Understanding and guiding liver cell competition to repair damaged livers
Official title: Combating Chronic Liver Diseases via Understanding and Engineering Cell Competition and Fitness
Funded at University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh · NIH-11334333 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are studying how healthy and mutant liver cells compete with each other to repair damaged livers, aiming to develop ways to help the liver heal itself in people with alcoholic liver disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | July 15, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $683,339 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DK140405-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11334333 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be adults with alcoholic liver disease or liver fibrosis who may benefit from future cell-based therapies, once translated to human studies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without liver disease or those not a candidate for cellular therapy may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This project looks at how liver cells interact when there is injury or aging, and how certain signals (like activin A) influence which cells repopulate the liver. By studying cell competition in rat models and translating insights toward human cell sources, the team hopes to create liver cells that can more effectively replace damaged tissue. The work involves manipulating cell signals and comparing different cell types to see which can best restore liver mass and reduce fibrosis. If the approach succeeds, it could inform future therapies that help patients with alcoholic liver disease rebuild healthy liver tissue.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the research could lead to new cellular therapies that restore liver function in patients with alcoholic liver disease.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies show that cell competition mechanisms can influence tissue repair, with potential for translation to human therapies, though this approach is exploratory.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Oertel, Michael — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Oertel, Michael
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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.