Immune and tissue changes in Crohn's disease perianal fistulas
Mount Sinai NYC Genetics Research Center: Multi-omic integration across data-types, cell niches and populations
This project looks at immune cells and tissue signals in people with Crohn's disease who have perianal fistulas using advanced single-cell and spatial technologies.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11141214 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers may collect perianal fistula tissue and blood from people with Crohn's disease and use single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing plus high-resolution spatial transcriptomics to map which cells and genes are active. They will also grow rectal-derived organoids (enteroids) in the lab and run experiments to see how blood leukocytes and platelets interact with the tissue. The team will compare samples from different disease states, including people who do and do not respond to anti-TNF treatments. The goal is to define how immune and epithelial cells change and whether these changes drive persistent fistula disease.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with Crohn's disease, particularly those with perianal fistulas or who are receiving or have received anti-TNF therapy and can provide tissue or blood samples, are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People without Crohn's disease or without perianal fistulas, and anyone seeking immediate personal medical treatment from participation, are unlikely to receive direct benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This work could help identify markers to predict treatment response and new targets for therapies to heal perianal fistulas in Crohn's disease.
How similar studies have performed: Single-cell and spatial approaches have already revealed important immune changes in IBD, but applying combined multiome ATAC+transcriptome and high-resolution spatial methods to perianal fistulas is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cho, Judy H. — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Cho, Judy H.
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 below.