Objective
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and thus constitutes a major health problem involving more than half a million new cases every year. During its promotion stage, HCC has been associated with defective apoptosis and increased cell proliferation. Only recently, gene expression has been shown to be regulated by epigenetics (reversible heritable changes in gene regulation that occur without a change in DNA sequence) involving changes in DNA methylation patterns as well as specific histone modifications. Throughout our proposal, we speculate that alterations in DNA methylation patterns trigger specific histone modifications resulting in apoptotic gene silencing during HCC. Thus, we propose to test the hypothesis that epigenetically-induced deregulation of the apoptotic pathway promotes transformation to malignancy. To conclude, although the deregulation of the apoptotic machinery in carcinogenesis is well established, there is a gap in our understanding as to how apoptotic genes are involved and how is their expression regulated in malignancy. Our proposal fills in the gaps in linking the epigenetically-induced alterations in apoptotic gene expression to the defective apoptotic phenotype characteristic of HCC. Furthermore, our proposal elucidates the molecular mechanisms by which specific histone modifications converse with the DNA methylation machinery in order to silence specific apoptotic genes. Finally, determining the molecular identity of these epigenetic modifications is of paramount importance because such information can be utilized in designing more efficient cancer therapeutic strategies based on the concept of selective apoptotic activation in malignant cells thus making such strategies more efficient and less cytotoxic.
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 epigenetics
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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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG
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
45 110 IOANNINA
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.