Project description
Molecular aetiology of immune responses in the CNS
Immune responses against viruses in the central nervous system (CNS) can disrupt neuronal homeostasis and cause permanent damage. The EU-funded PATHOCODE project is investigating the mechanisms by which non-cytolytic CD8+ T cells affect infected as well as non-infected neurons in the CNS. Using a unique animal model of T cell-driven virus encephalitis, scientists will study the epigenetic and downstream metabolic changes induced in infected neurons by T cell immune responses. The project's findings will decipher the molecular aetiology of neuronal dysfunction in CNS inflammatory diseases and identify potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
Objective
"Immune responses against viruses in the central nervous system (CNS) can result in devastating outcomes. Even non-cytolytic CD8+ T cell interactions, which purge viruses from neurons without triggering cell death, can induce permanent damage. Yet, how this immune response irreversibly disrupts neuronal homeostasis remains unclear.
Here, we will elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underlie non-cytolytic CD8+ T cell engagement with infected neurons and their consequences on neuron function in vivo. We hypothesize that inflammatory signalling in neurons, induced by non-cytolytic CD8+ T cell interactions, triggers metabolic and epigenetic changes that underpin permanent neuronal dysfunction.
""PATHOCODE"" will test this hypothesis by harnessing a unique animal model of T cell-driven virus encephalitis in the following objectives: 1. Discern neuronal subset-specific vulnerabilities and antigen-dependent versus bystander effects in the inflamed CNS. We will perform single nucleus RNA sequencing to examine whether T cell engagement (a) differentially affects molecularly distinct neurons, and (b) affects non-targeted, uninfected neurons. 2. Uncover the consequences of non-cytolytic T cell engagement on neuronal metabolism. We will use cell-specific mitochondrial reporter mice to investigate immune-driven metabolic adaptation of neurons in vivo. 3. Determine how non-cytolytic T cell engagement affects the neuronal epigenome. We will employ cell-specific nucleus/ribosome reporter mice to elucidate how T cell engagement affects the translatome and epigenome of infected cells. 4. Rescue T cell-mediated neuronal dysfunction by restoring metabolic pathways. We will exploit recent CRISPR/Cas9 technological advances to restore neuronal gene expression and uncover the relevance of immune-driven metabolic and epigenomic changes to disease. Our study will thus provide novel molecular concepts about immune-driven neuronal alterations in CNS inflammatory diseases."
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 pathology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics RNA
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics epigenetics epigenomes
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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)
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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-COG - Consolidator 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-2019-COG
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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.
1211 Geneve
Switzerland
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