Objective
Most adult tissues contain a reservoir of adult stem cells that maintain homeostasis. Loss of stem cell function can lead to severe tissue dysfunction, accelerated aging, and cancer. We study epidermal stem cells (epSCs) as a model of adult stem cell function. In steady state conditions, epSCs express high levels of ¨molecular breaks¨ that make them refractory to activating stimuli, remaining quiescent, unspecified, and strongly adhered to their niche. However, epSCs can eventually respond to such stimuli thus egressing the niche, and feeding into the differentiated compartment. It is not known yet why some stem cells respond to activating stimuli or what is the nature of this stem cell heterogeneity. Tilting the balance towards excessive or reduced stem cell response may cause premature aging, lack of regenerative potential, or carcinogenesis. We have identified the molecular clock as a possible mechanism regulating epSC function. We hypothesize that epSC heterogeneity is due to a molecular oscillator that establishes their refractory or permissive state towards stimuli. The questions we aim to answer are: How does the clock machinery establish populations of stem cell at different states at the systems level, and how this is deregulated in carcinomas. To address these we will disrupt the clock in epSCs in vivo to study the consequences over homeostasis and carcinogenesis; we will use fluorescent reporter mice to monitor the stem cell clock during homeostasis and tumor progression; we will FACS purify stem cells at different clock states in vivo, and deep sequence their entire transcriptome to study their molecular characteristics; and we will study any correlations between the clock and grade, chemotherapy response, and clinical outcome of human squamous carcinomas. We expect to uncover a novel mechanism for stem cell regulation in tissues which disrupted may lead to tissue dysfunction and pathology.
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 medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
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.
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IEF
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.
Coordinator
08003 Barcelona
Spain
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.