B cells for treatment of ARDS

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R56 · $610,236 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

Survivors of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) manifest pulmonary and neurological sequelae, as clearly documented during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of this project is to ameliorate both pulmonary and brain neuronal injury in ARDS and mitigate against long-term complications. Using a mouse model of hyperoxic lung injury, we recently discovered that hyperoxia leads to a surprisingly profound depletion of pulmonary B cells, with regulatory and memory B cell subsets being particularly vulnerable. B cell depletion has also been reported in patients with ARDS. We aim to modulate inflammatory responses in ARDS by administering B cells that would ameliorate this deficit and restore immune regulation. We now show that systemic administration of naïve B cells has significant anti-inflammatory and tissue-protective effects in hyperoxic lung injury and that a fraction of these B cells traffic to the lungs. Our central hypothesis is that adoptively transferred naïve B cells provide multiorgan protection in hyperoxia-associated ARDS; we propose that this is achieved by trafficking to the sites of tissue injury to restore immune regulation and suppress inflammatory responses in IL-10 and/or adenosine-dependent manner. In Aim 1, we will study the efficiency of B cell homing to the lungs and brain and characterize the phenotype(s) of B cells that home in these inflamed sites. In Aim 2, we will identify the immunomodulatory effects of adoptively transferred B cells in the lungs and brain and study their dependence on B cell-derived non-Ig factors including IL-10 and adenosine. In Aim 3, we will determine the effects of syngeneic and allogeneic B cell therapy on long-term pulmonary and neurologic outcomes. Understanding long-term outcomes after allogeneic B cell therapy will be critical for future translation of this therapy into clinical practice. The results of these proposed experimental studies will direct our further research into B cell therapy for ARDS. Our studies may have substantive translational impacts, in identifying novel therapeutic targets for treating patients with this highly significant and increasingly common clinical problem.

Key facts

NIH application ID
11175768
Project number
1R56HL175336-01
Recipient
MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
Principal Investigator
Dusan Hanidziar
Activity code
R56
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$610,236
Award type
1
Project period
2024-09-17 → 2026-08-31