Federal Grant Award Summary

Duke University received a $814,925 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), effective March 17, 2026, with a completion date of February 28, 2031. The research initiative, conducted at Duke's Durham, North Carolina facility, investigates the mechanisms through which the ubiquitin editor A20 (encoded by TNFAIP3) regulates hypertensive responses via selective actions in the kidney. The project focuses on elucidating how A20 suppresses inflammatory cytokines that modulate renal sodium transport, with particular emphasis on the sodium transporter NHE3 (sodium/hydrogen exchanger isoform 3) and its role in immune-regulated sodium reabsorption.

The research aims to define novel therapeutic pathways that selectively target immune-mediated kidney mechanisms driving hypertension without requiring systemic immunosuppression. Given that uncontrolled hypertension affects up to half of treated patients globally and represents a leading driver of cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease, the project seeks to identify localized renal mechanisms that could inform development of more effective antihypertensive therapies. The work leverages preclinical models to translate findings that may ultimately reduce blood pressure and prevent kidney damage through targeted modulation of epithelial sodium transport in kidney tubules.