Innate inflammatory control of cachexia in chronic disease
Official title: Innate Inflammatory Control of Cachexia
Funded at University of Virginia · NIH-11508215 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A research team is studying how inflammation drives cachexia in chronic disease using a parasite model to find therapies that could protect lean body mass without raising infection risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Virginia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Charlottesville, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2020 |
| Project end | July 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $456,656 |
| NIH project number | 5R35GM138381-07 |
| Project ID | NIH-11508215 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include individuals with chronic inflammatory diseases at risk for or experiencing cachexia, particularly those with ongoing muscle wasting.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without inflammatory cachexia or those not participating in translational follow-up studies may not benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers at the University of Virginia are exploring how inflammatory pathways cause cachexia, a loss of muscle that worsens outcomes in chronic illness. They use Toxoplasma gondii as a live, controllable model to study conserved immune interactions across tissues. The project aims to identify inflammatory steps that start and sustain cachexia and to find ways to interrupt them safely. The work builds on prior findings that blocking a specific immune signaling axis can reverse cachexia without increasing infection risk, and will examine related oxidative stress metabolites in the process. Over the next five years, the team will pursue three aims to map mechanisms, test interventions, and evaluate safety in the context of chronic inflammation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to new strategies to prevent or reverse cachexia in patients with chronic diseases, improving quality of life and survival.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work showed that inhibiting a key inflammatory signaling axis can reverse cachexia in the model without compromising infection control, supporting potential success.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ewald, Sarah E. — University of Virginia
- Study coordinator: Ewald, Sarah E.
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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.