David Klumpp
Northwestern University, IL·Neuroscience
Chronic pelvic pain affects millions of people in the U.S., yet its causes are unclear and effective treatments are lacking. Two growing ideas may help explain it.
- Fields
Neuroscience
Microbiology & Immunology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
chronic pelvic pain
interstitial cystitis
microglia
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Measure the role of microglia, immune cells of the brain and spinal cord, in pain behaviors and cognitive function in infection-based and genetic mouse models of urologic pelvic pain, and define microglial cell states.
- Test the hypothesis that TLR4, a receptor that senses bacterial molecules, mediates microglia-driven pelvic pain in clinically relevant mouse models.
- Examine how microglia respond to gut microbiota and gut dysbiosis in pelvic pain mouse models, to inform future probiotic strategies.
More about the research
The first is that the gut microbiome, the community of bacteria living in the intestine, can influence pain. The team has found gut dysbiosis, an unhealthy imbalance of gut microbes, both in pelvic pain patients and in mouse models of the condition. The second is that microglia, immune cells of the brain and spinal cord, play major roles in pain and can sense microbial signals.
Why it matters
Patients with urologic chronic pelvic pain have few effective therapies. By linking gut microbes, the TLR4 sensor and spinal and brain immune cells, this work could provide biomarkers to identify patients likely to respond to microbiome-targeted treatments. It may also test whether microglia-targeted drugs are feasible and point to new probiotics for chronic pelvic pain.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Sylvia Suadicani
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, NY·Neuroscience
Test whether bladder or colon injury enhances signaling between dorsal root ganglia (DRG) sensory neurons and their wrapping satellite glial cells, using established mouse models of direct bladder and colon insult with behavioral, functional and molecular measures.
David Durgan
Baylor College of Medicine, TX·Physiology
Identify which gut bacteria produce extracellular vesicles that raise blood pressure, using a dilution scheme to simplify bacterial communities, and test the roles of vesicle flagellin and lipopolysaccharide.
Caroline Smith
Boston College, MA·Neuroscience·Early-career
Test whether cross-fostering mouse pups exposed prenatally to diesel exhaust particles and maternal stress prevents shifts in their gut microbiome, measured by metagenomic sequencing.
The school
Northwestern University: 71 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 536 research doctorates a year.
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