How organs talk to each other through hormones and proteins

Integrative approaches to dissection of endocrine communication

NIH-funded research University of California-Irvine · NIH-11369488

This project maps the protein signals that organs send and receive in people with adult-onset (type 2) diabetes to find communication pathways that affect disease.

Quick facts

Grant typeNIH-funded research
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of California-Irvine NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Irvine, United States)
Project IDNIH-11369488 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

From your point of view, researchers are looking at blood proteins and gene activity from different tissues to see how organs communicate. They combine large public human datasets with new proteomic measurements and a computer pipeline that ranks likely signaling proteins. Promising signals are then tested in the lab to learn which tissues they act on and what they do. The goal is to connect population data to experiments so discoveries could eventually point to new ways to treat diabetes or its complications.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: People with adult-onset (type 2) diabetes who can provide blood or tissue samples or share health data would be the most relevant participants for this work.

Not a fit: Patients seeking immediate personal treatment changes are unlikely to get direct benefit because this is discovery-focused research rather than a therapy trial.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify new signaling molecules or pathways that become targets for therapies to better control blood sugar or prevent complications of type 2 diabetes.

How similar studies have performed: Related proteomics and bioinformatics efforts have already identified some inter-organ signals and a subset have been experimentally validated, though much of this area remains novel.

Where this research is happening

Irvine, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions Adult-Onset Diabetes Mellitus
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.