Project description
Interplay between the nervous system and immune response
The immune system and nervous system were previously thought to play different roles, but recent research has shown that they interact and influence each other. When we experience injury, infection or inflammation, the nerves in our skin are activated. They send signals to our brain, causing us to feel pain. These nerves also release substances that can affect nearby immune cells. Funded by the European Research Council, the NEURIMMUNE project aims to understand how the immune and nervous systems work together in response to infections and injuries. Researchers will focus on the role of sensory neurons and pain sensitivity in immune responses by studying genetically modified mouse models.
Objective
Survival of living organisms depends on their capacity to develop defence mechanisms against environmental challenges that cause tissue damage and infections. These protective functions involve the nervous system and the immune system, two systems traditionally considered as independent. However anatomical and cellular bases for bidirectional interactions between them have been established and a new paradigm on a regulatory role of the nervous system on immune functions is emerging.
Pain is one of the major signs of inflammation. Upon acute injury, inflammation or infections noxious signals are perceived by nociceptors present in tissues, such as the skin. These sensory neurons convey the damaging information to the brain and release a number of mediators locally that could modulate immunity. The goal of this project is to decipher the functional role of sensory neurons and pain sensitivity on immune responses. We will tackle this highly challenging question by studying the immune responses to vaccination in genetic mouse models in which skin innervation by nociceptors is deficient. Our preliminary results are very promising as we already demonstrated that deficits in sensory skin innervation affect both the innate and adaptive immune responses to intradermal vaccine. We will further study the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in this local and systemic modulation of the immune response by the nervous system. As a complementary approach, we will address the role of an exacerbated pain response on immunity through the selective stimulation of nociceptive neurons in wild type animals.
This interdisciplinary study is designed to provide new insights into how the nervous system instructs the immune system. Results from NEURIMMUNE are expected to open new avenues of research on the integrated host response to pathogens with important implications for the design of innovative prophylactic vaccines and therapies.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- engineering and technology materials engineering fibers
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- 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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - 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
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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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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-2014-CoG
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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.
75654 PARIS
France
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.