Objective
Mast cells are involved in the allergic response, anaphylaxsis, wound healing and angiogenesis. When activated via IgE, damage/pathogen-induced molecules or complement components, the granules of mast cells release proteases. Dysregulation of mast cells is implicated in allergies of the skin and airways, autism, chronic fatigue syndrome, pain, mastocytoma and intestinal dysmotility. Strategies to limit the damaging effects of mast calls are needed. However, the development of novel treatments is hampered by the inability to grow mast cells rapidly and efficiently in culture. Bone marrow cell cultures typically take 12 weeks before mast cells are available for study. Even then, there are too few cells to use for drug discovery or patient-specific treatment strategies. Embryonic stem cells (ESC) represent an alternative method for the production of mast cells. An unexpected ground-breaking discovery from our ERC AdG 341096 studies aiming to produce hematopoietic stem cells, was the development of a novel method that instead produces large numbers of mast cells in a short time. Mouse ESC engineered with a unique reporter gene that allows for cell enrichment during a multi-step culture yields a homogenous population of phenotypic and functional connective tissue and mucosal mast cells. Within only 3 weeks large numbers of mast cells are generated. To translate this method for large scale rapid production of human mast cells we will 1) characterize unique human reporter ESCs made by Crispr/CAS9 state-of-the-art method; 2) optimize human mast cell production from reporter hESCs in a multi-step differentiation culture; 3) characterize/validate the function of hESC-derived mast cells (normal and mutant); 4) interact with industry to use hESC-derived mast cells for drug-discovery and studies of mast cell differentiation and dysfunction. Long-term goals include the development of mast cell treatment strategies for personalized medicine.
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 basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
- medical and health sciences health sciences personalized medicine
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine allergology
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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.
EH8 9YL Edinburgh
United Kingdom
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.