Objetivo
Even at their earliest stages, human cancers are more than just cells with malignant potential. Cells and extracellular matrix components that normally support and protect the body are coerced into a tumour microenvironment that is central to disease progression. My hypothesis is that recent advances in tissue engineering, biomechanics and stem cell biology make it possible to engineer, for the first time, a complex 3D human tumour microenvironment in which individual cell lineages of malignant, haemopoietic and mesenchymal origin will communicate, evolve and grow in vitro. The ultimate aim is to build this cancerous tissue with autologous cells: there is an urgent need for models in which we can study the interaction of human immune cells with malignant cells from the same individual in an appropriate 3D biomechanical microenvironment.
To achieve the objectives of the CANBUILD project, I have assembled a multi-disciplinary team of collaborators with international standing in tumour microenvironment research, cancer treatment, tissue engineering, mechanobiology, stem cell research and 3D computer-assisted imaging.
The goal is to recreate the microenvironment of high-grade serous ovarian cancer metastases in the omentum. This is a major clinical problem, my lab has extensive knowledge of this microenvironment and we have already established simple 3D models of these metastases.
The research plan involves:
Deconstruction of this specific tumour microenvironment
Construction of artificial scaffold, optimising growth of cell lineages, assembly of the model
Comparison to fresh tissue
Investigating the role of individual cell lineages
Testing therapies that target the tumour microenvironment
My vision is that this project will revolutionise the practice of human malignant cell research, replacing misleading systems based on cancer cell monoculture on plastic surfaces and allowing us to better test new treatments that target the human tumour microenvironment.
Ámbito científico (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural.
CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural.
- ciencias naturalesciencias biológicasbiología celular
- ciencias médicas y de la saludbiotecnología médicaingeniería de tejidos
- ciencias médicas y de la saludmedicina básicainmunología
- ciencias médicas y de la saludbiotecnología médicatecnologías celularescélulas madre
- ciencias médicas y de la saludmedicina clínicaoncología
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Convocatoria de propuestas
ERC-2012-ADG_20120314
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoria
Régimen de financiación
ERC-AG - ERC Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
E1 4NS London
Reino Unido