Objective
Myocardial infarction (Ml) is an irreversible injury where sudden interruption of blood flow caused by the occlusion of an artery leads quickly to cardiac myocytes death, loss of tissue and scar formation. Since the self- renewal ability of adult cardiac myocytes is limited, the development of strategies to regenerate damaged myocardium and improve its function represents a major challenge in the treatment of cardiac diseases. Recent evidences have suggested that multipotent somatic stem cells can become reprogrammed in new tissue-specific stem cell niches. However, despite the growing number of observations reporting "trans-differentiation" of adult tissue-derived stem cells, there are no conclusive evidences on the mechanism(s) underlying changes in stem cell fate and sufficient information on the therapeutic potential of these cells. In this proposal we aim to provide a contribution on validation of the use of adult tissue derived stem cells for myocardial repair by: 1) identifying the most suitable adult stem cell type(s) to be used to promote myocardial repair/regeneration; 2) unraveling the combination of stimuli that might drive differentiation of stem cells toward a cardiac myocyte lineage; 3) define genes and factors driving stem cell differentiation into cardiac lineage and set-up safe and effective vectors and protocols to induce cardiac myocyte differentiation pathway(s) by gene transfer; 4) assessing the functional properties of stem cell-derived cardiac myocytes; 5) unraveling the action of factors that might be involved in recruitment and homing of endogenous stem cell in myocardium; 6) evaluating the mid- and long-term effects of stem cell administration by clinical trials of autologous hematopoietic stem cell administration in patients suffering ischemic heart disease.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology genetic engineering gene therapy
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine cardiology
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.
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.
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.
FP6-2002-LIFESCIHEALTH
See other projects for this call
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.
Coordinator
ROME
Italy
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.