Blocking ANGPTL4 to help people with severe community-acquired pneumonia
Official title: Targeting Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) in Severe Community Acquired Pneumonia
Funded at University of Washington · NIH-11312617 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will test whether blocking the blood protein ANGPTL4 helps adults hospitalized with severe community-acquired pneumonia recover faster and survive more often.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Washington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | April 4, 2025 |
| Project end | January 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $779,697 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL172872-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11312617 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults hospitalized with severe community-acquired pneumonia (bacterial or viral), especially those in intensive care or needing respiratory support, would be the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People with mild outpatient-treated pneumonia, conditions not related to ANGPTL4, or unrelated chronic illnesses are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this work.
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will measure ANGPTL4 levels in your blood and link those levels to outcomes like ventilator-free days and survival. The team will use data from a large multi-center patient cohort and analyze thousands of plasma proteins to find patterns related to worse outcomes. They will also rely on animal experiments where genetic targeting or antibody blocking of ANGPTL4 reduced lung injury to guide possible treatments. If results look promising, the work could move toward testing monoclonal antibodies against ANGPTL4 in people.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, targeting ANGPTL4 could reduce organ failure, shorten time on ventilators, and improve survival for people with severe pneumonia.
How similar studies have gone: Observational human data link higher ANGPTL4 to worse outcomes and mouse studies plus preclinical monoclonal antibody work showed protection in viral pneumonia, but clinical testing of ANGPTL4-blocking therapies in people is still novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Washington
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bhatraju, Pavan Kumar — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Bhatraju, Pavan Kumar
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.