Objective
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a common and debilitating condition affecting over 230 million people worldwide. While traditionally considered a macrovascular disease, many patients experience persistent muscle dysfunction even after successful revascularization. Recent evidence indicates that structural and functional pathology in skeletal muscle contribute to PAD pathophysiology, but underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.
InterECt hypothesizes that dysfunctional crosstalk within the muscle microvascular niche drives muscle pathophysiology in PAD. We propose to systematically explore how heterogeneous and specialized endothelial cells (ECs) interact with other cells in their niche to maintain muscle homeostasis and to evaluate how altered interactions contribute to muscle dysfunction. Our preliminary data reveal that immunoregulatory EC subpopulations are dysfunctional in PAD patients and altered EC-macrophage interactions may contribute to disease progression.
Through three complementary aims, InterECt will: (1) provide detailed insight into the composition and transcriptional heterogeneity of the skeletal muscle vascular niche in health and PAD using human samples and several mouse models with single-cell transcriptomics and spatial technologies; (2) use novel genetic tools (uLIPSTIC and TAT-Cre systems) to decode functional cellular crosstalk within the vascular niche in vivo; and (3) employ mosaic gene perturbation using AAV-mediated CRISPR to mechanistically dissect how EC-niche crosstalk controls muscle homeostasis and repair.
By integrating human translational studies with cutting-edge mouse genetics and single-cell technologies, InterECt will deepen our understanding on muscle pathology in PAD beyond arterial obstruction, thereby identifying novel targets that restore muscle function by modulating vascular niche interactions.
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 basic medicine physiology pathophysiology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- 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.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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
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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-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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) 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.
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland
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