Gut bacteria and immune responses in alcohol-related liver damage
Official title: Microbiome and Intestinal Innate Immune Response in Alcoholic Liver Disease
Funded at University of California, San Diego · NIH-11123423 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at how certain gut bacteria and their toxin may worsen liver damage in people who drink heavily.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R37 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | September 25, 2011 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $422,582 |
| NIH project number | 5R37AA020703-15 |
| Project ID | NIH-11123423 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with alcohol use disorder or patients diagnosed with alcoholic hepatitis would be the most relevant candidates to participate or benefit.
✕Less likely to help
People whose liver disease is caused by non-alcohol-related conditions (for example viral, autoimmune, or genetic liver diseases) may not see direct benefits from this work.
What this research studies
This project studies how changes in gut bacteria and a bacterial toxin called cytolysin contribute to alcohol-related liver injury. Researchers combine lab models (mice) with analysis of stool and clinical data from people with alcohol use disorder or alcoholic hepatitis to link the bacteria and toxin to disease severity. The team is examining how alcohol alters gut cell sugars (via FUT2) to allow bacterial overgrowth and how immune clearance (CRIg) handles bacteria that move to the liver. The approach seeks molecular targets in the microbiome and host immune response that could be turned into treatments or diagnostics.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the research could lead to ways to reduce harmful gut bacteria or block their toxin, lowering liver injury and deaths from alcoholic hepatitis.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal experiments and observational studies in patients have linked cytolysin-positive Enterococcus to worse liver outcomes, so this builds on promising preclinical and clinical correlations.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schnabl, Bernd G. — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Schnabl, Bernd G.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Microbiome and Innate Immune Response in Alcohol-Related Liver Disease
Researchers are studying how gut bacteria and the body's first-line immune defenses contribute to liver damage from alcohol, with a focus on how a specific bacteria and its toxins affect disease severity.
-
Lipotoxicity and Alcohol-Related Liver Disease
This project studies how fatty acids cause liver cell damage in alcohol-related liver disease to help develop new treatments.
-
NNMT as a Target to Treat Alcoholic Liver Disease
A study to see if blocking an enzyme called NNMT can help people with alcoholic liver disease.
-
How gut fungi may drive alcohol-related liver damage
Researchers are looking at whether specific fungi in the gut make liver damage from heavy drinking worse in people with alcohol-related liver disease.
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Heat shock protein 90 and alcohol-related liver disease: how macrophages fuel inflammation
This project looks at how a cellular stress protein, HSP90, affects liver inflammation in people with alcohol-related liver disease by focusing on macrophages.
-
Why alcohol-related liver disease can come back after a transplant
Looking at whether an enzyme called CerS6 helps fat build up in the liver and whether measuring CerS6 can help detect or predict return of alcohol-related liver disease before or after a liver transplant.
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.