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Lipid droplet hypertrophy : the link between adipocyte dysfunction and cardiometabolic diseases

Descrizione del progetto

Dinamiche multilivello dell’ipertrofia degli adipociti

L’ipertrofia degli adipociti è una condizione associata a goccioline lipidiche (LD, Lipid Droplets), gli organuli degli adipociti che immagazzinano energia sotto forma di trigliceridi, più grandi del normale. L’ipertrofia degli adipociti è indipendente dal grasso corporeo ed è alla base di una vasta gamma di condizioni patologiche tra cui le malattie cardiometaboliche. Lo scopo del progetto SPHERES, finanziato dall’UE, è quello di approfondire l’ipotesi che disturbi nell’interazione tra le proteine LD e la composizione lipidica LD portino all’ipertrofia degli adipociti. Gestito da una rete multidisciplinare di esperti, il progetto svilupperà modelli e metodi oltre lo stato dell’arte per studiare la formazione e il mantenimento delle grandi LD adipocitarie. Il lavoro aprirà la strada a una migliore comprensione dei meccanismi sottostanti l’ipertrofia degli adipociti, nonché all’identificazione di strategie terapeutiche mirate agli adipociti.

Obiettivo

The goal of SPHERES is to understand the dynamics and consequences of adipocyte hypertrophy (enlargement) through investigation of its large lipid droplet (LD). The adipocyte LD is a unique organelle specialized in storing energy in triglycerides (TGs). Its surface is composed of a phospholipid monolayer and specific LD-associated proteins (such as perilipins, CIDEs and lipases), which jointly regulate LD stability and TG turnover. Adipocyte hypertrophy due to an increase in LD size may, irrespective of body fat mass, cause a wide range of pathological conditions, notably cardiometabolic diseases. SPHERES PIs (Langin, Rydén, Antonny) postulate that disturbances in the interactions between LD proteins and LD lipid composition lead to adipocyte hypertrophy and its deleterious consequences. We have identified three fundamental unanswered questions: what determines the unique structure and dynamics of large LD; why does increased LD size alter the functional phenotype of the adipocyte; which factors cause inter-individual variations in LD size. To address these questions, SPHERES gathers expertise in clinical and cellular studies on human adipocytes, in/ex vivo investigations in mouse models, and biophysical analyses of LDs. At the core of this application is the development of beyond-state-of-the-art models and methods (spheroid cultures, native large LD preparation and reconstitution, proximity labelling of LD proteins, gene editing in cell and mouse models, and advanced LD imaging), only achievable through joint integrated effort of the PIs and co-workers. Spanning from molecular, cellular to the whole-body level, SPHERES will link new knowledge on the formation and maintenance of large adipocyte LDs to the deleterious impact of adipocyte hypertrophy. Altogether, SPHERES has a strong potential to discover novel pathogenic mechanisms, leading to a better understanding of highly prevalent diseases and identification of therapeutic strategies targeting adipocytes.

Parole chiave

Meccanismo di finanziamento

ERC-SyG - Synergy grant

Istituzione ospitante

UNIVERSITE PAUL SABATIER TOULOUSE III
Contribution nette de l'UE
€ 3 326 680,92
Indirizzo
ROUTE DE NARBONNE 118
31062 Toulouse Cedex 9
Francia

Mostra sulla mappa

Regione
Occitanie Midi-Pyrénées Haute-Garonne
Tipo di attività
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Collegamenti
Costo totale
€ 3 537 143,00

Beneficiari (5)