting research into the role of
IFI16 as a modulator of periodontal tissue destruction via AIM2 inflammasome and cytokine/chemokine
expression. The rationale for the proposed experiments is supported by the literature and preliminary data of
the applicant. This award will allow Dr. Marchesan a) to become an expert in periodontal inflammation and host
response, b) to train in application and interpretation of mechanistic approaches in order to increase the quality
of the translational research she currently conducts, c) to develop an independent research career that will
allow her to collaborate with clinical and basic researchers, and d) to increase the representation of Latino
women that are in academia and independently funded in oral health research. A multidisciplinary team of
experts has agreed to support Julie during this research proposal based upon funding of this application. The
team and main expertise that justified inclusion of the researcher in this application are: a) Dr. Steve
Offenbacher (co-mentor, translational research in periodontology), b) Dr. Jenny Ting (co-mentor, host
response), c) Dr. Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque (support team, microorganisms-host interactions), Dr. John
Preisser (support team, biostatistics) and Dr. Andrea Azcarate-Peril (support team, characterization of
microbial populations). The combination of this mechanistic proposal with the guidance afforded by these
successful researchers will provide the necessary environment for Dr. Marchesan to become a successful,
independent investigator and highly represent diversity in academia.
Periodontal disease affects almost half of the American adult population and is a major cause of tooth loss.
The paucity of pharmacologic agents available to treat periodontitis provides sufficient justification for studying
the host response and potential inflammatory modulators of periodontitis. Dr. Marchesan's preliminary data
demonstrate that IFI16 is expressed in multiple cells of human periodontal tissues, including epithelial,
endothelial, fibroblasts and cells of the inflammatory infiltrate. She also showed that IFI16 overexpression
decreases the chemokine response. The finding that the lack of this protein in knockout animals significantly
increases the amount of periodontal bone loss strengthens the evidence that this protein modulates
inflammation. The proposed application will utilize mechanistic approaches (overexpression, silencing,
knockout animals, bone marrow-transplants, protein inhibition) to study the role of IFI16 as a modulator of the
periodontal host response. This project will evaluate IFI16 as a modulator of the periodontal host response in
vitro (SA1); we propose to explore a) IFI16 hindering inflammatory tissue destruction in vivo and b) the
utilization of a currently ava...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10225509
- **Project number:** 5K01DE027087-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Julie Teresa Marchesan
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $138,811
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-10 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10225509

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10225509, IFI16 is a Periodontitis Modulating Protein (5K01DE027087-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10225509. Licensed CC0.

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