How anemia and blood transfusions affect the newborn liver and gut
Official title: Liver-Gut Axis in Neonatal Anemia and Its Role in RBC Transfusion Associated Gut Injury
Funded at Ut Southwestern Medical Center · NIH-11380241 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how anemia and red blood cell transfusions affect the liver and gut in very premature newborns to help prevent transfusion-related intestinal injury.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ut Southwestern Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Dallas, United States) |
| Project start | March 20, 2023 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $473,832 |
| NIH project number | 7R01HL163043-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11380241 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be very premature newborns who are anemic and may require red blood cell transfusions, typically those born around 22–28 weeks' gestation.
✕Less likely to help
Infants who are not anemic, older children, or adults are unlikely to benefit directly from this neonatal-focused research.
What this research studies
If your baby was born very early and becomes anemic, doctors sometimes give red blood cell transfusions, but those transfusions can in rare cases trigger severe gut injury called necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). This research uses laboratory experiments and a preterm mouse model to study how anemia changes immune cells in the newborn liver and how those cells interact with the gut during transfusion. The team compares liver-derived monocytes to bone marrow and spleen cells and tests how components in stored blood (like heme) activate inflammatory responses. Results may point to ways to reduce transfusion-related gut inflammation and protect fragile premature infants.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to strategies that lower the risk of NEC and make blood transfusions safer for extremely premature infants.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal studies, including the team's preliminary mouse data, have linked anemia and liver monocyte activation to gut injury, but applying these findings to human infants remains a novel step.
Where this research is happening
-
Ut Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Krishnan, Mohan Kumar — Ut Southwestern Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Krishnan, Mohan Kumar
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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.