Objective
Telomeres are specialized nucleoprotein complexes that protect chromosome ends against recognition as DNA breaks. In somatic cells telomeres shorten every cell division, eventually compromising telomere function. This leads to activation of a DNA damage response that induces irreversible growth arrest or cell death and serves to suppress tumorigenesis by preventing outgrowth of incipient cancer cells. Furthermore, by limiting replicative potential, telomere dysfunction contributes to aging. However, deprotected chromosome ends are also subject to DNA repair activities that lead to chromosome end-to-end fusions. Upon cell division these fusions give rise to genomic instability through breakage-fusion-bridge cycles generating complex, unbalanced chromosome rearrangements. Cells with such instable genomes are highly prone to develop into cancer. The mechanisms underlying the telomere damage response and telomere-driven genomic instability are poorly understood. To increase our understanding of the cellular consequences of telomere dysfunction we will perform genome-wide functional genetic screens to identify factors with important roles in the telomere damage response and telomere-driven genomic instability. We will mechanistically study these genes for their role in the cellular response to telomere dysfunction. In addition, we will address if these factors act uniquely at telomeres or also affect the response to DNA lesions. Due to their unbiased nature these screens represent a unique opportunity to obtain highly novel and potentially unsuspected insights in the events following telomere deprotection. This work will lead to significantly increased mechanistic understanding of how dysfunctional telomeres affect genome stability, cancer development and aging, but might also lead to new insights in responses to DNA damage in general. Furthermore our research findings will facilitate development of new therapeutic strategies for inhibiting cancer and aging.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics chromosomes
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2012-StG_20111109
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
1066 CX AMSTERDAM
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.