Project description
Innovative system to unveil the role of mechanical forces in tissue development
Understanding how tissues develop and grow is key to advancing regenerative medicine, especially for age-related pathologies. While biology has long focused on chemical and genetic factors in tissue formation, recent research has highlighted the critical role of mechanical forces like muscle contractions and foetal movements in shaping musculoskeletal tissues. However, lack of proper technologies has limited the study of these sculpting forces. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the LIMBO project will introduce a new class of microphysiological systems that replicate the mechanical environment of limb tissue development. The proposed systems should help reveal how mechanical forces drive tissue growth and differentiation. Project activities could transform understanding of tissue development and guide new treatments for musculoskeletal disorders.
Objective
"LIMBO aims to introduce a new class of microphysiological systems (MPSs) that replicate the mechanical microenvironment of the developing limb bud and integrate on-line volumetric spectroscopic analyses. This will provide new insights into biophysical factors in musculoskeletal tissue organogenesis, previously unknown due to technological limitations, and guide regenerative medicine approaches for age-related pathologies. Since Alan Turing's theorization in 1952, developmental biology has relied on the idea that morphogenesis stems from chemical patterns forming from initially uniform substances. Yet, advances in single-cell transcriptomics and lineage tracing have shown that biochemical and genetic instructions alone do not fully explain the self-organizing behavior of developing tissues. A new perspective suggests that mechanical forces are as crucial as gene expression and chemical diffusion, particularly for musculoskeletal tissues development; proper joint formation depends on muscle contractions and foetal movements. A major obstacle to understanding the ""sculpting forces"" driving tissue growth, shape, and differentiation patterns is the lack of technologies to measure the biophysical parameters of developing tissues, replicate the cell scale mechanical milieu, and monitor its temporospatial evolution. MPSs are gaining traction as tools to dissect developmental processes and observe molecular-scale dynamics. However, replicating the mechanics of developing musculoskeletal tissues - affected by cyclical strains, growth-generated internal stresses, and topography/localized curvature induced cues - presents peculiar engineering challenges. I propose a multidisciplinary approach that combines mouse embryonal limb bud cells with an MPS technology for cyclical mechanical stimulation, micro fibrous scaffolds, and acoustic cell patterning to replicate different mechanical cues, and with confocal Raman Spectroscopy Imaging to assess tissues biomolecular time evolution."
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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-2024-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.
OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
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