# Project 3  Innate immune receptor ligand and the microbiota as countermeasures for radiation

> **NIH NIH U19** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $344,179

## Abstract

UNC-CH SUBCONTRACT
Abstract
This application focuses on a central goal of the RFA for Centers for Medical Countermeasures
Against Radiation to “further develop existing as well as novel therapies to minimize tissue
damage, hasten tissue recovery, restore normal physiological function, and improve survival.”
Multi-organ radiation-induced injury is a major threat during targeted terror attack, and adaptive
and innate immunity are increasingly found to play a key role in this process. Innate immune
receptors collectively referred to as Pathogen Recognition Receptors (PRR) have undergone an
explosive discovery phase. Prominent PRR families include the membrane bound Toll-like
receptors (TLR) which interact with extracellular ligands. These have been extensively studied
in infection and inflammatory diseases, and their impact on radiation-induced damage has
emerged in the last few years. Post-exposure, radiation not only causes acute injury but also
delayed injury such as fibrosis and defective cellular and immune development. We and others
have explored the roles of TLRs in radiation and unexpectedly found that certain TLRs and their
ligands are protective of radiation-induced damage involving both the hematopoietic system as
well as the gastrointestinal tissues. In addition to TLR ligands, we have also isolated beneficial
microbiota and metabolites from animals that survived lethal radiation, and propose to explore if
these microbes and their metabolites can mitigate radiation damage. This proposal will focus on
the use and mechanism of TLR ligands, commensal microbes and their metabolites as radiation
mitigators that can reduce radiation induced damage.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10468619
- **Project number:** 5U19AI067798-18
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jenny P Ting
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $344,179
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2005-09-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10468619

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10468619, Project 3  Innate immune receptor ligand and the microbiota as countermeasures for radiation (5U19AI067798-18). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10468619. Licensed CC0.

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