NIH Issues Anemia of Inflammation and Chronic Disease Program Announcement

November 16, 2007 – Four Institutes of the NIH have joined together in a program announcement (PAS-08-019) on "Anemia of Inflammation and of Chronic Disease" (AICD). The announcement was published in the November 2, 2007 NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts. Responsive R01 applications will be accepted on standard receipt dates, beginning February 5, 2008. The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has been joined by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood (NHLBI), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in announcing this program to promote research that will lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of AICD and to improved methods of detection, prevention, and treatment of this common form of anemia.

Objectives of research encouraged by this program announcement include a better understanding of signaling pathways and regulatory mechanisms that affect the expression of hepcidin, ferroportin, hemojuvelin, DMT-1 and other factors involved in iron metabolism, and the development of new therapeutic strategies for AICD that may overcome erythropoietin resistance in this disorder. Other research objectives include a better understanding of how aging affects erythroid cell response to erythropoietin, iron metabolism and red blood cell survival, clearance, as well as a better understanding of the causes of anemia associated with hematologic and solid tumor malignancies, unrelated to cancer chemotherapy.

Details on the program announcement may be viewed at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-08-019.html.

For questions or any additional information, please contact the ASH Government Relations and Practice Department at grassroots@hematology.org or 202-776-0544.