How immune cells drive lung blood-vessel disease in schistosomiasis
Official title: Activation, Phenotype and Function of CD4 T Cells in Schistosoma-Pulmonary Hypertension
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11417075 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at how specific immune cells in people with schistosomiasis may cause high blood pressure in the lungs and who might be at risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | December 15, 2016 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $45,681 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HL135872-09S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11417075 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants would be people with severe schistosomiasis, particularly those with signs or a diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension or at high risk for lung vascular disease.
✕Less likely to help
People without schistosomiasis or those whose pulmonary hypertension has a clearly different cause may not directly benefit from this research.
What this research studies
Researchers use a mouse model that mimics schistosomiasis-linked lung blood-vessel disease to follow the immune steps that lead to vessel scarring. They focus on CD4 Th2 immune cells, how those T cells pull in CCR2+ monocytes that produce thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1), and how TSP-1 activates TGF-β to remodel vessels. The team will compare those animal findings with proteins and samples from people with severe schistosomiasis to find matching signals. Combining the animal experiments and human biospecimens is meant to map the immune chain of events that produces pulmonary hypertension.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal biological markers and new targets for treatments to prevent or slow lung high blood pressure in people with schistosomiasis.
How similar studies have gone: Prior mouse studies from this group have already outlined a Th2–monocyte–TSP-1–TGF-β pathway driving schistosoma-linked pulmonary hypertension, but applying those findings to human samples is more recent and less proven.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Graham, Brian Barkley — University of California, San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Graham, Brian Barkley
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding how CD4 T cells fuel schistosomiasis-related lung disease
A study explores how specific immune cells and inflammatory signals in schistosomiasis may contribute to pulmonary hypertension in people affected by the disease.
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CD4 T Cells, Schistosoma, and Pulmonary Hypertension: Understanding How Immune Cells Drive Disease
A human-health focused study uses a mouse model and human samples to explore how immune cells and inflammation may contribute to a lung blood vessel disease linked to schistosomiasis.
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CD4 T Cells and Schistosoma-Related Pulmonary Hypertension
A study to understand how specific immune cells behave in a lung complication caused by schistosomiasis, with the goal of finding targets to prevent or treat it.
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Clinical CT Imaging to identify and subtype pulmonary hypertension in COPD
A new CT imaging approach aims to help doctors detect and classify pulmonary hypertension in people with COPD.
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Right heart remodeling in pulmonary hypertension
In people with pulmonary hypertension, researchers are studying how the right side of the heart changes and why it fails, with the goal of finding new treatments.
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TEMPO-PH: How the right heart adapts in pulmonary hypertension over time
A study to build a detailed molecular portrait of why the right side of the heart fails in pulmonary hypertension and how a common heart medicine might help.
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.