How the body’s immune system goes off-track during deadly infections
Official title: Mechanisms of Dysregulated Innate Immune Responses to Lethal Infections
Funded at Feinstein Institute for Medical Research · NIH-11393940 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Scientists are studying why the body's early immune response sometimes spirals into dangerous inflammation during severe infections, with a focus on molecules that may drive harm.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Feinstein Institute for Medical Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Manhasset, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2022 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $418,750 |
| NIH project number | 5R35GM145331-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11393940 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with life-threatening infections or sepsis could benefit from future therapies derived from this work.
✕Less likely to help
Healthy individuals or those with non-severe infections may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This grant explores how certain toxins and proteins in the body can cause immune cells to release damaging signals, leading to severe illness like sepsis. The team builds on decades of work to understand late-appearing mediators that worsen infection outcomes. Using prior findings about HMGB1 and related pathways, they propose a bold, higher-risk plan to uncover how specific microbial toxins and host proteins trigger dysregulated immune responses. The goal is to map pathways that could be targeted to prevent organ damage from sepsis and coagulopathy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the research could reveal new targets to treat or prevent severe immune reactions in deadly infections.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has identified HMGB1 and SQSTM1 as important players, supporting the plausibility of the approach, though it remains high-risk.
Where this research is happening
-
Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Manhasset, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Haichao — Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
- Study coordinator: Wang, Haichao
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.