How the adrenal stress response protects against dangerous immune reactions after donor stem-cell transplants
Official title: Mechanism of the adrenal stress response protection against therapy-induced lethal immune activation
Funded at VA Medical Center - Lexington, Ky · NIH-11139393 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to find out if the body's adrenal stress response can prevent life-threatening immune storms (cytokine release syndrome) in people receiving donor stem-cell transplants.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Medical Center - Lexington, Ky NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lexington, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| NIH project number | 5I01BX006408-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11139393 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people preparing for or undergoing allogeneic (donor) hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation who are being monitored for or are at risk of CRS.
✕Less likely to help
People not receiving donor stem-cell transplants or whose immune problems are unrelated to cytokine release syndrome are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
As someone facing a donor stem-cell transplant, this work studies why some patients develop dangerous cytokine release syndrome (CRS) while others do not. Researchers will examine the adrenal gland's ability to ramp up steroid production, study a key receptor called SR-BI in laboratory and animal models, and analyze clinical samples and data. The team wants to identify biological signs that show who lacks this protective adrenal response and is at higher risk of CRS. Those findings could point to ways to give preventive treatment before irreversible organ injury occurs.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors identify transplant patients at high risk for CRS and offer preventive treatment to avoid organ damage and death.
How similar studies have gone: Steroids and IL-6 blockers already help some patients with CRS, but targeting the adrenal stress response and the SR-BI pathway is a newer approach supported mainly by early animal and laboratory data.
Where this research is happening
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VA Medical Center - Lexington, Ky
Lexington, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Li, Xiang-an — VA Medical Center - Lexington, Ky
- Study coordinator: Li, Xiang-an
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.