Bile acids shaping gut immunity with friendly bacteria
Official title: Bile acid control of commensal-specific immune responses
Funded at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic · NIH-11448760 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how bile acids and gut bacteria interact to influence immunity in the gut.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Lebanon, United States) |
| Project start | July 24, 2026 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $561,873 |
| NIH project number | 1U01AI201086-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11448760 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with gut inflammatory conditions or people at risk where bile acid-immune interactions are relevant, who could participate in future translational steps.
✕Less likely to help
Healthy individuals without gut inflammatory conditions may have limited direct benefit from this research.
What this research studies
Researchers will use a combination of lab models and animal studies to measure how bile acids, produced in the liver and modified by gut microbes, affect immune cells in the intestine. They have developed tools to quantify and alter bile acid pools in vivo and in vitro, and will test how intestinal bacteria like segmented filamentous bacteria change these pools. The study aims to connect changes in bile acids with immune responses in the ileum, a key site of bile acid absorption. Results could help us understand how gut chemistry shapes inflammation and mucosal health.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new ways to modulate gut immunity and inflammation through bile acid pathways.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show that bile acids can influence immune cells, but this project aims to connect bile acid pools with mucosal immunity in a physiological context, a relatively novel approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic
Lebanon, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sundrud, Mark Scott — Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic
- Study coordinator: Sundrud, Mark Scott
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.