Project description
Safe appetite control without aversive effects
Obesity and type 2 diabetes have reached pandemic dimensions. The development of incretin-based drugs has improved treatment, but their use is often limited by side effects, necessitating safer appetite-suppressing alternatives. These drugs mimic gut hormones, enhance insulin release and suppress appetite. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the LINK2CNS project focuses on the neurokinin 2 receptor (NK2R) which is implicated in the regulation of smooth muscle activity and pain perception. Recent evidence suggests that NK2R activation reduces food intake and body weight without adverse effects. By studying NK2R and its interaction with leptin signalling in the brain, researchers hope to pave the way for more tolerable treatments for obesity and related metabolic diseases.
Objective
Metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes rank among the primary causes of mortality worldwide. While new incretin-based drugs have made major inroads into the treatment of these diseases, issues with tolerance (including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; and gastroparesis leading to delayed gastric emptying) threaten to limit the potential long-term compliance and impact of these medications. Thus, it is highly relevant to identify therapeutic targets that reduce appetite without activating aversive circuits or promoting gastroparesis. Recently, we discovered Neurokinin 2 Receptor (NK2R) as a new pharmacological target for treating obesity. When activated, NK2R improves energy homeostasis by reducing feeding and increasing energy expenditure, resulting in a decrease in body weight via diminished adiposity. Importantly, NK2R agonism controls appetite without activating CNS circuits that induce aversive effects and, unlike incretin-based therapies, can compensate for leptin-controlled feeding in leptin-deficient hyperphagic mice. This suggests that NK2R agonism mimics leptin for the control of feeding and likely engages leptin-regulated neural circuits. During this fellowship, I will define unique and overlapping functions and CNS sites of action for NK2R and Leptin Receptor signaling using proprietary pharmacological NK2R agonists, molecular genetic neuroscience techniques, metabolic phenotyping, and transcriptomics. This will not only expand our understanding of the promising mode-of-action of NK2R agonists but also has the potential to reveal new mechanisms of central homeostatic control that can be exploited pharmacologically for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases. The combination of the expertise of my host labs and my experience will ensure the successful completion of the fellowship and uniquely positions me as an expert in both peripheral and central control of energy homeostasis and strengthens my transferable skills to start my independent career.
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 neurobiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine endocrinology diabetes
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition obesity
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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)
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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)
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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-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global 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-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.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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