Project description DEENESFRITPL Synthetic embryos help study embryonic development The period of embryonic development is central for the survival and fitness of any organism. However, the study of human embryogenesis has been hampered by the limited availability of human embryos, and there are many aspects that remain unclear. The EU-funded BLASTOID project aims to develop synthetic embryos from human stem cells that assemble into pre-implantation blastocysts. Alongside uterine organoids, these blastoids will help researchers study the process of embryogenesis and implantation. Since these stem cells can be genetically engineered, they constitute a powerful in vitro tool for studying drugs for improving implantation. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective The first weeks of human embryonic development are crucial. Early abnormalities or insults result not only in infertility, but also contribute to long-term impairment of human health (e.g. cardiovascular disease and diabetes). Managing the onset of pregnancy therefore offers a huge opportunity to improve public health through effective family planning and disease prevention. To better manage pregnancy, biomedical research would require large numbers of human embryos for use in genetic and drug screening. Unfortunately, however, the scarcity of human embryos makes this impossible. Recently, hope for an alternative approach has come from work in my lab showing that mouse stem cells self-organize into structures closely resembling pre-implantation embryos (a.k.a. blastocysts), that we termed blastoids. Because stem cells can be largely expanded and genetically-modified, these synthetic embryos provide a powerful, scalable alternative that is amenable to drug and genetic screens, thus opening numerous possibilities for therapeutic breakthroughs.Here, I propose the development of human blastoids and uterine organoids to model embryogenesis and uterine implantation in vitro. This platform will be used to identify potential targets for the therapeutic modulation of the molecular pathways that control (1) early embryogenesis and (2) interactions between the embryo and uterus, and will pave the way to (3) establishing a drug discovery pipeline for the management of implantation. This project will generate key insights into druggable molecules controlling early human embryogenesis, facilitating identification of therapeutic targets to improve in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures and contraception and, ultimately, to prevent several chronic diseases. Fields of science medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug discoverynatural sciencesbiological sciencesdevelopmental biologymedical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologycells technologiesstem cellsmedical and health sciencesclinical medicineobstetricsmedical and health sciencesclinical medicineembryology Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2020-COG - ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS Call for proposal ERC-2020-COG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Host institution INSTITUT FUER MOLEKULARE BIOTECHNOLOGIE GMBH Net EU contribution € 2 000 000,00 Address DR BOHRGASSE 3 1030 Wien Austria See on map Region Ostösterreich Wien Wien Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 2 000 000,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all INSTITUT FUER MOLEKULARE BIOTECHNOLOGIE GMBH Austria Net EU contribution € 2 000 000,00 Address DR BOHRGASSE 3 1030 Wien See on map Region Ostösterreich Wien Wien Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 2 000 000,00
