How gut bacteria and the gut lining interact in celiac disease
Official title: Toward parsing gut microbiota-epithelium-immune metabolic crosstalk in Celiac Disease
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11324586 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how specific gut microbes and the substances they make affect the gut lining and immune system in people with or at high risk for celiac disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | June 14, 2024 |
| Project end | April 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $594,719 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI184777-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11324586 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people with celiac disease or those at higher risk (for example, family members or people with genetic risk markers) who can provide stool, blood, or other samples and attend visits at the research site.
✕Less likely to help
People without celiac disease or who cannot provide biological samples or travel to the study site are unlikely to gain direct benefit from participating.
What this research studies
You would be part of research that uses stool, blood, and other samples collected from people before and when celiac disease starts. Scientists will combine genetic, metabolic, and other 'multi-omics' data with computer models of microbial metabolism to predict how microbes and their products influence gut cells and immune responses. Predicted interactions will be tested in lab-grown gut tissue and co-cultures of gut cells and immune cells to see which microbes or molecules change gluten tolerance. The team aims to turn these findings into clear targets for future tests, diagnostics, or treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to microbial markers or targets that help prevent or better treat celiac disease by restoring healthy gut-immune balance.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have linked gut microbiota changes to celiac disease, but this combined multi-omics, computational, and ex vivo approach to pinpoint causal mechanisms is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Zomorrodi, Ali R — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Zomorrodi, Ali R
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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.