Understanding abnormal sugar building blocks in Crohn’s disease to guide smarter therapies
Official title: Aberrant N-glycosylation in Crohn's disease: Opportunity for precision medicine
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11405064 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how a specific genetic variation affects how Crohn’s disease works and whether targeting that pathway could lead to new treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2025 |
| Project end | June 30, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $701,560 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK141870-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11405064 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients with Crohn’s disease who carry the ZIP8 A391T mutation or have related glycosylation abnormalities may be eligible for future studies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without the ZIP8 A391T mutation or without glycosylation defects may not directly benefit from this specific approach.
What this research studies
Crohn’s disease and related inflammatory bowel conditions remain hard to treat, with many patients not reaching lasting remission. The researchers study a genetic mutation in the ZIP8 transporter that disrupts manganese and downstream sugar attachments on proteins, which may worsen disease. They use a mouse model that mimics the human mutation and examine blood, tissue, and gut microbiome signals to understand the disease mechanism. The goal is to identify safe therapeutic approaches that fix the defective glycosylation and improve patient outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new, targeted therapies that improve remission rates for Crohn’s disease patients.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows that correcting glycosylation defects can influence inflammatory signaling, but this exact ZIP8-related pathway is still being explored.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Melia, Joanna Miller Peloquin — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Melia, Joanna Miller Peloquin
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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.