Innate immune sensing and genetic links to kidney transplant outcomes
Official title: Innate allorecognition and KIR/LILR/HLA associations in kidney transplantation
Funded at Stanford University · NIH-11401445 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant looks at how innate immune receptors and genetic variations relate to long-term kidney transplant success in diverse patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project start | August 22, 2025 |
| Project end | June 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $454,177 |
| NIH project number | 5U01AI191596-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11401445 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who have received kidney transplants from diverse populations and are part of the included cohorts (roughly 2,000 donor/recipient pairs).
✕Less likely to help
Patients not eligible for these specific donor/recipient pairs or those without available genetic data may not benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers at Stanford will study how innate immune sensing of the transplanted kidney by NK cells and monocytes, through HLA, KIR, and LILR interactions, influences chronic rejection. They will sequence donor and recipient DNA to map high-resolution HLA and KIR/LILR types in about 2,000 kidney transplant pairs from North American and French cohorts. The study includes genomic analyses to infer ancestry and relatedness, plus analyses of immune cells in blood and allografts to uncover mechanisms. The project combines genetic data with clinical outcomes to identify factors linked to graft longevity.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Finding genetic and immune factors linked to better graft survival could guide personalized donor-recipient matching and new therapies to reduce chronic rejection.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work supports the role of HLA and NK cell interactions in transplantation, but this study expands to comprehensive KIR/LILR typing and diverse cohorts.
Where this research is happening
-
Stanford University
Stanford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lakkis, Fadi G. — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Lakkis, Fadi G.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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-
Biomarker-guided Immunosuppression in Kidney Transplant Patients
A multicenter study in kidney transplant recipients is testing whether a biomarker score from HLA-DR/DQ can guide changes in immunosuppression to reduce rejection risk and drug toxicity.
-
Helping the immune system accept a donated kidney in patients without prior sensitization
This project will try giving specially treated donor B cells alongside immune-sparing medicines to teach the immune systems of kidney transplant patients without prior antibodies to accept the new kidney.
-
Lowering donor-specific antibodies in sensitized kidney transplant patients
This project works to reduce harmful donor-specific antibodies in people who are sensitized and need a kidney transplant so their new organ lasts longer.
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Reducing geographic disparities in kidney transplant access with AI and operations research
Aiming to use AI and operations research to make kidney transplant access more fair across different regions in the U.S.
-
Centralized patient coaching to boost live donor kidney transplantation
A US-wide program trains patients, caregivers, and their networks with coaching to help them pursue living donor kidney transplantation.
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.