Project description
Circadian regulation of skin immunity
Our body functions according to 24-hour cycles known as circadian rhythms, with the sleep–wake cycle being a prime example. Environment-associated circadian signals such as light regulate key biological processes including immune system homeostasis. The EU-funded CIRCADYN project is interested to understand the circadian dynamics in leukocyte turnover and function in the skin, the main physical barrier to the environment. Researchers will investigate how the sympathetic nervous system regulates immune homeostasis in the skin and feed these findings into a mathematical model. Results will improve our understanding of adaptive immune responses and help optimise vaccination strategies.
Objective
The skin is the largest organ of the body and represents the primary physical barrier to the environment. Circadian, ~24h rhythms in the environment have emerged as important regulators of the immune system, yet, the circadian dynamics of leukocyte turnover and function in the skin are completely unknown. Insights into the mechanisms occurring at this host-environment interface will be of key importance to understand how rhythmicity in the immune system is achieved. This will produce knowledge to optimize adjuvant design and maximize adaptive immune responses such as required in vaccinations, ultimately providing a time window for therapy.
We will elucidate how circadian dynamics in leukocyte input and output to the skin interplay to create oscillatory numbers of leukocytes in this tissue. We will assess the impact of lineage-specific rhythmicity and arrhythmicity on skin immune homeostasis using an innovative combination of novel genetic tools. We will mechanistically assess how circadian leukocyte dynamics in the skin are governed at a higher level by the sympathetic nervous system. We will finally unravel the cause and the functional relevance of circadian leukocyte dynamics in the skin by assessing whether they primarily represent a response to exogenous factors or whether they are caused by physiological tissue turnover in response to daily recurring mechanical stress. Based on these data we will create a mathematical model determining circadian skin leukocyte turnover in a quantitative manner.
The project combines the disciplines of immunology and chronobiology by obtaining unprecedented insights into circadian immunity in the skin, a critical epithelial barrier site, which is of broad impact for both fields. Our extensive experience in the rhythmic control of both the innate and adaptive immune system makes us well poised to unravel the molecular mechanisms that orchestrate circadian leukocyte dynamics in the skin.
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.
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering control systems
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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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
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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-COG - Consolidator Grant
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) ERC-2020-COG
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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.
1211 Geneve
Switzerland
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