Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have received $2.8 million in funding from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for research on reducing inflammation and lung damage in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients. The study, titled "Cell Based Immunomodulation to Suppress Lung Inflammation and Promote Repair," will be co-led by Omid Veiseh, a professor of bioengineering and faculty director of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, and Ravi Kiran Ghanta, a professor of surgery at Baylor.
Veiseh and Ghanta are developing a new translational cell therapy platform that allows better local administration of cytokines to the lungs in order to suppress inflammation and potentially prevent lung damage in ARDS patients. ARDS affects over 300,000 Americans annually, with a high mortality rate of 43% driven significantly by inflammation, specifically in the one-third of patients with hyperinflammatory ARDS. While cytokines like IL-1Ra and IL-10 can reduce inflammation and aid lung repair, current delivery methods cause poor biodistribution, toxicity and immune complications.
The new approach developed by Ghanta and Veiseh overcomes these issues by using engineered retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to locally and sustainably produce these cytokines in the lungs. The cells are encapsulated in a protective layer allowing them to subsist immune system attacks. This method allows precise, targeted ant.