Immunologic and Predictive Features of MIS-C

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R01 · $610,099 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

The novel SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causes the severe pneumonia-like coronavirus disease (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infected over 170 million individuals and has claimed over 3.5 million lives worldwide to date. If otherwise healthy, children were thought to be largely spared from SARS-CoV-2 disease. However, in areas of high SARS-CoV-2 infection rates, some children started presenting to pediatric critical care units 4-6 weeks following SARS-CoV- 2 infection with Kawasaki-like disease. Clinically, we now know that this is a distinct disease, which was recently termed - multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). While the characteristic clinical features of MIS-C are becoming clear, the pathophysiology remains unknown. Here we propose to evaluate three independent cohorts of MIS-C during acute and convalescent phases of disease at clinical, genetic and immunologic levels using the latest technology. We will not only perform systemic immunological mapping of MIS-C as compared to controls, but also utilize machine learning algorithms to delineate how best to predict, diagnose and outcome stratify MIS-C. We anticipate discovering immunologic and genetic features which can aid us in assessing risks of MIS-C development, diagnosis and prognosis. In summary, our systematic analysis and computational modeling of the clinical and immune features of MIS-C will not only help illuminate the pathogenesis of this syndrome, but will also provide us with actionable biomarkers for disease risk, diagnosis and progression.

Key facts

NIH application ID
10423273
Project number
1R01HD108467-01
Recipient
ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
Principal Investigator
Dusan Bogunovic
Activity code
R01
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2022
Award amount
$610,099
Award type
1
Project period
2022-07-18 → 2027-06-30