Why alcohol-related liver disease can come back after a transplant
Official title: Molecular mechanisms of post-transplant recurrent alcoholic liver disease
Funded at University of Washington · NIH-11329541 · Data updated 2026-11-12
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 start | September 10, 2017 |
| Project end | March 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $349,875 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA026302-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11329541 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
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.
✕Less likely to help
People without alcohol-related liver disease or those unwilling to provide samples are unlikely to receive direct benefits from this project.
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.
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 gone: 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
-
University of Washington
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Carr, Rotonya M — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Carr, Rotonya M
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Targeting early oral GVHD to improve mouth health after stem cell transplant
A study at UW–Madison will explore why some transplant patients develop painful oral GVHD and test ideas to prevent and lessen mouth-related problems.
-
Innate and Adaptive Immunoregulation in Liver Transplant Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
A liver transplant-focused project investigates how the body’s early and later immune responses affect transplant failure or success after reperfusion.
-
Exercise-based frailty program for people awaiting lung transplants
A tailored exercise and lifestyle program is being tested to reduce frailty and improve outcomes for people waiting for a lung transplant.
-
Microbiome and Innate Immune Response in Alcohol-Related Liver Disease
Researchers are studying how gut bacteria and the body's first-line immune defenses contribute to liver damage from alcohol, with a focus on how a specific bacteria and its toxins affect disease severity.
-
Diabetes and Donor Tissue in Corneal Transplants
This grant studies whether corneas from donors with diabetes affect the success of Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) and what factors predict better or worse outcomes.
-
Microbial clues to diagnose and predict infections in kidney transplant patients
A patient-focused project will look for microbial biomarkers in stool, blood, and urine to help doctors predict and diagnose infections in people who have had a kidney transplant.
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.