Skip to main content
European Commission logo print header

Dissecting the molecular regulation of hematopoietic stem cell emergence using pluripotent stem cells to improve ex vivo therapies

Descripción del proyecto

Comprender la regulación de la aparición de células madre hematopoyéticas con células madre pluripotentes inducidas

Los métodos de terapia génica con células madre hematopoyéticas (CMH o HSC, por sus siglas en inglés) constituyen tratamientos innovadores para muchas enfermedades, pero la ausencia de protocolos fiables de expansión de CMH limita las posibilidades de aplicación de esta terapia celular. Los procedimientos críticos «ex vivo» necesarios para la ingeniería de las CMH a menudo provocan la pérdida del potencial de crecimiento. Las células madre pluripotentes inducidas (CMPI) específicas de cada paciente podrían constituir una fuente potencialmente ilimitada de CMH. El equipo del proyecto HSC-reNEW, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, pretende determinar cómo se establece por primera vez el programa de expresión génica de las CMH durante el desarrollo embrionario y descubrir los reguladores moleculares de la autorrenovación de las CMH, lo que permitirá generar CMH sólidas a partir de CMPI. El objetivo es desarrollar estrategias para reiniciar el extenso programa de autorrenovación embrionaria en las CMH posnatales para su expansión «in vitro».

Objetivo

Although hematopoietic stem cell (HSCs) transplantation is routinely used to treat blood disorders, immune incompatibility and donor shortage remain critical clinical barriers. Likewise, since high number of HSCs are needed for successful transplants, the absence of reliable expansion protocols prevents the wider application of this cell therapy. In fact, while HSC-based gene therapy represents a revolutionary treatment also for novel and unexpected indications, the ex vivo manipulation required for HSCs engineering results in loss of their stemness potential. Patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) could serve as a solution to these problems, as they would provide a potentially unlimited, easy to engineer, source of immunologically matched HSCs. However, despite recent advances, the robust de novo generation of HSCs remains unrealized due to an incomplete understanding of how HSCs are generated during embryonic development, a process that, as such, cannot be accurately recapitulated in vitro. To tackle these issues, in this proposal we will leverage on our proven expertise in PSC differentiation and hematopoietic development. In particular, we will use innovative in vitro assays and systematic measurements to determine at the molecular level how HSC precursors control their gene expression to generate blood cells (Aim 1). Combining the study of the highly proliferative emerging embryonic HSCs with a CRISPR-based gain-of-function screen, we will uncover the molecular regulators of the extensive embryonic self-renewal, thus enabling robust specification of HSCs from PSCs (Aim 2). We will design strategies to resurrect this embryonic self-renewal program in postnatal HSCs for their in vitro expansion (Aim 3). The successful completion of these studies will accomplish the long-standing goals of generating and expanding HSCs in vitro, allowing the fully exploitation of the transformative therapeutic potential of HSC-based cell and gene therapies.

Institución de acogida

OSPEDALE SAN RAFFAELE SRL
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 2 000 000,00
Dirección
VIA OLGETTINA 60
20132 Milano
Italia

Ver en el mapa

Región
Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano
Tipo de actividad
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Enlaces
Coste total
€ 2 000 000,00

Beneficiarios (1)