Objective
Chronic abdominal pain is a major symptom of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a gastrointestinal disorder that, depending on the diagnostic criteria used, affects 4 to 20% of the population, with a female to male ratio of 2. It is characterized by altered bowel habits associated with abdominal pain in the absence of an organic cause. Despite its high prevalence and significant impact on quality of life, insight in its pathophysiology is rather limited. Consequently, treatment is disappointing and restricted to efforts aimed at correcting altered defecation, however this approach leaves abdominal pain largely unaffected. Pain arising from the gastrointestinal tract is detected by afferent nerve fibres with their cell bodies located in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). My team recently discovered that mast cell activation in response to food intake results in the release of histamine, which renders DRG neurons more excitable leading to increased pain signalling, also referred to as visceral hypersensitivity (VHS). The clinical relevance of this finding is supported by the observation that treatment with antihistamines improves abdominal pain in about 50% of IBS patients. In MACPAIN, I aim to discover new therapeutic targets to treat the remaining 50%. Of interest, DRG neurons are surrounded by resident macrophages with which they closely interact. I hypothesize that repetitive peripheral activation of DRG neurons leads to the release of macrophage modulating mediators ultimately leading to persistent alterations in resident macrophage function and chronic VHS. Using state-of-the-art methods, we will first interrogate the impact of repetitive afferent nerve activation on the DRG macrophage population to subsequently unravel the mechanisms leading to chronic VHS. These groundbreaking insights will allow us to identify novel therapeutic targets to treat chronic VHS and will pave the way for the development of new therapeutic compounds for IBS.
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.
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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.1.1 - 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 - HORIZON ERC 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-2025-ADG
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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.
3000 Leuven
Belgium
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.