# Encoding of inflammatory mediators by vagal sensory neurons

> **NIH NIH R01** · FEINSTEIN INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH · 2024 · $200,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
This is the same as the parent award. The nervous system and immune system communicate
with each other to respond to infections and maintain immune homeostasis. Work over the last
two decades has shown that the vagus nerve is a critical pathway for neuro-immune
communication carrying motor signals descending to the body, in addition to sensory signals
ascending to the brain. Detection of immune mediators in the periphery, such as cytokines, is
thought to be vagally-mediated but it is unclear how sensory neurons respond and represent this
information in situ. The goal of the proposed studies is to discover how vagal sensory
neurons encode and represent information about specific inflammatory mediators. This
new understanding will provide crucial mechanistic insights into the nervous system
representation of immune signals, which can be used to understand what goes wrong in a host
of inflammatory disorders that involve immune dysregulation.
 With a team of experienced scientists who are experts in the neural regulation of immunity,
we will use genetically encoded calcium indicators to monitor large groups of vagal sensory
neurons while they respond to specific inflammatory mediators. We will use techniques and
tools adopted from neuroscience to determine whether these neurons encode information
using a population code or a temporal code for representing information immune-relevant
information.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11100204
- **Project number:** 3R01GM143362-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** FEINSTEIN INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH
- **Principal Investigator:** Eric H Chang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $200,000
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2021-08-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11100204

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11100204, Encoding of inflammatory mediators by vagal sensory neurons (3R01GM143362-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11100204. Licensed CC0.

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