Objective
Overweight and metabolic syndrome are reaching pandemic dimensions in industrialized countries and are rising in developing countries. Clinically these diseases can manifest in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most frequent liver disease world-wide. A significant number of NAFLD patients develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), making NASH-driven HCC the most rapidly increasing cancer in the USA, with a similar trend in Europe. While HCC is the second most common cause of cancer related death, the mechanisms triggering NASH and subsequent HCC are poorly understood and efficacious therapies are lacking. My group has strong expertise in inflammation-driven HCC (e.g. by Hepatitis B, C viruses). Recently, we have established a mouse model of NASH-driven HCC recapitulating human pathology in the context of metabolic syndrome. We demonstrated for the first time that CD8+ T- and natural killer T (NKT)-cells become activated during metabolic syndrome, cross-talk with hepatocytes and alter hepatic lipid metabolism causing NASH and HCC. We found an identical profile of CD8+T and NKT-cell activation in human NASH underlining the clinical relevance of our model. As the mechanisms of immune cell activation in NASH and transition to HCC remain unknown, this research proposal aims to (1) Identify the priming cell types in metabolic CD8+ T-, NKT-cell activation and the molecular mechanisms of immune cell-hepatocyte crosstalk. (2) Determine the role of antigen recognition and danger- or pathogen-associated molecular patterns in NASH/HCC. (3) Identify the environmental and genetic determinants of NASH to HCC transition. Our findings will enhance the understanding of NASH and HCC development by identifying the underlying mechanisms of immune cell activation. We will identify genetic changes facilitating NASH to HCC transition and whether metabolic normalization of former NASH patients suffices to significantly reduce HCC.
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 clinical medicine oncology liver cancer
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases viral diseases DNA viruses hepatitis B
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases viral diseases RNA viruses hepatitis C
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine hepatology
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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)
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.
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-2015-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.
69120 Heidelberg
Germany
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.