T cells and the switch from pre-autoimmunity to autoimmune disease
Official title: T cells promoting transitions toward autoimmunity
Funded at Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason · NIH-11621069 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study following people at risk for type 1 diabetes and people with Down syndrome to understand how certain T cells may shift toward causing autoimmune disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | August 18, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $428,102 |
| NIH project number | 3U01AI176320-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11621069 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include individuals at high risk for type 1 diabetes or those with Down syndrome who are tracked for autoimmune progression.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without these risk profiles may not directly benefit from the study’s findings.
What this research studies
Researchers will compare people at high risk for type 1 diabetes with individuals with Down syndrome, a group with very high autoimmune risk, to see how naive T cells and regulatory systems might fail and drive autoimmunity. They will use cross-sectional and long-term cohorts, along with single-cell multi-omics, to map T cell states and epigenetic changes over time. The study aims to identify early T cell patterns that precede autoimmune onset and how external triggers influence this transition. This is designed to reveal biological steps that could become targets for preventing or delaying autoimmune disease in the future.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Understanding these T cell changes could lead to earlier detection and new ways to prevent autoimmune progression in high-risk individuals.
How similar studies have gone: Other studies in autoimmunity have shown that T cell states and epigenetics relate to disease progression, supporting this approach as promising.
Where this research is happening
-
Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Buckner, Jane Hoyt — Benaroya Research Inst at Virginia Mason
- Study coordinator: Buckner, Jane Hoyt
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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.