NIH RePORTER
Cure8 regulatory brief
Why This Matters
New high-resolution, multilayer imaging tools can reveal how immune cells, epithelium, and enteric nerves interact in the intestine—processes central to IBD, colorectal cancer risk, and gut-brain disorders.
Better imaging may help researchers identify cellular behaviors and targets relevant to Crohn’s disease and other IBDs.
Who Should Pay Attention
Researchers working on intestinal immunology, neuroimmune interactions, imaging methods, and preclinical IBD models; clinicians and translational scientists interested in mechanistic studies of IBD and tissue-level biomarkers.
Study Snapshot
Story typeRegulatory
Evidence typeFunded research project
Study statusFunded
Source depthResearch project record
What To Know
This is an NIH-funded project record describing development of a dual-immersion bidirectional light sheet microscopy (DB-LSM) platform for high-throughput, volumetric imaging across intestinal layers in explant and live mouse preparations.
The proposal outlines engineering and validation aims (system characterization, chamber design) and biological demonstration aims focused on intestinal macrophage heterogeneity, macrophage responses to ischemic injury (compared with two-photon microscopy), and neuroimmune interactions during wound healing using calcium imaging of enteric neurons.
The project is a technology-development R21 intended to deliver an advanced imaging tool to visualize multilayer cellular interactions in physiologically intact intestinal tissue.
It includes preliminary feasibility data and plans for intravital and explant imaging in mice, and mentions comparisons to two-photon microscopy and integration with fluorescence and reflectance modalities.
This record reports a funded research plan rather than clinical results; it lays groundwork for future mechanistic studies and therapeutic-discovery work in GI health and disease.
Keep In Mind
This is a project description for a funded NIH R21 (technology-development) and does not report patient data or clinical trial results. The work is focused on method development and preclinical mouse/explant studies; any implications for human disease will depend on later mechanistic and translational studies.
Source Details
Review the original publication for the complete reporting, methods, and context.
Funded research project
Evidence type derived from source or registry metadata.
PublicationNIH RePORTER
AuthorsEmilie Erin DeKrey, Bo Liang
InstitutionUNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
Study typeFunded Research Project
Indexed viaNIH RePORTER
Source typeFunded research record
PublishedAug 15, 2026, 12:00 AM
Content availableResearch project record
Funding disclosed by the source: National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering - R21EB039177 - $192,065
This Cure8 brief is based on source text from the linked article. Cure8 is informational only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
Fluorescent Probes for Intestinal Diseases: Design Strategies, Imaging Mechanisms and Biomedical Applications
New or improved fluorescent probes could enable more sensitive, noninvasive imaging of biochemical changes in the gut, which may aid research, earlier diagnosis, or monitoring of IBD and colorectal cancer.
Nanoparticle technologies in the diagnosis and therapy of gastrointestinal diseases: Progress, challenges, and future directions.
Nanoparticle technologies could eventually enable more targeted drug delivery and improved imaging for IBD and related GI diseases, which may lead to better diagnosis and less systemic side effects. However, translation...
Characterization of uniquely-positioned IL-33-responsive mucosal cells in colitis-associated cancer.
People with longstanding ulcerative colitis face higher colorectal cancer risk; this project focuses on a specific immune/stromal cell population (ST2+ cells responding to IL-33) that may help explain how chronic...