Objective Chronic liver inflammation has been shown to promote hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the initial cellular and molecular events that trigger the inflammation are largely unknown. The proposed study will provide a detailed characterisation of cellular processes that need to be deregulated in liver cells to cause inflammation. For this purpose, a genetic mouse model that closely reproduces all the stages of inflammation-related HCC will be used. This mouse exhibits a Liver Parenchymal Cell specific NEMO ablation (NEMOLPC-KO), the regulatory subunit of the IKK complex that activates NF-kB signalling.The two main goals of the proposed project are to a) unravel early cellular and molecular alterations in the liver cells of NEMOLPC-KO mice, and distinguish these resulting from a cell-autonomous effect of NEMO deletion from those resulting from a non-cell autonomous effect due to the inflammatory microenvironment and b) distinguish between NF-kB-dependent and independent functions of the NEMO/IKK complex in liver homeostasis.Two experimental strategies will be used to achieve these goals. The first is a targeted examination of specific cellular processes that could be implicated in the development of liver inflammation, such as the mitochondrial functions, ER stress, autophagy, and p62 functions. A combination of mouse genetics with cutting-edge microscopy and other cell biology techniques will be employed. The second involves high-throughput approaches, such as gene expression microarray, that will help distinguishing between the above-mentioned NEMO functions.The scientific impact of this study will be to define early cellular changes can disrupt liver cell homeostasis resulting in human liver inflammatory diseases, thus helping in development of new therapeutic approaches. Finally, the project will greatly benefit the applicant’s professional maturity that is important for pursuing an independent research career. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsmedical and health scienceshealth sciencesinflammatory diseasesnatural sciencesbiological sciencescell biologynatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopymedical and health sciencesbasic medicinephysiologyhomeostasis Programme(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF - Marie-Curie Action: "Intra-European fellowships for career development" Call for proposal FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF) Coordinator UNIVERSITAT ZU KOLN Address Albertus magnus platz 50931 Koln Germany See on map Region Nordrhein-Westfalen Köln Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Christian Klar (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution No data
