Project Grant R01DK149168

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded the University of Alabama at Birmingham $650,509 on August 20, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to investigate the myeloid ferritin–CXCL3 axis as a driver of acute kidney injury (AKI) progression to chronic kidney disease.

The research leverages novel transgenic mice with targeted deletion of ferritin genes in myeloid cells to determine whether myeloid ferritin influences long-term kidney function recovery following ischemia-reperfusion injury. Prior work identified ferritin heavy and light chain genes as dominantly expressed by myeloid cells during AKI and showed that ferritin deletion in the myeloid compartment improves kidney function recovery and reduces fibrotic remodeling. Current work uses single-cell RNA sequencing and in vitro studies to characterize the ferritin–CXCL3 signaling pathway, examining how ferritin-expressing pro-inflammatory myeloid cells drive neutrophil recruitment and extracellular matrix remodeling associated with maladaptive repair. The study addresses a clinical gap: acute kidney injury affects over 13 million people worldwide annually, with no effective therapies to prevent progression to chronic kidney disease.

The award period extends from August 20, 2026, through April 30, 2031. Work is performed in Birmingham, Alabama.