Project Grant R01AI192359

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a component of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, awarded Indiana University Indianapolis $673,584 on September 2, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to characterize methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection dynamics in renal tissue and identify therapeutic strategies to disrupt kidney colonization during bloodstream infection.

The research will define the molecular and cellular basis of MRSA persistence in the kidney through two specific aims. The first aim will characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of MRSA invasion and host immune responses in the renal medulla using dual-species RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and multiplexed imaging, and will test the effects of modulating medullary osmolality. The second aim will determine how tissue polyamines influence MRSA tolerance to renal osmotic stress through in vivo interventions and in vitro assays controlling host and bacterial factors. The research responds to the finding that the inner medulla, where urine is concentrated, serves as an initial protected niche for MRSA invasion due to minimal early neutrophil responses, and that basal tissue polyamines enhance MRSA's ability to withstand the renal environment's extreme osmolality, elevated urea and salt levels, and acidosis.

Performance will be conducted in Indianapolis, Indiana. The period of performance extends from the award date through August 31, 2031.