How immune systems in adults with rheumatoid arthritis react to common respiratory viruses
Official title: Systems Immunology profiling of respiratory viral infections in vulnerable populations
Funded at Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason · NIH-11332439 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at immune responses to everyday respiratory viruses in adults with rheumatoid arthritis compared with healthy adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | March 29, 2022 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $326,265 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AI167891-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11332439 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older with early or established rheumatoid arthritis, including those on immunosuppressive therapy, and matched healthy adults are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children, people without RA, or anyone not able or willing to provide airway and blood samples during an infection are unlikely to directly benefit from participating.
What this research studies
If you have early or established rheumatoid arthritis and join, you would give blood and airway samples when you naturally get a respiratory virus so researchers can study your immune response. The team will include people on immunosuppressive medicines and compare them to matched healthy volunteers. Samples will be analyzed with multi-omics (gene activity, proteins, DNA methylation), measurements of viral amount, and high-dimensional immune cell profiling to find molecular patterns linked to infection severity or changes in RA. The work uses shared genomics and cytometry cores to ensure consistent testing across participants.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This could identify markers that predict who with RA is at higher risk for severe respiratory infections or for worsening autoimmune disease after infection.
How similar studies have gone: Related systems-immunology studies have started to reveal infection and autoimmune signatures, but applying this comprehensive approach to natural respiratory infections in RA patients is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mikacenic, Carmen R — Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason
- Study coordinator: Mikacenic, Carmen R
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.