Project description
The link between obesity and severe viral infections
Humans who are obese have significantly higher risk of developing more severe symptoms due to viral infection. The reason for this is not well understood. Studies on mice found that the obese mice developed profound and progressive loss of fat and muscle in response to chronic viral infection. In this context, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions project Virobe will identify the mechanisms driving this marked and progressive tissue wasting in infected obese mice. Specifically, it will test whether that the tissue wasting during viral infection results from disrupted glucose homeostasis, perturbations in macrophage functions and from abnormal cytokine profiles observed in the context of obesity. The findings will shed light on potential therapeutic strategies aiming at improving the outcome of viral disease in obese persons.
Objective
Chronic viral diseases are of significant concern to the public health due to lack of effective vaccines and paucity of potent anti-viral medication. Notably, individuals with obesity exhibit higher morbidity and mortality due to viral diseases. However, what specific mechanisms underlie the confounding effects of obesity on the overt outcome of viral infections remains poorly understood. In pre-clinical studies, I found that obese mice developed profound and progressive loss of fat and muscle in response to chronic viral infection, while metabolically healthy animals showed only transient and significantly milder manifestation of tissue wasting in response to the virus. In this proposal, I aim to identify the mechanisms driving this marked and progressive tissue wasting in infected obese mice. Inflammation and disrupted glucose homeostasis have been implicated to play a role in tissue wasting. I hypothesize that the profound tissue wasting during viral infection results from uncontrolled glucose homeostasis, perturbations in macrophage functions and from abnormal cytokine profiles observed in the context of obesity. I will test my hypothesis using high-fat diet-induced mouse model of obesity infected with chronic strain of the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. I will test the involvement of cytokines, macrophages as well as of glucose homeostasis in the progressive wasting in infected obese animals and evaluate if there is a crosstalk between these three factors during infection in an obese host. This project will generate critical knowledge to address why host response to virus is disrupted in the context of obesity and identify potential therapeutic strategies for improving the outcome of viral diseases such as tissue wasting in this metabolic disease. Moreover, this study will highlight the crosstalk between the immune system and body metabolism during infection and will help to better understand the processes underlying immunity to pathogens.
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.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition obesity
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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-MSCA-2021-PF-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.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.