Gut-targeted antibiotics for C. difficile infection
Official title: Development of Microbiome-Sparing Antibacterials for Clostridioides difficile Infection
Funded at University of Tennessee Health Sci Ctr · NIH-11240315 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Developing gut-targeted antibiotics to kill C. difficile while keeping healthy gut bacteria for people with recurrent C. difficile infections.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Tennessee Health Sci Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Memphis, United States) |
| Project start | December 4, 2024 |
| Project end | November 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $735,299 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI182231-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11240315 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with recurrent C. difficile infections or those at high risk for relapse.
✕Less likely to help
People with non-C. difficile diarrheal illnesses or those needing systemic intravenous antibiotics for severe, life-threatening infections may not benefit from this gut-focused approach.
What this research studies
Researchers are designing drugs that hit a specific C. difficile enzyme (FabK) so the medicine focuses on the harmful bug. Their lead compounds worked in mice and stay mostly in the gut, which helps protect normal gut bacteria. The team will strengthen the best molecules, discover new chemical types that block FabK, and test top candidates in animal models to confirm narrow activity against C. difficile with minimal microbiome disruption. If those steps go well, the best drugs could advance toward human testing.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could provide treatments that lower relapse rates while preserving healthy gut bacteria.
How similar studies have gone: Related enzyme-targeting antibiotics (for example FabI inhibitors like isoniazid) have been effective against other bacteria, and these FabK inhibitors showed promising results in mouse studies but have not yet been tested in humans.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Tennessee Health Sci Ctr
Memphis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hevener, Kirk Edward — University of Tennessee Health Sci Ctr
- Study coordinator: Hevener, Kirk Edward
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding how the immune system fights C. difficile to prevent recurrence
A new NIH grant is studying how the body’s own immune response to C. difficile infection might be boosted to prevent future outbreaks.
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Impact of gut bile acids on C. difficile infection in inflammatory bowel disease
This grant tests whether changes in gut microbes and their bile acids influence how likely people with inflammatory bowel disease are to get and how severe a C. difficile infection could be.
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Role of gut bacteria in shaping C. difficile infection
Aims to map how the gut microbiome and its metabolic environment influence Clostridioides difficile infection in people and how we might prevent or treat it.
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Detailed genetic look at C. difficile and the gut microbiome in infection and relapse
Researchers will sequence C. difficile and gut bacteria from thousands of patient stool samples to find genetic and microbial patterns linked to severe or recurring infections.
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Multivalent vaccine to prevent C. difficile infection and recurrence
This project is developing a vaccine that teaches the immune system to neutralize C. difficile toxins and block the bacteria from coming back for people at risk of infection.
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Technology-Driven Root-Cause Analysis and Clinical Enhancement for C. difficile Infections
A new digital platform uses hospital data to streamline how hospitals analyze and prevent hospital-acquired C. diff infections.
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.