Project description
Skeletal muscle-tumour crosstalk affects tumour growth and proliferation
Cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome characterised by loss of muscle and fat, related to an underlying illness such as cancer. It is the direct cause of at least one in five cancer-associated deaths and is also associated with reduced responsiveness to chemotherapy and reduced tolerance to anticancer treatment. Tumour-induced muscle wasting is due to an impaired ability to stimulate muscle protein synthesis (so-called anabolic resistance). Preliminary evidence showing that skeletal muscles release factors that may affect tumour growth and proliferation suggest that there may be muscle-tumour crosstalk. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MyoTumour project will attempt to identify these factors and their effects on tumours.
Objective
Cachexia is a life-threatening condition characterized by a drastic loss in both muscle and adipose tissue, which is associated with several pathologies, including cancer. In cancer patients, its prevalence is of 50-80%, and is the direct cause of at least 20% of cancer-associated deaths. Cachectic patients show lower response rates to chemotherapy and a reduced tolerance to anticancer treatment, being of major clinical relevance. So, while cachexia is clearly of great significance for disease prognosis and survival in general, it is mainly considered a consequence of the presence of the tumour. Tumour-induced muscle wasting is due to the development of “anabolic resistance,” which is the impaired ability of nutrition and exercise to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. There have been results, however, which suggest that prevention or reverting muscle mass can lead to significant improvements of survival and overall well-being of tumour-bearing animals. While these results are suggestive of an important role for skeletal muscle, whether or not this is due to a direct effect on tumour biology is not well-established. The proposed project is based on preliminary results showing that tumour growth and proliferation are affected by activating the anabolic kinase Akt specifically in skeletal muscle in vivo, suggestive of muscle-tumour crosstalk. Follow up experiments performed using a microfluidics system showed that this effect is likely mediated by factors directly released by skeletal muscles, and not through indirect effects, like altering food intake or modulation of the immune system. In the current project, we propose to confirm and further decipher the muscle-tumour crosstalk in vivo. Subsequently, we propose to identify muscle-secreted factors with a microfluidics approach analyzing their effect on multiple tumour cell lines.
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 classical mechanics fluid mechanics microfluidics
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
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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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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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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35122 PADOVA
Italy
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