Project description
A new model to study epicardial fat and cardiovascular risk
Obesity-related metabolic and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are major health issues. Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) surrounds the heart and may affect CVD development, especially in post-menopausal women. A human in vitro model is needed to study EAT’s impact on CVDs. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the VEAT-ChiP project will develop the first fully autologous, vascularised EAT model using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). It will establish a protocol to obtain epicardial adipocytes and combine them with hiPSC-derived cardiac vessels for an EAT-on-chip model. The project will explore how sex hormones affect EAT function under various conditions, and will include cardiomyocytes (CMs) to simulate a section of the heart wall.
Objective
Obesity-associated metabolic and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are serious public health concerns. A fat depot surrounding the heart, known as epicardial adipose tissue (EAT), is likely contributing to the pathologic conditions leading to CVDs. But it might also play a protective role during ischaemic events highlighting a complex role of EAT in heart homeostasis and disease. Some studies report post-menopausal women having an increased EAT suggesting that changes in levels of of sex hormones affect EAT and may cause sex-specific contributions to metabolic diseases. Though EAT covers nearly 80% of a human heart, it is virtually absent in rodents. Given the underexplored role of EAT in the pathology of CVDs, and the lack of animal models, human in vitro cardiovascular EAT model is necessary. VEAT-chip proposes to develop the first human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived, fully autologous, vascularized EAT-on-chip model. The project will start with establishing a novel protocol to obtain epicardial adipocytes. Then, those cells will be integrated into hiPSCs derived cardiac-specific vessels-on-chip to generate a vascularized EAT-on-chip. Given an undetermined role of sex hormones for EAT function and an unclear balance of protective and toxic effects of EAT in pathological settings, vEAT-chip will explore hormone- induced changes in function of EAT during homeostasis and stressed conditions. In a final aim of the project, addition of cardiomyocytes (CMs) to the system will result in a model resembling a portion of the heart wall. By combining novel hiPSCs differentiation protocols, organ-on-a-chip technologies, advanced microscopy techniques, and global transcriptome and secretome analysis, the VEAT-chip project will reveal EAT-associated factors affecting healthy function of cardiac-specific vessels and CMs. Ultimately, VEAT-chip will provide a novel means to study cellular crosstalk and unravel mechanisms associated with cardiometabolic diseases.
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 optics microscopy
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA transcriptomes
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- engineering and technology other engineering and technologies microtechnology organ on a chip
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
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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-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.
69117 Heidelberg
Germany
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.