Project description
Uncovering the secrets of eternal youth
In the realm of ageing research, a pressing challenge has long confounded scientists: understanding the intricate web of age-related changes and their interconnections. As we age, our bodies undergo a series of alterations, culminating in dysregulated transcription and maladaptive cellular communication, leaving us with a profound yet elusive question – why do we age? To answer this question, the ERC-funded CHARTAGING project will explore the intricate molecular and mechanistic facets of the ageing process. Specifically, it will decode the mystery of ageing, offering the promise of rejuvenating our tissues. A key revelation so far suggests that decreased activity of YAP/TAZ mechanosensors in stromal cells triggers unscheduled activation of cGAS/STING signalling, contributing to the ageing process.
Objective
A major challenge in aging research is to distinguish which age-related alterations play a driving role and their interconnections. Aging ultimately implies dysregulated transcription; yet, the identity of signaling cascades and transcription factors that control youthfulness and aging in adult tissues remains poorly understood. Aging also entails maladaptive changes in how cells communicate with each other and their surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM). Senolytics approaches have revealed the role of senescent cells as drivers of aging, leaving however unclear what cell types first become senescent in real tissue and why. Here, we aim to address and connect these fundamental unknowns into an integrative view of aging at an unprecedented spatial, temporal, molecular and mechanistic resolution.
As preliminary results, we report that aging requires decreased activity of YAP/TAZ mechanosensors in stromal cells leading to unscheduled activation of cGAS/STING signaling, and that aging may be halted by restoring a youthful YAP/TAZ-cGAS/STING signaling balance. But why do we age then? Building on these findings, our hypothesis is that aging initiates from deterioration of our own “structural frames”: from changes in spatial/contextual signals that cells perceive from the ECM, to altered mechanotransduction and increased fragility of the nuclear envelope leading to cell senescence. These processes are reversible and understanding them may reveal new routes to halt aging. For this we will chart and functionally interrogate a multidimensional atlas of aging biology, delving into the logics of tissue physiology and its progressive degeneration over lifetime, also implementing novel methodologies. Our YAP/TAZ prism offers a unique vantage point to dissect causally relevant extracellular and intracellular mechanisms of youthfulness vs. aging, and opens to the exploration of aging remedies to restore youthful tissue ecosystems by restoring youthful YAP/TAZ activity.
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 biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
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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.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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
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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-ERC - HORIZON ERC 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) ERC-2022-ADG
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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.
35122 PADOVA
Italy
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