How Immune Cells Fight Tuberculosis Infection
Official title: Macrophage nuclear receptors, metabolism and immune effectors during health and M. tuberculosis infection
Funded at Texas Biomedical Research Institute · NIH-11132529 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research explores how our lung's immune cells work and how tuberculosis bacteria try to outsmart them, hoping to find new ways to treat the infection.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas Biomedical Research Institute NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Antonio, United States) |
| Project start | August 7, 2019 |
| Project end | July 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $906,325 |
| NIH project number | 2R01AI136831-05A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11132529 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with tuberculosis, especially those with drug-resistant forms, could potentially benefit from future therapies developed from this fundamental understanding.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without tuberculosis or related lung infections would not directly benefit from this specific research.
What this research studies
Our lung's immune cells, called alveolar macrophages, have a special way of fighting off infections, but we don't fully understand how they work, especially in humans. This project aims to uncover the hidden controls within these cells that guide their immune response and see how tuberculosis bacteria manipulate them to survive. Researchers have created a new human lung immune cell model to help them study these processes more closely. They have already found that certain cell regulators, called nuclear receptors, are important in fighting tuberculosis and that combining specific inhibitors could effectively stop the bacteria's growth in lab models. The team is now looking into another family of these regulators to further understand their role in infection.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new, targeted treatments for tuberculosis that boost our body's own defenses against the infection.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work in this lab has shown promising results with similar approaches, identifying potential new targets for tuberculosis treatment in human cell models.
Where this research is happening
-
Texas Biomedical Research Institute
San Antonio, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schlesinger, Larry S. — Texas Biomedical Research Institute
- Study coordinator: Schlesinger, Larry S.
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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.