Project description
Measuring cell plasticity as an indicator of cancer aggressiveness
Cellular identity may change and become plastic during development or under perturbation of homeostasis as in cancer. Our understanding of the process of cell plasticity in its native context has been hampered by the lack of assays that can capture the associated phenotypic changes at the single cell level. To overcome this limitation, the EU-funded PLAST_CELL project proposes to develop a microfluidics platform capable of measuring morphometric and molecular data in live cells. The platform will combine super-resolution microscopy with dynamic imaging and offers a way to quantify tumour cell plasticity and predict aggressiveness, providing a valuable tool for disease management and therapy.
Objective
Metastasis is the major cause of death in cancer patients due to cancer cell dissemination to distant organs. Cell plasticity is a core characteristic of metastatic cells and confers cellular adaptation capabilities to variable mechano-chemical tissue microenvironments. However, to date, specific quantitative measures of cancer cell plasticity associated with tumour aggressiveness and therapy resistance have remained difficult to establish. A major limitation is the availability of highthroughput multiplexed assays that can capture phenotypic heterogeneity and morphodynamic plasticity at the single cell level in standardized 3D culture conditions reflecting in vivo tissue microenvironments. The PLAST_CELL interdisciplinary consortium will pioneer the development of a microfluidics-based imaging platform to categorize and score cancer cell plasticity within diverse physiologically relevant 3D biomimetic culture conditions. The platform will enable to perform single cell multi-scale morphometric and molecular live cell data collection (PLAST_DATA) with minimal sample size (<10k cells). Data will be generated based on single molecule-sensitivity marker detection and cellular/subcellular morphodynamic feature recognition via minimal-invasive long-term super-resolution microscopy and parallel morphodynamic imaging of cellular behaviour. Computational integration of PLAST_DATA using preclinical models and patient samples will enable to develop a quantitative classification of tumour cell plasticity and predictive scoring of cancer aggressiveness, metastasis and drug resistance (PLAST_SCORE). The ability to assess cell plasticity based on cellular behaviours is beyond current clinical parameters and will strongly impact diagnosis, prognosis and treatments. The PLAST_CELL platform will be a technology breakthrough to establish new quantitative standards to evaluate cell plasticity and mechanisms of tumour malignancy for a new era of basic research and personalized medicine.
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.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy super resolution microscopy
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
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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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HORIZON.3.1 - The European Innovation Council (EIC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.3.1.1 - The Pathfinder for Advanced Research
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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.
HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants
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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) HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDEROPEN-01
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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.
08003 Barcelona
Spain
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.