Individual cell analysis of diabetes-related slow stomach emptying
Official title: Single-cell epigenomics and transcriptomics of diabetic gastroparesis in humans
Funded at Mayo Clinic Rochester · NIH-11144379 · Data updated 2026-11-12
The team compares individual stomach and blood immune cells from people with and without diabetes who have upper‑GI symptoms to find how diabetes contributes to slow stomach emptying.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Mayo Clinic Rochester NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Rochester, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2021 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $397,500 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK131455-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11144379 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with diabetes or without diabetes who experience upper gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, early satiety, or documented delayed gastric emptying would be the intended participants.
✕Less likely to help
People without upper‑GI symptoms or those unwilling to undergo blood draws or a small stomach biopsy are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you have upper‑GI symptoms like nausea, bloating, or early fullness, researchers will measure your symptoms, blood glucose, and gastric emptying and collect blood and small stomach biopsy samples. They will examine gene activity and epigenetic marks in single stomach pacemaker cells (ICC) and immune cells, and in single circulating immune cells (PBMCs). The project compares people with diabetes to similar people without diabetes to link cellular changes to stomach emptying and glucose control. About 45 carefully characterized patients will be included and their samples analyzed ex vivo with single‑cell methods.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to specific cellular or immune targets for treatments that address the cause of diabetic gastroparesis rather than just symptoms.
How similar studies have gone: Single‑cell transcriptomic and epigenomic approaches have revealed disease mechanisms in other inflammatory and GI conditions, but applying them to diabetic gastroparesis is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Rochester, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bharucha, Adil E. — Mayo Clinic Rochester
- Study coordinator: Bharucha, Adil E.
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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New England Gastroparesis Consortium: Neurobiology of Gastroparesis
A national project to learn about gastroparesis in children and adults by creating a registry and gathering information from patients to understand symptoms, quality of life, and disease progression.
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Pediatric and Young Adult Gastroparesis Registry and Disease Course
This project follows children, teens, and young adults with symptoms of gastroparesis to learn how their symptoms change over time and what factors are tied to different disease patterns.
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Pediatric gastroparesis: building a nationwide patient registry
This grant funds a national registry to study gastroparesis and similar tummy problems in children and teens, with the goal of better understanding how the condition affects their daily lives.
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Gut-resident macrophages and gastric function in gastroparesis
A study in people with gastroparesis to understand how gut macrophages affect stomach movement and gut barrier health, with the hope of finding new ways to treat the condition.
-
Gastric electrical stimulation for stomach pain in gastroparesis
A new approach tests how adjusting a stomach-stimulating implant may reduce pain for people with gastroparesis.
-
Peptide therapies for gastroparesis in diabetes
A new peptide-based treatment is being tested to help people with gastroparesis linked to diabetes by improving stomach emptying and reducing inflammation.
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.