Project Grant R01DK142812

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases awarded The Nemours Foundation $719,124 on September 1, 2026, under the Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.847) to determine the anti-inflammatory mechanism and therapeutic potential of WNT2B in colitis.

The research will establish how WNT2B from intestinal mesenchymal fibroblasts prevents colitis by testing the hypothesis that WNT2B signals non-canonically to negatively regulate NFKB and reduce IL-6-associated inflammation in the colon. The work will examine the interaction between WNT2B and NFKB signaling, assess impacts on innate immune cell recruitment, and evaluate whether increased WNT2B expression can decrease active colitis or prevent colitis development in human disease. The project builds on findings from human loss-of-function studies and mouse models showing that WNT2B loss of function results in increased colon inflammation and immune cell recruitment through IL-6 signaling.

The Nemours Foundation, doing business as Nemours Children's Hospital, Delaware, serves as the recipient and will perform the work at its Wilmington, Delaware location (UEI ETGMYV7CKAJ7). The award period runs through May 31, 2031.