# Core B - BWH Nanoparticle Core

> **NIH AI P01** · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · 2026 · $126,703

## Abstract

CORE B - ABSTRACT
Despite advancements in the development of immunosuppressive agents, the management of lupus nephritis
(LN) remains challenging. Although newer classes of immune therapeutics (ITs) have been developed, their
overall efficacy remains virtually unchanged. More intense IT regimens create serious complications, including
infection, malignancy, metabolic disorders, and microvascular toxicity. In general, these toxicities contribute to
accelerated cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in patients with LN. Therefore, the development
of more effective targeted ITs is a major unmet medical need. The field of nanotechnology has generated
significant interest in medicine with inherent capacity to increase therapeutic efficacy due to delivery of a higher
dose of these payloads to the site of tissue injury (e.g., kidney in LN), minimizing their systemic toxicity by limiting
the dose needed to obtain the optimal clinical effect. As the vast majority of nanotherapeutics developed thus far
have focused primarily on cancer treatment, nanotherapeutics remain to be developed for LN. This Core is built
on significant data generated by the teams of Drs. Abdi and Tsokos teams to build nanoimmune therapeutics and
their application in LN. The hypothesis of Core B is that targeted delivery of ITs through the newly formed high
endothelial venules (HEVs) of the kidneys permits more effective suppression of effector immunity within the
kidneys of patients with LN. Furthermore, nanomedicine can reduce the necessary dose of ITs to induce LN
remission and thereby reduce their off-target toxicity. Intrarenal inflammation is a defining feature for LN, relying
mainly on the homing of immune cells to the kidney. Therefore, the development of kidney-targeted delivery of
ITs to suppress intrarenal inflammation is a key unmet clinical need. A major finding in our preliminary data is the
development of newly made high HEVs in the LN kidneys. HEVs are specialized veins respo

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11324180
- **Project number:** 5P01AI179405-03
- **Recipient organization:** BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Reza  Abdi
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AI
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $126,703
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2024-03-01T00:00:00 → 2029-02-28T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11324180

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11324180, Core B - BWH Nanoparticle Core (5P01AI179405-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-05 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11324180. Licensed CC0.

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