Project R-17042

Elastin-Like Proteins for Active Immuno-Modulation (ELP-AIM) (Research)

The Elastin-Like Proteins for Active Immuno-Modulation (ELP-AIM) project addresses the critical need for advanced therapies to treat heart failure following a myocardial infarction (MI). While early inflammation is necessary for tissue clearance post-MI, a prolonged pro-inflammatory M1 macrophage response often leads to maladaptive remodelling and non-contractile fibrotic scarring. Current approaches using soluble cytokines to promote a transition to the reparative M2 phase are limited by short half-lives and potential off-target effects. This project proposes a novel class of Immune-Instructive Elastin-Like Proteins (iiELPs) that leverage recombinant DNA technology to tether bioactive peptide mimetics directly into an elastic, injectable hydrogel backbone. By combining peptide domains that suppress M1 activation with peptide motifs that recruit and stabilize M2 cells, the scaffold provides a persistent, localized, and synergistic immune-instructive effect. The designed fusion proteins are characterized in depth and validated both in vitro using macrophage profiling and in vivo using an established rat MI model. The project aims to demonstrate that guiding the immune response can effectively prevent pathological fibroblast activation and limit scar tissue formation, ultimately preserving cardiac function.

01 November 2026 - 31 October 2030