Project description
Mitochondria wellness against obesity and ageing
Mitochondria – the cellular organelles responsible for energy production – can dysfunction due to oxidative damage, nutrient imbalance, or genetic mutations. This stress may increase the generation of reactive oxygen species, disturb cellular processes, and cause disease. In other cases, it triggers a process known as mitohormesis that tends to relieve mitochondrial stress with beneficial effects for the cell. Funded by the European Research Council, the MitoHealth project aims to explore the role of mitohormesis against obesity and age-related issues. Researchers will study the phenomenon of mitohormesis in vascular endothelial cells and assess its preventive and curative impact on obesity and associated metabolic changes. MitoHealth is expected to identify circulating mitohormesis mediators as potential pharmacological targets.
Objective
Obesity and aging are two of the most important health challenges facing our societies in the 21st century. However, there are currently no effective therapeutic approaches to mitigate the growing obesity pandemic or to promote healthy aging. Therefore, it is essential to explore new research frontiers in order to develop more effective and safer strategies.
Mitohormesis, the process by which induced mitochondrial stress can trigger beneficial health effects, has emerged as a promising area of study in biomedical research. However, its potential effectiveness against metabolic and aging-associated disorders in vertebrate organisms is poorly explored. We have generated a mouse model that exhibits enhanced mitohormesis in the vascular endothelial cells. In this proposal, we intend to conduct a proof of concept to assess whether triggering endothelial mitohormesis can serve as a novel approach for treating obesity and age-related health issues.
To this aim, we will execute 4 work packages to determine: (a) the preventive and (b) curative effect of endothelial mitohormesis on obesity and associated metabolic alterations; (c) the impact of the promotion of endothelial mitohormesis on aging markers; (d) the identity of new circulating mitohormetic mediators with the potential to be pharmacological targets. These studies will be carried out by a research team with an extraordinary track-record in the fields of metabolism and aging.
Our objective will be bringing the technology from TRL3 to TRL4 by evaluating the performance and feasibility of the technology in a controlled laboratory environment. The research team will closely work with the Tech Transfer Office to ensure the implementation of a successful IPR strategy. A therapy based on the controlled induction of endothelial mitohormesis could have a great impact on the quality of life of millions of patients, reduce the burden of chronic diseases on the health system and have important economic repercussions.
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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition obesity
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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)
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-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept 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-2023-POC
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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.
08036 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.