TIGIT's role in sudden kidney injury and healing
Official title: TIGIT in acute kidney injury and repair
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11311301 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at whether a protein called TIGIT makes sudden kidney damage worse and whether blocking it could help people with acute kidney injury or kidney side effects from cancer immunotherapy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | March 10, 2023 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $493,491 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK132278-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11311301 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with recent acute kidney injury, those at high risk for AKI (for example after surgery or chemotherapy such as cisplatin), or cancer patients who develop kidney problems from immune checkpoint drugs.
✕Less likely to help
People with stable chronic kidney disease not caused by immune-driven injury or those with end-stage kidney disease on long-term dialysis are unlikely to benefit directly from this research.
What this research studies
From a patient's view, researchers will examine immune cells in injured kidneys using mouse models and samples from people with ischemic kidney injury to see how TIGIT affects inflammation and repair. They will compare normal mice to mice lacking TIGIT and use models of ischemia and drug-induced (cisplatin) kidney damage to watch what changes when TIGIT is absent. The team will study T cell activity, inflammatory signals, and regulatory T cell function to understand how TIGIT changes the injury and healing process. Results will guide whether targeting TIGIT might become a treatment to limit injury or prevent immune-related kidney side effects of cancer therapies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could point to new treatments that reduce the severity of acute kidney injury and lower the risk of kidney damage from cancer immunotherapies.
How similar studies have gone: Early laboratory and mouse data show mice lacking TIGIT were protected from AKI in several models, but targeting TIGIT as a therapy is still new and has not yet been proven in people.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Noel, Sanjeev — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Noel, Sanjeev
Related research
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Better ways to identify types of sudden kidney injury in U.S. Veterans
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Neuroimmune control of kidney injury using noninvasive ultrasound
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Aims to block how polymyxin damages the kidney so it can be used more safely to treat hard-to-kill infections.
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Using smart computer predictions to prevent kidney injury after heart surgery
A machine-learning approach uses routinely collected hospital data to predict who might develop acute kidney injury after heart surgery, so clinicians can act early.
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.