Objective
Mesenchymal cells (MCs) of the intestinal lamina propria refer to a variety of cell types, most commonly intestinal myofibroblasts, fibroblasts, pericytes, and mesenchymal stromal cells, which show many similarities in terms of origin, function and molecular markers. Understanding the physiological significance of MCs in epithelial and immunological homeostasis and the pathophysiology of chronic intestinal inflammatory and neoplastic disease remains a great challenge.
In this proposal, we put forward the challenging hypothesis that, especially during acute or chronic inflammatory and tumorigenic conditions, MCs play important physiological roles in intestinal homeostasis regulating key processes such as epithelial damage, regeneration and tumorigenesis, intestinal inflammation and lymphoid tissue formation. We further posit that a unifying principle underlying such functions would be the innate character of MCs, which we hypothesize are capable of directly sensing and metabolizing innate signals from microbiota or cytokines in order to exert homeostatic epithelial and immunological regulatory functions in the intestine.
We will be using genetic approaches to target innate pathways in MCs and state of the art phenotyping to discover the physiologically important signals orchestrating intestinal homeostasis in various animal models of intestinal pathophysiology. We will also study MC lineage relations and plasticity during disease and develop ways to interfere therapeutically with MC physiology to achieve translational added value for intestinal diseases, as well as for a range of other pathologies sharing similar characteristics.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology pathophysiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
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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-2013-ADG
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
16 672 VARI-ATHENS
Greece
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.