# Pulmonary gamma-delta T cells in lung infection

> **NIH NIH K08** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $160,812

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Lower respiratory tract infections, including pneumonia, are the most common cause of infection-related death
worldwide. γδ T cells are highly conserved leukocytes possessing innate-like immune response characteristics.
Enriched in the mucosa, γδ T cells may play an outsized role in regulating pulmonary inflammatory responses
and have been proposed as a basis for novel immunotherapies. However, data concerning the inflammatory
role of pulmonary γδ T cells during pneumonia in humans are limited. Dr. Shelton Wright is a pediatric
intensive care physician-scientist whose goal is to obtain the necessary training to become an
independent translational investigator of pulmonary host defense. He has established a translational
research program that has identified a critical role of γδ T cells in pulmonary melioidosis, a highly lethal cause
of pneumonia. Based on these findings, he has developed a central hypothesis that host resistance to
pulmonary melioidosis is dependent on an IL-17+ γδ T cell inflammatory response.
Dr. Wright's research goal is to determine the mechanisms underlying the host γδ T cell inflammatory response
during severe lung infection. Using pulmonary melioidosis as a model for severe lung infection, Dr. Wright will
test his hypothesis through the following 3 Aims: 1) Determine the role of γδ T cells in lung inflammation during
pulmonary melioidosis in vivo; 2) Identify differential human γδ T cell inflammatory responses to B.
pseudomallei infection in the ex-vivo lung compared to peripheral blood; and 3) Characterize γδ T cell
activation in patients with early pulmonary melioidosis.
The Career Development Plan for this grant proposal will provide Dr. Wright with critical training in pulmonary
immunology, transcriptomics and high containment pathogen research. Dr. Wright has leveraged the
outstanding training infrastructure at the University of Washington and its affiliates to bring together a wide
array of experts in these fields to provide targeted mentorship for this proposal. Dr. Wright's multidisciplinary
team of mentors will greatly complement his proposed research project along with a carefully selected didactic
program. The data generated by his proposal and the skillsets developed from his training program will
significantly facilitate Dr. Wright's goal of developing into an independent translational physician-scientist
investigating the mechanisms of pulmonary host defense during severe lung infection.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10878709
- **Project number:** 5K08HL157562-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Shelton Wiley Wright
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $160,812
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-06-15 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10878709

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10878709, Pulmonary gamma-delta T cells in lung infection (5K08HL157562-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10878709. Licensed CC0.

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