Intestinal immune cells and how they reach the gut
Official title: Intestinal Lymphocyte Trafficking
Funded at Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research · NIH-11358320 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study to understand how special gut T cells get into the intestines before birth and how they help protect newborns, with potential implications for human gut immunity and disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Palo Alto, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2001 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $384,256 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI047822-25 |
| Project ID | NIH-11358320 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be pregnant individuals or newborns in whom maternal or neonatal gut immunity studies could be relevant, including those at risk for intestinal immune disorders.
✕Less likely to help
This work is primarily preclinical in animals; direct patient benefit would depend on future translational steps.
What this research studies
This project looks at how the gut recruits innate-like T cells from the blood during fetal and perinatal life and what receptors guide their entry into the small intestine and colon. Researchers will identify major fetal intestinal T cell subsets in mice, figure out which chemoattractant receptors bring them to the gut, and test how these cells influence the developing gut. They will manipulate fetal T cell recruitment in living animals and use organoid co-culture experiments to see if these T cells help mature the intestinal lining and strengthen defenses before birth. The plan also includes studying how these mechanisms affect responses to pathogens in neonatal viral infection models. The findings could reveal targets to support gut development and newborn immunity in humans.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Insights into fetal and neonatal gut immunity could inform strategies to promote healthy intestinal development and protect newborns from infections.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has shown that gut T cells influence epithelial development and immunity, but mechanisms in fetal life remain to be clarified.
Where this research is happening
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Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research
Palo Alto, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Butcher, Eugene C — Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research
- Study coordinator: Butcher, Eugene C
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.