Dr. Chuanfu Li has been awarded a R01 grant by the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the amount of $2,823,998 for his project titled “Novel Role of Lactate in Sepsis Impaired Immune Function.”
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition with a high mortality rate. In addition to the morbidity and mortality associated with sepsis, many survivors will suffer long-term health impacts from immune dysfunction and can even have increased mortality from post-sepsis opportunistic infections. During sepsis infection, increased lactate levels can be a predictor of the severity of sepsis; however, it remains unclear whether lactate levels continue to impact the severity of immune dysfunction and infectious comorbidities.
The study will explore the impact of YAP/TAZ lactylation on macrophage immune dysfunction during sepsis, elucidate the involvement of Keap1 lactylation and Nrf2 activation in macrophage immune dysfunction during sepsis, and investigate whether lactate-promoted senescence of macrophages will contribute to impaired macrophage immune function during sepsis. Dr. Li says, “Successful completion of the proposed studies will yield a wealth of new and novel data, highlighting the crucial and previously undiscovered role of lactate in the regulation of immune responses during sepsis.”
This award marks Dr. Li’s fourth R01 award since 2003. Dr. Chuanfu Li is a professor in the Department of Surgery and is a member of the Center of Excellence in Inflammation, Infectious Disease, and Immunity. Please join us in congratulating him on his R01 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.