Project description
Unravelling dendritic cells' mechanism – our alarm system
Dendritic cells (DCs) are like guards protecting our body's kingdom against invaders. They identify, process, and present culprits to T-lymphocytes, thus forming the bridge between innate sensing of pathogens and activation of adaptive immunity. Despite their critical role in health and disease, DCs and their complex mechanisms are not well-characterised. With the support of the Marie Curie programme, EU-funded scientists have set out to discover the biochemical pathways responsible for DC differentiation, development, and communication with T-cells. This will provide important insight into potential treatments for viral infections and cancer.
Objective
Dendritic cells (DCs) play critical roles in directing innate and adaptive immune responses against infections and cancer. Understanding the mechanisms that control DC development and function may reveal new ways to alter the course of complex human diseases such as cancer. Despite their importance in immunity, some open questions remain in regards to DC basic biology. Two of these questions, in particular, are the subject of this application: 1) DCs are a heterogenous population, which can be subdivided into conventional DC type 1 (cDC1) and 2 (cDC2) subsets. Although their development depends on distinct transcriptional programs, cDC1 and cDC2 descend from a common precursor under the influence of the same growth factor cytokine. What determines cDC1/2 differentiation? 2) Various loss-of-function studies demonstrate that cDC1 are key antigen-presenting cells for initiating CD8+ T cell responses to tumours and some viruses. This primarily relies on a process termed cross-presentation. How is cross-presentation regulated in cDC1? Recent studies indicate that profound changes in cellular metabolism are coupled to immune cell function and may fundamentally underpin cell-fate decisions. Based on previous observations and our own preliminary data, we hypothesise that glycolysis programs cDC1 development and activation, whereas fatty acid metabolism controls the ability of the same cells to cross-present antigens to CD8+ T cells. We propose to define the metabolic programs that drive DC formation and that underlie cDC1 and cDC2 identity and complement this approach with loss and gain-of-function experiments that will allow specific testing of our hypotheses. Globally, these studies will identify novel mechanisms of immune cell control with implications for antiviral and anticancer immunity.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
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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 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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-2018
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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.
NW1 1AT London
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.