Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston received a $154,332 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847), effective March 1, 2026, with a completion date of January 31, 2029. The award funds basic biomedical research investigating the role of the kynurenine-aryl hydrocarbon receptor (KYN-AHR) signaling pathway in cholestatic liver injury and mitochondrial dysfunction. The research will examine how activation of the AHR by its endogenous agonist kynurenine regulates reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, mitochondrial function, and inflammatory responses in hepatocytes exposed to elevated bile acid stress.

The funded research directly advances NIDDK's mission to support extramural basic and clinical biomedical research that improves understanding of disease mechanisms and leads to improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of liver and digestive diseases. Specifically, the project addresses fundamental mechanisms of cholestatic liver disease resulting from dysregulated bile acid production and impaired bile flow, contributing to the program's focus area of liver disease complications, cell injury, fibrosis, and inflammation. The research deliverables will include scientific findings on the functional importance of the kynurenine pathway and AHR regulation in cholestatic liver injury, potentially identifying therapeutic targets for managing this hepatic pathology.