Immune and pancreatic cell communication during injury and healing
Official title: Epithelial-immune cell crosstalk during injury and recovery in acute pancreatitis
Funded at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor · NIH-11238477 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at how an immune signal called IL‑22 and its blocker IL‑22BP affect damage and recovery in acute pancreatitis.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Michigan at Ann Arbor NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ann Arbor, United States) |
| Project start | December 22, 2021 |
| Project end | November 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $441,016 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK128102-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11238477 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who have acute pancreatitis—especially those with more severe or recurrent episodes—would be the most directly relevant candidates for future treatments stemming from this work.
✕Less likely to help
People without inflammatory pancreatic disease or those with unrelated digestive conditions are unlikely to benefit directly from this specific research.
What this research studies
Researchers are examining how immune cells and pancreatic epithelial cells communicate after acute pancreatitis, focusing on a tissue-repair molecule called IL‑22 and its natural blocker IL‑22BP. They will use lab models including mouse models and three-dimensional pancreatic cell systems to track changes in inflammation, cell survival, and autophagy during injury and recovery. The team will manipulate IL‑22 and IL‑22BP levels and measure effects on tissue damage and healing to identify mechanisms that promote repair. The goal is to reveal targets that could be used to help the pancreas recover and prevent progression to severe disease.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could point to new treatments that boost pancreatic repair and reduce severe complications from acute pancreatitis.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal studies have shown IL‑22 can limit tissue damage and aid repair, while targeting IL‑22BP is a newer approach that has been less extensively tested.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Frankel, Timothy Louis — University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
- Study coordinator: Frankel, Timothy Louis
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Diabetes after acute pancreatitis: understanding and tracking progression
A patient-focused look at how diabetes can develop after an episode of acute pancreatitis, using data from a large, ongoing study and AI insights.
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Continuation of Type 1 Diabetes in Acute Pancreatitis: UF Health and AdventHealth
A patient-facing overview of a long-term study tracking people with acute pancreatitis to understand how some develop type 1 diabetes later and what factors influence that process.
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Data Coordinating Center for Type 1 Diabetes in Acute Pancreatitis Consortium
A national effort to learn how pancreatitis-related Type 1 diabetes develops, by tracking patients and coordinating data to improve future care.
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Diabetes after acute pancreatitis: a patient-focused network study
A program at Indiana University is studying how diabetes can develop after an acute pancreatitis episode, with new findings that could help doctors tailor care for adults who had pancreatitis.
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Type 1 Diabetes in Acute Pancreatitis in Diabetes Patients at Stanford
A Stanford-led project helps people with brittle type 1 diabetes who also experience pancreatitis by following them in a long-term study to understand how acute pancreatitis affects diabetes.
-
Epidemiology and causes of diabetes after acute pancreatitis
A long-term study following people who have had acute pancreatitis to understand how often diabetes develops, why it happens, and how it progresses.
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.