Improving gut health to reduce diarrhea caused by a common transplant medication
Official title: Selectively Manipulating Intestinal Glucuronidation to Alleviate Mycophenolate mofetil-induced Diarrhea
Funded at Texas Southern University · NIH-11115565 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at ways to help organ transplant patients who experience diarrhea from their medication, mycophenolate mofetil, by testing natural compounds that might make the side effects better while keeping the medicine effective.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Texas Southern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | April 5, 2023 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $153,380 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM149425-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11115565 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are organ transplant patients who are currently taking mycophenolate mofetil and experiencing chronic diarrhea.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are not on mycophenolate mofetil or do not suffer from diarrhea related to their medication may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research focuses on enhancing the detoxification process in the intestines to alleviate diarrhea caused by mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a medication used by organ transplant patients. The researchers aim to selectively manipulate glucuronidation, a process that helps break down drugs, to reduce the side effects of MMF without affecting its effectiveness. By using animal models, they will test compounds like wogonin and chrysin that have shown promise in reducing MMF-induced diarrhea. The goal is to improve the quality of life for patients experiencing chronic diarrhea due to their medication.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could significantly improve the quality of life for organ transplant patients by reducing medication-induced diarrhea.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have shown that manipulating glucuronidation can effectively reduce drug-related side effects, indicating potential success for this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Texas Southern University
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gao, Song — Texas Southern University
- Study coordinator: Gao, Song
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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PediCODE: A Biorepository and Consortium for CoDE - Congenital Diarrhea and Enteropathy
A nationwide effort to collect clinical data and patient-derived samples to uncover the genetic causes of congenital diarrhea and enteropathy and to build a resource that helps researchers study these diseases.
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PediCODE Consortium and Biobank for Congenital Diarrhea and Enteropathy
Creating a multi-center team and biobank to find genetic causes of congenital diarrhea and enteropathy in children and collect samples that can help future research.
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Mobile health tool to guide dehydration care for acute diarrhea across all ages
A mobile app uses AI to help people of all ages determine dehydration risk during acute diarrhea and guide rehydration decisions.
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Understanding how certain gut bacteria cause diarrhea in children and how it works in the gut lining
This project looks at how infections from ETEC and EPEC bacteria cause diarrhea, especially in children, and uses a mouse model and human-derived gut cell systems to uncover the underlying mechanisms.
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Targeting a gut transporter to help relieve constipation in CF and older adults
Aimed at helping people with cystic fibrosis and older adults who have chronic constipation by studying a gut transporter to improve intestinal fluid balance.
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Targeting gut drug processing to prevent diarrhea from mycophenolate
This project tests whether using natural gut-acting compounds to boost a specific drug-clearing pathway in the lower intestine can reduce diarrhea caused by the transplant drug mycophenolate in people who take it.
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.