Jeffrey Sturek, MD, PHD
Jeffrey Sturek, MD, PhD, an associate professor of medicine, pharmacology, and biomedical engineering, was awarded a new five-year $4 million grant from the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to study how B cells and antibodies impact pulmonary fibrosis.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic progressive scarring lung disease with a median survival of three years from diagnosis and limited treatment options. Prior studies have linked changes in the immune system to disease onset and progression, but the specific role of the immune system in driving or modifying IPF remains poorly understood.
In this new project, Dr. Sturek’s team will study the role of antibody-producing B cells and IgA antibodies in IPF. In particular they will focus on antibodies to damaged-self referred to as oxidation-specific epitopes (OSE). Using blood and lung tissue samples from multiple large human cohorts, including from an ongoing clinical trial, Prospective tReatment EffiCacy in IPF uSIng genOtype for Nac Selection (PRECISIONS) (NCT04300920), they will leverage multi-omics approaches to determine molecular pathways associated with B cells and anti-OSE antibodies. They will also test the effect of specific B cells and anti-OSE antibodies on experimental lung fibrosis in mouse models.
Results from these studies will help to further define the molecular mechanisms driving pulmonary fibrosis and help to inform the development of future immune- or antibody-based treatments.
Key collaborators on this project include UVA School of Medicine faculty John Kim, MD, MS, Yong Huang, MD, MS, Anne Sperling, PhD, and Justin Taylor, PhD.
Filed Under: Research