Project description
Closing in on a leukaemia inhibitor
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally. The most common paediatric cancer is a particularly aggressive type of blood cancer, B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL). A genetic alteration is responsible for some of the cases and, recently, researchers discovered a molecule that may stop the rearranged sequence from activating its target genes. However, the question remains whether this inhibitor will prevent the transformation leading to the development of leukaemia. The IDEAL project is going to find out, testing the inhibitor in both cellular and animal models. These preclinical tests are an important step on the path to improving treatment and patient outcomes.
Objective
The second most important cause of death and morbidity in Europe is cancer and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) is the most common paediatric cancer and cause of cancer-related death before 20 years. In up to 7% of cases, the disease is caused by rearrangements of the genetic regulator DUX4 to the IGH locus, giving rise to the DUX4-IGH fusion. While ectopic expression of DUX4 induces cell death, DUX4-IGH drives transformation. Even though the two proteins share the same DNA binding domain (dbd), DUX4 and DUX4-IGH drive the transcription of non-overlapping target genes. Through proteomics, my lab identified a specific DUX4-IGH inhibitor, which directly binds to DUX4-IGH dbd blocking the activation of target genes. Based on this evidence, the goal of IDEAL is to test the antileukemic activity of the inhibitor in pre-clinical settings.
Using cellular models, I will test the ability of the inhibitor to block transformation driven by DUX4-IGH. I expect to see a significant inhibition of DUX4-IGH driven transformation in the presence of its inhibitor, associated with reduced proliferation, clonogenic and self-renewal potential. To test the efficacy of DUX4-IGH inhibition in leukemia development, I will employ animal models (murine bone marrow transplantation assays and patient derived xenografts of DUX4-IGH B-ALL) and assess disease latency in the presence or absence of the inhibitor. I predict that the inhibitor will block or significantly delay DUX4-IGH B-ALL.
Pre-clinical validation of the DUX4-IGH inhibitor will help defining effective therapeutic strategies for DUX4-IGH B-ALL patients, improving clinical outcome and lowering treatment toxicity, thus overall promoting Europe's healthcare.
Through IDEAL I will expand my expertise in leukaemia research and I will acquire project management and leadership abilities that will foster my personal and professional development as an independent scientist.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine transplantation
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology leukemia
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.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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.
MSCA-IF-EF-SE - Society and Enterprise panel
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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
20132 Milano
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.