# Mitochondrial RNA as a proinflammatory mediator

> **NIH NIH R03** · ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE · 2022 · $81,500

## Abstract

Inflammation is implicated in a wide range of disorders and thought to be involved in most leading causes
of death today in the United States with high associated costs. New insights into better understanding its
etiology, detection and prevention are thus of major importance in health care. This has been achieved in part
through the recent discovery of proinflammatory DAMPs, including mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). However,
little is known about the proinflammatory effects of the other major mitochondrial nucleic acid, mtRNA. Here,
we propose to fill this gap by extending our recent mtRNA studies and assessing therapeutic targets. These
studies are a major extension of a previously small literature on mtRNA immunostimulation, and provide new
insights into the role of native and oxidized mtRNA in inflammation as a result of their inappropriate release to
the cytoplasm and extracellular milieu including blood. Specifically, we propose to test the hypothesis that both
native and oxidized mtRNAs are important inflammatory mediators with diagnostic and treatment potential.
Here, we will characterize the mechanistic basis underlying the proinflammatory activity of mitochondrial RNA
(mtRNA); determine the mechanistic effect of oxidation on mtRNA immunostimulation; and assess the
immunostimulatory activity and associated structural forms of mtRNA in human plasma. The overall goal is to
better understand the role of both native and oxidized forms of mtRNA in inflammation, and to eventually
exploit this information toward the diagnosis and treatment of excessive mtRNA release-related inflammatory
pathologies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10532080
- **Project number:** 1R03AI168677-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** ALBANY MEDICAL COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** DANA R CRAWFORD
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $81,500
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-14 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10532080

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10532080, Mitochondrial RNA as a proinflammatory mediator (1R03AI168677-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10532080. Licensed CC0.

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