Descripción del proyecto
Reprogramar las neuronas para una regeneración encefálica
La neurogénesis en el encéfalo adulto es un fenómeno muy poco común, lo que indica que la capacidad regenerativa del encéfalo es limitada. Esto tiene consecuencias importantes para los millones de personas que padecen trastornos neurológicos. El proyecto 4F4REJUVENGLIA, financiado con fondos europeos, propone un innovador método rejuvenecedor para estimular la regeneración de las zonas dañadas del encéfalo. Mediante una tecnología de reprogramación celular nuclear, los investigadores administrarán cuatro factores proteicos a la neuroglia parenquimatosa a fin de hacer que las células vuelvan a ser células progenitoras neuronales que puedan dar lugar a nuevas neuronas. El objetivo es aumentar las posibilidades de recuperar las neuronas perdidas o dañadas e integrarlas en los circuitos encefálicos.
Objetivo
Although the concept of adult neurogenesis has important implications for regenerative medicine, the formation of new functional neurons from progenitors during adult life is rare and occurs only in confined areas of the mammalian brain . Because adult neurogenesis is limited, the regenerative capacity of the brain is restrained and the possibilities of recovery from damage are almost absent.
The WHO* reported that up to 1 billion people, nearly one in six of the world’s population, suffer from neurological disorders. Many of these disorders have the loss or malfunction of neurons in common. Alongside the rapid increase of life expectancy whereby it is estimated that a quarter of Europeans will be over 60 years of age by 2020, these types of disorders are becoming a growing burden for aging societies, in terms of both suffering and economic cost. In Europe, for example, the total cost of brain disorders was estimated at €386 billion in 2004 and increased to €798 billion in 2010.
This project, 4F4REJUVENGLIA (short for: 4 factors for rejuvenating glia), focuses on a novel approach to engineer neurogenesis, based on nuclear cell reprogramming technology, to induce regeneration of damaged areas of the brain. The aim is to generate new neurons in regions naturally devoid of neurogenesis. The approach involves the overexpression of the Yamanaka factors directly in parenchymal glia, with the purpose of reprograming/rejuvenating these cells back in development in order to recover their stem cell potential lost during specification (Fig.1). We hypothesise that this “rewinding” to a neural progenitor-like state may rearrange the local environment and remodel it towards a stem cell niche that help instruct and integrate new neurons within the preexisting circuits.
Ámbito científico
CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural.
CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural.
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
WC2R 2LS London
Reino Unido