Objective
Anxiety and stress-related conditions represent a significant health burden in modern society. Anxiety disorders are currently treated with a variety of agents targeting synaptic mechanisms. These agents either directly affect neurotransmitter receptor systems or modulate neurotransmitter levels or availability, but their long-term use is limited by problematic side effects and suboptimal efficacy. The development of new anxiolytic drugs has been fraught with difficulty, hence there is a need for new targets and new avenues for therapeutic development.
Importin-dependent transport mechanisms link synapse to nucleus in a diversity of physiological contexts, rendering them potentially interesting targets for behavioural control. However importins and related molecules have not been evaluated for roles in anxiolysis to date. We discovered the roles of importins in axonal injury signaling and in cell size sensing. During the course of our current ERC Advanced grant, and as part of one of the aims, we have conducted comprehensive phenotyping of importin mouse mutants to identify in vivo consequences of the deregulation of size control pathways. One importin mutant line presented a specific phenotype in anxiety tests, and follow-up analyses identified a new molecular pathway for anxiety regulation, and approved drugs affecting this pathway that can be repositioned for anxiety treatment.
In this PoC, we will (1) carry out IP protection on our initial identifications of anxiolytic drugs; (2) further validate the anxiolytic activities of these drugs and their closely related structural or functional analogs; and (3) devise an HTS-compatible assay for targeting the importin involved and conduct a pilot screen of ~200,000 compounds in this assay to identify new drug leads for anxiety treatment. As a final step, we will carry out (4) additional IP protection and pre-commercialisation tasks for maximizing the commercialisation potential of our discovery.
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.1.1. - 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-POC - Proof of Concept 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-2017-PoC
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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.
7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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.