Why alcohol-related liver disease can come back after a transplant
Molecular mechanisms of post-transplant recurrent alcoholic liver disease
Looking at whether an enzyme called CerS6 helps fat build up in the liver and whether measuring CerS6 can help detect or predict return of alcohol-related liver disease before or after a liver transplant.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Washington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11329541 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you have alcohol-related liver disease, researchers will study an enzyme (CerS6) that may cause fat droplets to form in liver cells and might signal disease return. They will use lab-grown human liver cells and genetically modified mice to study how CerS6 affects a protein called PLIN2 and overall liver metabolism. The team will also analyze human samples from people before and after liver transplant to see if CerS6 or its ceramide products change when disease returns. The goal is to learn whether CerS6 could be an early lab test or a treatment target for preventing recurrent disease after transplant.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be people with alcohol-related liver disease who are being evaluated for liver transplant or who have had a transplant and can provide blood or liver tissue samples for research.
Not a fit: People without alcohol-related liver disease or those unwilling to provide samples are unlikely to receive direct benefits from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to an early test to detect or predict return of alcohol-related liver disease after transplant and point to new treatment targets.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has linked ceramides and PLIN2 to fatty liver disease, but using CerS6 specifically as an early biomarker for post-transplant recurrence is a newer and relatively untested idea.
Where this research is happening
Seattle, United States
- University of Washington — Seattle, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Carr, Rotonya M — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Carr, Rotonya M
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 below.