Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded $927,025 to the Texas Biomedical Research Institute on May 11, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for a project extending through April 30, 2031. This Project Grant funds research aimed at enhancing pulmonary immune reconstitution and limiting viral persistence through interleukin-21 (IL-21) therapy in individuals with combined Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) co-infection. The research will be conducted using an established MTB/SIV rhesus macaque model to evaluate whether adjunctive IL-21-IGFC therapy administered during early combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) can restore critical immune pathways in the lung, reduce viral reservoirs, and improve macrophage function to prevent MTB reactivation.

The deliverables include comprehensive immunological assessment and characterization of immune reconstitution mechanisms, with specific focus on T cell subsets, STAT1/STAT3 signaling pathways, granuloma integrity, and transcriptional signatures utilizing flow cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing, and spatial transcriptomics. Additionally, the project will conduct cross-species transcriptomic comparisons between non-human primate and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from both cART-treated and untreated cohorts to translate findings from the animal model to human disease mechanisms. These research services directly address the urgent public health challenge of TB-related mortality in people living with HIV despite widespread antiretroviral therapy availability.