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Modulation of tRNA pool and tRNA fragments in obesity and diabetes; focus on their role in macrophage activation and exosome-mediated crosstalk with pancreatic beta cells

Descripción del proyecto

El ARN de transferencia: ¿un desencadenante de la diabetes?

La inflamación crónica en los individuos obesos perturba la homeostasis de los órganos y puede conducir a resistencia a la insulina y diabetes de tipo 2 (DM2). Datos recientes indican que los macrófagos desempeñan un papel esencial en el cambio metabólico que se produce antes del desarrollo de la DM2. El objetivo principal del proyecto MATREX, financiado con fondos europeos, es investigar en mayor profundidad los mecanismos responsables de la activación de los macrófagos. Los investigadores se centrarán en el ARN de transferencia (ARNt), conocido por su papel fundamental en la traslación de las proteínas. La base teórica de MATREX es que los cambios en la reserva de ARNt y en la integridad del tejido adiposo y de los islotes pancreáticos pueden reflejar cambios metabólicos en la obesidad que desencadenan la DM2.

Objetivo

Obesity is a major public health concern and represents the strongest risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D) development. In T2D pathogenesis, inflammation contributes to multi-organ insulin resistance and pancreatic β-cell failure. Macrophages (Mφs) in adipose tissue and pancreatic islets play an important role in organ homeostasis, however their metabolic switch leads to chronic inflammation in obese individuals. The functional profile of obese Mφs reflects a high complexity, not explained by the classical model of pro-inflammatory activation. This suggests that unknown molecular modulators, higly sensitive to environmental changes, might control the activation of Mφs. Here I propose to investigate the role of transfer RNAs (tRNA) and tRNA fragmentation in in Mφ activation and diabetes pathogenesis. The ensemble of tRNAs in the cell is under strict regulation of nutrient availability and directly controls protein translation; also, tRNA fragmentation is controlled by stress factors and leads to the formation of tRNA fragments (tRFs), highly functional non-coding RNAs. I propose to study changes in tRNA pool and tRF signature in Mφs from adipose tissue and pancreatic islet using the db/db mouse model. I will analyse how protein translation is associated with tRNA pool, using ribosome profiling and computational methodologies. In addition, I will investigate the function of tRFs in the crosstalk between Mφs and β-cells via exosomes and their role in modulating β-cell function. I will use a Mφ-specific mouse model allowing the labeling of small RNAs in Mφs and the detection of the transferred molecules in β-cells. I will therefore combine high-throughput and in vivo innovative approaches to achieve the following aims: 1) Analyze the modulation of tRNA pool and translational in obese macrophages; 2) Investigating tRNA fragmentation and tRFs function in Mφs and β-cells during diabetes pathogenesis; 3) Study tRFs role in exosome-mediated Mφ to β-cell signaling.

Ámbito científico (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural.

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Coordinador

UNIVERSITE DE LAUSANNE
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 191 149,44
Dirección
QUARTIER UNIL CENTRE - BATIMENT UNICENTRE
1015 LAUSANNE
Suiza

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Región
Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Région lémanique Vaud
Tipo de actividad
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Enlaces
Coste total
€ 191 149,44