T-cell markers for heart inflammation caused by cancer immunotherapy
Official title: Decoding T cell clonotypes, biology and predictive biomarkers associated with immune checkpoint Myocarditis
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11325325 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to find T cell and blood markers that explain and help predict dangerous heart inflammation in people treated with cancer immune checkpoint drugs.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $841,626 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI182098-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11325325 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are cancer patients who are receiving or have received immune checkpoint inhibitors and who develop or are at risk for myocarditis and can provide blood samples and/or consent to tissue analysis.
✕Less likely to help
People not treated with immune checkpoint drugs or whose heart inflammation is due to non-immune causes are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you are a cancer patient who develops heart inflammation after immunotherapy, this project will analyze heart tissue and blood samples to find the immune cells responsible. Researchers will use single-cell RNA sequencing and T cell receptor sequencing to map which T cells expand in the heart and whether those same T cells appear in blood. They will compare samples from people with immune-related myocarditis to controls to pinpoint specific T cell clonotypes and molecular signals. The goal is to discover biomarkers that could warn clinicians earlier or guide treatments that protect the heart without stopping cancer therapy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could allow earlier detection or more targeted treatment of immune-related myocarditis so patients can stay safer on cancer immunotherapy.
How similar studies have gone: Early single-cell and TCR sequencing studies have identified expanded T cells in immune-related myocarditis, but clear, validated predictive biomarkers are not yet established.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Villani, Alexandra-Chloe — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Villani, Alexandra-Chloe
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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.