Project description
The role of thyroid hormone in muscle wasting
Thyroid hormone (TH) plays a crucial role in muscle function, growth and metabolism while its dysregulation is a leading cause of various myopathies. Funded by the European Research Council, the STARS project is working on the hypothesis that TH level manipulation can serve as a therapeutic approach for preventing or treating muscle wasting, a devastating complication of chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes. Researchers will investigate the role of TH in muscle fibers and stem cells during muscle wasting and unveil the impact of increased TH signalling in muscle metabolism and growth. They will also explore novel hormone-peptide conjugates for targeted disease prevention and therapy.
Objective
Skeletal muscle wasting is a devastating complication of many chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, chronic heart failure and cystic fibrosis. Despite its medical importance, there is, as yet, no effective means to treat this condition. Therefore, an urgent challenge is to discover treatments able to prevent its onset and/or progression. Thyroid hormone (TH) is a major determinant of muscle functions, and thyroid dysfunctions are leading causes of many myopathies. An emerging concept in this field is that TH’s pleiotropic actions can be amplified or attenuated at cell level by the deiodinase enzymes that can increase (D2) or decrease (D3) the active TH concentration regardless of hormone plasma levels. Based on recent published and new preliminary data, our working hypothesis is that “amplification” of TH action/signalling in muscle is critical in determining the accelerated muscle catabolism that causes muscle loss in numerous diseases. On the contrary, attenuation of the TH signal facilitates the proliferation/survival of muscle stem cells and reduces atrophy. Using genetically manipulated mouse models of altered TH metabolism, STARS aims to dissect the role of TH in muscle fibers and stem cells during the wasting processes. The ground-breaking nature of STARS is the possibility of manipulating a local-acting mechanism that determines the tissue concentration of a diffuse endocrine signal (TH), which is a critical determinant of muscle wasting. We will use state-of-the art methodology and recently generated mouse models in the attempt to explore the therapeutic potential of novel mechanisms to lower the TH signature at a specific muscle level. Proof-of-principle studies will be conducted with novel hormone-peptide conjugates for targeted disease prevention and therapy. The results will have cross-disciplinary implications, for the identification of novel potential therapeutic approaches impacting on stem cell biology, tissue metabolism and healthy ageing.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine endocrinology diabetes
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine cardiology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
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.
ERC-STG - Starting Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2014-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
80138 Napoli
Italy
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.