Sex differences in immune–vessel cell interactions in Kawasaki disease
Official title: Role of Sex in Immune Stromal cell Interactions driving cardiovascular lesions in Kawasaki Disease vasculitis
Funded at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center · NIH-11189694 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how being male or female changes immune and blood-vessel cell behavior that leads to coronary artery damage in people with Kawasaki disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $582,830 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL170580-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11189694 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children (and young adults) diagnosed with acute Kawasaki disease—particularly those who are IVIG-resistant or at high risk for coronary artery complications—would be the ideal candidates to contribute samples or participate.
✕Less likely to help
People without Kawasaki disease or those who have already fully recovered without coronary involvement are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
From a patient viewpoint, researchers will compare immune cells and coronary vessel wall cells from children with Kawasaki disease and from lab mice that mimic the illness to learn why boys often have worse disease. They will focus on an inflammatory pathway called NLRP3–IL‑1β and study which immune cells make this inflammatory signal in the affected blood vessels. The team will examine how vascular smooth muscle cells change their behavior and interact with infiltrating monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Lab techniques will include cellular and tissue analyses, experiments in mice, and study of human clinical samples to link the biology to disease severity.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to new ways to prevent or treat coronary artery damage in Kawasaki disease, especially for patients who do not respond to standard IVIG therapy.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has implicated the NLRP3–IL‑1β pathway in Kawasaki disease and IL‑1 blocking treatments have helped some refractory patients, but studying how sex differences shape immune–vessel interactions is a newer direction.
Where this research is happening
-
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Arditi, Moshe — Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Arditi, Moshe
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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.