How schistosomiasis-related immune changes lead to pulmonary hypertension
Official title: Activation, Phenotype and Function of CD4 T Cells in Schistosoma-Pulmonary Hypertension
Funded at University of California, San Francisco · NIH-11417076 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at how immune cells activated by Schistosoma infection can harm lung blood vessels and links findings from mice to protein signals in people with severe schistosomiasis.
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) | $52,226 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HL135872-09S3 |
| Project ID | NIH-11417076 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people with a history of schistosomiasis—especially those with severe infection or signs of pulmonary hypertension—willing to provide blood or tissue samples for analysis.
✕Less likely to help
People without schistosomiasis, or those whose pulmonary hypertension is clearly due to unrelated causes, are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
This research uses a mouse model of Schistosoma-driven pulmonary hypertension to follow how CD4 T cells and interacting innate immune cells change lung blood vessels. It traces recruitment of CCR2+ monocytes that express thrombospondin-1 and how that activates TGF-β to drive vascular remodeling. The team will also analyze blood and tissue samples from people with severe schistosomiasis to find proteins that correlate with pulmonary hypertension. Together the animal and human biospecimen work aims to connect immune pathways in mice with measurable signals in patients.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal immune-related biomarkers and targets that help diagnose or guide new treatments for schistosomiasis-associated pulmonary hypertension.
How similar studies have gone: Prior mouse studies from this group and others have shown these immune pathways can drive pulmonary hypertension, but translating protein markers to humans remains limited and somewhat novel.
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.