Oxalate balance in people with calcium oxalate kidney stones
Official title: Comprehensive Analysis of Oxalate Homeostasis in Calcium Oxalate Kidney Stone Formers
Funded at University of Alabama at Birmingham · NIH-11232375 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will find out why some adults make or absorb extra oxalate that increases the chance of calcium oxalate kidney stones.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Alabama at Birmingham NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Birmingham, United States) |
| Project start | December 18, 2023 |
| Project end | November 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $648,892 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK137784-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11232375 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults (age 21 and older) with a history of calcium oxalate kidney stones who can provide urine and stool samples and attend clinic visits.
✕Less likely to help
People without calcium oxalate stones, children, or anyone unable to provide required samples or travel to the study site are unlikely to benefit from participating.
What this research studies
This work enrolls adults with calcium oxalate kidney stones to measure how much oxalate their bodies make and how much they absorb from the gut. Researchers will test urine and stool samples and look for the oxalate‑breaking gut bacterium Oxalobacter formigenes. The team will compare metabolic and dietary contributors to urinary oxalate and try to determine whether adding or restoring this bacterium can lower oxalate levels in people who form stones. The goal is to link diet, gut microbes, and body oxalate production to better ways to prevent future stones.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could point to new prevention methods that lower urinary oxalate, including possible microbiome‑based therapies to reduce stone risk.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows Oxalobacter formigenes can reduce urinary oxalate in healthy volunteers, but its ability to colonize and lower oxalate in stone formers is not yet proven.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fargue, Sonia — University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Study coordinator: Fargue, Sonia
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Uromodulin and peptides as new targets in kidney stone biology
This NIH grant explores how a urine protein called uromodulin and its peptide pieces influence calcium oxalate kidney stones, using dogs and human biology to understand why stones form and how to prevent them.
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Oxalate‑eating probiotic to help prevent kidney stones
A new probiotic strain is being developed to help prevent calcium oxalate kidney stones by breaking down oxalic acid in the gut.
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Oxalate and your immune system in kidney stones
This grant looks at how oxalate in our diet affects kidney stone risk and our immune cells, especially in adults with calcium oxalate stones.
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How the kidney channel claudin‑2 affects calcium balance and calcium kidney stones
This project looks at how a kidney channel called claudin‑2 helps keep calcium from building up and forming calcium kidney stones.
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A Probiotic to Prevent Kidney Stones
This project is developing a new probiotic to help people prevent kidney stones by breaking down a key substance called oxalic acid.
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Understanding how oxalate affects kidney stone formation and immune response
This study is looking at how eating foods high in oxalate might lead to kidney stones and how it affects kidney health, so if you've had kidney stones before, this research could help find ways to prevent them from coming back.
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.