Award from Alliance for Lupus Research

Division of Nephrology and Center for Immunity, Inflammation & Regenerative Medicine
RESEARCH NEWS: Award from Alliance for Lupus Research

Shu Man Fu, MD, Professor of Rheumatology

Rahul Sharma, Assoc. Professor, Div. of Nephrology

Co-investigators Shu Man Fu (left) and Rahul Sharma (right) received a three-year research grant from the Alliance for Lupus Research to study a novel hybrid cytokine, IL-2/IL-33, as a therapeutic agent in lupus nephritis.  The novel cytokine was synthesized by Dr. Sharma (Associate Professor of Research, Division of Nephrology), and its effectiveness was tested in preliminary experiments on the lupus nephritis model NZM2328 and on an INFalpha-accelerated SLE model. This novel cytokine has demonstrated efficacy for treatment of other renal conditions besides lupus, including ischemic perfusion injury and diabetes mellitus. The research team hopes to show that this new therapeutic agent can be used in conjunction with standard disease-modifying agents to treat a variety of autoimmune diseases.

Sponsor: Alliance for Lupus Research
Title: “IL2 and IL33 as therapeutic agents for lupus nephritis”
Grant period: 02/01/2015-01/31/2018
Total award: $577,438 (with 8% indirect)