Harmful alcohol breakdown chemicals and gut immune changes in liver damage
Official title: Aldehydes in Alcohol-Induced Organ Injury
Funded at University of North Carolina Greensboro · NIH-11326630 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looks at whether aldehydes (alcohol breakdown chemicals) and changes in gut immune cells help drive liver damage in people who drink heavily.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of North Carolina Greensboro NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Greensboro, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2010 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $485,792 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA020212-14 |
| Project ID | NIH-11326630 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with a history of heavy alcohol use or a diagnosis of alcoholic liver disease (from fatty liver to alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis) would be the main group who could benefit or be recruited for related clinical work.
✕Less likely to help
People whose liver disease is due to nonalcohol causes (for example viral hepatitis or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease) or casual/light drinkers are unlikely to benefit from these alcohol-specific findings.
What this research studies
From my perspective, the team studies how alcohol-caused chemicals called aldehydes and changes in gut immune cells harm the gut–liver connection and lead to alcoholic liver disease. They use mouse models with specific immune cell changes, transfer immune cells back into animals, give treatments like IFN-gamma, and examine effects on gut bacteria, gut barrier function, and liver inflammation. The work also links those preclinical findings to human alcoholic liver disease to guide future approaches. The goal is to find targets that could be translated into new treatments for people with alcohol-related liver injury.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to protect the gut–liver axis and lead to treatments that reduce inflammation and slow or prevent progression of alcoholic liver disease.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal studies have shown that restoring certain gut dendritic cells or giving IFN-gamma can improve gut barrier function and reduce liver inflammation, but clinical testing in people is still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
University of North Carolina Greensboro
Greensboro, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zhou, Zhanxiang — University of North Carolina Greensboro
- Study coordinator: Zhou, Zhanxiang
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Understanding how BMP signaling shapes development and adult health in humans and model organisms
A research project to uncover how the BMP signaling pathway produces specific responses in cells during development and in adult tissues, using human-related biology and model organisms.
-
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.
-
Behavioral, microbial, and chemical cues guiding sand fly egg-laying
Researchers are studying how sand flies sense their environment and choose where to lay eggs, with the aim of turning those cues into a trap to reduce disease transmission.
-
Breastfeeding support to reduce obesity risk in children
A family-based program helps new Hispanic mothers in the WIC program breastfeed more and give babies a healthier start to prevent obesity and diabetes later.
-
Linking insufficient sleep to body weight in Black emerging adults
This grant helps us understand how short sleep and stress influence weight gain in Black adults aged 18–28.
-
How Families Thrive: Understanding How Disasters Affect Parents and Young Children
This grant explores how disasters and big life risks affect the well‑being of parents and their young children from pregnancy through age 4, using a long‑term study to learn what helps families stay resilient.
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.