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A platform for rapidly mapping the molecular and systemic dynamics of aging

Descripción del proyecto

El origen molecular del envejecimiento

Las enfermedades humanas complejas y el envejecimiento empiezan con pequeños cambios en los que intervienen un gran número de genes. Por lo tanto, la medicina preventiva resulta difícil de aplicar. Para estudiar los orígenes de las enfermedades de la vejez, se requiere un análisis multidimensional de los cambios moleculares y los parámetros fisiológicos durante el envejecimiento. SYSAGING propone utilizar «C. elegans» como modelo de animal pequeño, pero de rápido crecimiento, y que envejece para analizar los orígenes moleculares de enfermedades complejas. La microscopía automatizada y una plataforma de tratamiento de imagen se integrarán con la caracterización transcriptómica y biosensores «in vivo» para recopilar datos a escala molecular, celular, individual y poblacional con el fin de determinar los factores que incrementan el riesgo de enfermedad. Este proyecto ayudará a identificar posibles objetivos para la medicina preventiva a escala molecular y fisiológica.

Objetivo

A central goal of molecular medicine is to understand how genetics, diet, and environment interact to determine health. However, most complex diseases arise from slow, stochastic changes involving large numbers of genes, making it difficult to systematically develop preventative therapies. To study the early and mid-life origins of late-life diseases, we need new methods capable of measuring the high-dimensional dynamics of physiologic change during aging.

C. elegans is a small, fast-aging animal and a powerful model for asking fundamental questions about the conserved molecular origins of complex diseases. However, it is not yet feasible to systematically collect molecular and phenotypic time-series at the precision and scale needed to build quantitative dynamic models of aging. Recently, I developed an automated microscopy and image processing technology that allows life-long observation of large populations. In this proposal, we develop this prototype into an integrative platform combining transcriptomic profiling, in vivo biosensors, and new imaging technology. Collecting data at multiple spatial scales—molecules, cells, individuals, and populations—we can map the causal steps through which slow, stochastic molecular changes drive increases in disease risk. We will then apply this method at scale to characterize all known lifespan-altering interventions in C. elegans, including many being explored for clinical application.

Combining molecular genetics with theoretic approaches, we will build quantitative models of how complex diseases emerge from slow molecular-level changes, and make methodological progress toward rapid characterization of the determinants of age-associated diseases. This work will help isolate the physiologic changes whose disruption delays aging and reduces disease risk, including new targets for preventative therapies.

Régimen de financiación

ERC-STG - Starting Grant

Institución de acogida

FUNDACIO CENTRE DE REGULACIO GENOMICA
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 1 499 981,00
Dirección
CARRER DOCTOR AIGUADER 88
08003 Barcelona
España

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Región
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Tipo de actividad
Research Organisations
Enlaces
Coste total
€ 1 499 981,00

Beneficiarios (1)