Understanding Gut Immune Cells in Babies
Official title: Intestinal Lymphocyte Trafficking
Funded at Palo Alto Veterans Instit for Research · NIH-11101148 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research explores how important immune cells called T cells develop in the gut of babies, even before birth, to protect against infections and prevent allergies and autoimmune conditions.
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 | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $394,396 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AI047822-24 |
| Project ID | NIH-11101148 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This foundational research is not directly recruiting patients but aims to understand processes relevant to individuals of all ages, especially infants, who experience allergic, autoimmune, or infectious gut conditions.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking immediate new treatments or direct clinical intervention would not find direct benefit from this basic science project.
What this research studies
Our digestive system needs a strong immune defense to fight off harmful germs while also learning to tolerate harmless things like food and beneficial bacteria. This project aims to uncover how special immune cells, called T cells, find their way to the gut during fetal development and shortly after birth. We want to understand their specific jobs in helping the gut mature and build its defenses. By learning more about these early processes, we hope to find new ways to support healthy gut immunity from the very beginning of life.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new strategies for preventing or treating allergic diseases, autoimmune conditions, and bacterial infections by improving how the gut's immune system develops.
How similar studies have gone: While the general concept of immune cell trafficking is established, this specific focus on innate-like T cells in fetal and perinatal gut development and their roles in immunity is a novel area of exploration.
Where this research is happening
-
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
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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.