How a Western high-fat diet can change the gut and raise heart disease risk
Official title: Obesogenic diet-induced intestinal epithelium repair responses link dysbiosis and cardiovascular disease
Funded at Vanderbilt University Medical Center · NIH-11248757 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how a Western high-fat diet causes gut cell changes and bacterial shifts that may increase the chance of heart disease in adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project start | January 12, 2022 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $490,258 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK131104-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11248757 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with obesity or with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, or those at high risk because of a Western high-fat diet, are the population most likely to be affected by this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without diet-related obesity or cardiovascular risk factors may not see direct benefits from this specific mechanistic research.
What this research studies
Researchers are exploring how a Western high-fat (obesogenic) diet harms the energy centers (mitochondria) in colon cells and triggers repair processes. Those repair responses may favor growth of certain gut bacteria (Enterobacteriaceae) that make metabolites linked to faster atherosclerosis. The team will use laboratory models to follow immune cell recruitment, epithelial repair, bacterial changes, and microbial metabolite production. Their goal is to connect diet-driven gut changes to increased cardiovascular risk so new prevention or treatment strategies can be developed.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new gut-targeted strategies (diet, microbes, or drugs) to lower heart disease risk.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked gut microbes and their metabolites to atherosclerosis, but the specific role of epithelial repair and mitochondrial dysfunction is a newer and less-tested idea.
Where this research is happening
-
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Byndloss, Mariana Xavier — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Byndloss, Mariana Xavier
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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.