Objective
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a rare and devastating autosomal dominantly inherited disorder caused by the amplification of the CAG codon in the huntingtin gene. The clinical symptoms of HD are chorea and motor incoordination as well as psychiatric symptoms. To date no cure has been found to alter the progression of the striatal atrophy due to the dramatic loss of GABAergic medium spiny neurons (MSNs) which eventually leads to death. Over the past years increasing knowledge around the function of huntingtin (HTT) has allowed the identification of number pathogenic mechanisms, however the specific processes whereby the mutated HTT leads to degeneration and their temporal evolution remains unknown. We believe it is of vital importance to develop disease-relevant human cell models from clinically characterized HD subjects in which to address questions related to pathogenic mechanisms and their dependence on the CAG repeats. For this reason the aim of the proposed project is to generate induced medium spiny neurons (iMSNs) from healthy or HD-diseased fibroblasts in order to generate a reliable disease modelling tool. The applicant will optimize an existing protocol for the generation of iMSNs from direct conversion of fibroblasts published by Victor et al (2014) to obtain healthy iMSNs in the laboratory of prof. Elena Cattaneo at the University of Milan. In a second step she will perform direct in vitro reprogramming of human fibroblasts derived from well characterized patients affected with HD exhibiting different degrees of CAG repeat expansion into induced HD-derived MSNs (HD-iMSNs). Finally, the newly generated HD-iMSNs will be analyzed, and their characteristics compared to those of the healthy iMSNs, in order to assess their appropriatness as a disease modelling tool to investigate the pathophysiology and pathogenesis of HD.
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.
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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.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
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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.
20122 Milano
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.