How the environmental sensor AhR affects colitis
Official title: Role of the environmental sensor, AhR on colitis
Funded at University of South Carolina at Columbia · NIH-11167451 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Seeing whether plant-derived compounds that activate the AhR sensor can lower gut inflammation and boost natural antimicrobial defenses for people with colitis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of South Carolina at Columbia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbia, United States) |
| Project start | September 27, 2021 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $489,036 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI160896-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11167451 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with inflammatory bowel disease affecting the colon (ulcerative colitis or colonic Crohn's disease) would be the most relevant patients for this line of research.
✕Less likely to help
People without IBD or those with conditions limited to the small intestine rather than the colon are unlikely to gain direct benefit from these findings.
What this research studies
You can think of AhR as a sensor in the gut that responds to pollutants and plant or microbial chemicals; researchers are exploring how those signals change inflammation in colitis. In lab work, they give a dietary plant compound called I3C that helped colitis in mice and look at inflammation, gut bacteria, and levels of protective beta-defensin proteins made by colon cells. They also use DNA-level methods (including ATAC-seq) to see how AhR changes gene control in colon cells and how that affects antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory responses. The goal is to understand mechanisms that could point to new diet-based or drug approaches for inflammatory bowel disease.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to dietary supplements or drugs that reduce inflammation, restore healthy gut microbes, and boost natural antimicrobial peptides for people with IBD.
How similar studies have gone: Related preclinical studies showed the plant indole I3C reduced colitis in mice, but human clinical evidence for this approach is limited or not yet available.
Where this research is happening
-
University of South Carolina at Columbia
Columbia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nagarkatti, Prakash S — University of South Carolina at Columbia
- Study coordinator: Nagarkatti, Prakash S
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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.