# BCG-Mediated Immunotherapy Against Bacteria

> **NIH AI R01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2026 · $610,124

## Abstract

Abstract
 Up to 3.5 billion dollars is spent each year, in the US alone, to manage bladder infections and their
recurrence. The intractability of these infections is attributable, in part, to the capacity of bladder bacteria to
persist in the bladder long after infection resolution only to remerge as another flareup. In view of the fact that
antibiotics are largely ineffective there is a dire need for alternate approaches to protect against these
infections. We have found that a single bladder treatment of live attenuated Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG),
an FDA approved therapy for bladder cancer, along with a peptide capable of disrupting the superficial
epithelium was highly efficacious in protecting against uropathogenic E.coli (UPEC) mediated infection. Since
tumor fighting properties of BCG is associated with their persistence in the bladder and their capacity to recruit
Th1 cells, the protection against UPEC is probably also mediated, at least in part, by Th1 cells. We
hypothesize that we can prolong the duration of this protection by simultaneously inducing bladder recruitment
of E.coli specific Th1 cells which typically have an indefinite life span. Thus, we believe that supplementing the
BCG and epithelial disruptor peptide formulation with UPEC antigens would markedly prolong and enhance the
protective capacity of BCG immunotherapy against UPEC bladder infections. The following specific aims are
proposed: (i) Determine cellular targets of BCG uptake and persistence in the bladder, (ii) Identify the
immunological basis of cross-protection induced by co-treatment with BCG bladder and epithelial disruptor
peptide (iii) Evaluate the efficacy and durability of intravesical administration of an optimized formulation
comprising of epithelial disruptor peptide/BCG/ UPEC antigens in combating recurrent bladder infections.
 It is expected that these studies will reveal a distinct, effective, and long-lasting strategy to combat
intractable bladder infections. Since th

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11301975
- **Project number:** 1R01AI190532-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Soman N Abraham
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AI
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $610,124
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2026-02-04T00:00:00 → 2031-01-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11301975

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11301975, BCG-Mediated Immunotherapy Against Bacteria (1R01AI190532-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-20 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11301975. Licensed CC0.

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