Descripción del proyecto
Mejora de las condiciones de los cultivos celulares para la medicina regenerativa, el descubrimiento de fármacos y la seguridad alimentaria
Las células residen de forma natural en un contexto de tejido muy denso y están sometidas simultáneamente a numerosos estímulos específicos de tejido. Sin embargo, los cultivos celulares tradicionales no solo se realizan en medios muy diluidos, sino que también son de naturaleza monofactorial. Como resultado, las reacciones bioquímicas y los procesos biológicos se producen muy lentamente, si es que se producen, lo que hace que las células pierdan su fenotipo y su función. El proyecto ACHIEVE, financiado con fondos europeos, investigará primero los fundamentos del hacinamiento macromolecular en el cultivo de células eucariotas para simular «in vitro» la densidad de tejido nativo. Posteriormente, se empleará un método multifactorial, que combina el hacinamiento macromolecular con otros moduladores de microambiente «in vitro» biomiméticos, para el desarrollo de la medicina regenerativa funcional basada en células, el descubrimiento de fármacos y los productos de seguridad alimentaria.
Objetivo
ACHIEVE focuses on the application of Excluded Volume Effect in cell culture systems in order to enhance Extracellular Matrix (ECM) deposition. It represents a new horizon in in vitro cell culture which will address major challenges in medical advancement and food security. ACHIEVE will elucidate extracellular processes which occur during tissue generation, identifying favourable conditions for optimum tissue cultivation in vitro. These results will be applied in the diverse fields of regenerative medicine, drug discovery and cellular agriculture which all require advancements in in vitro tissue engineering to overcome current bottlenecks. Effective in vitro tissue culture is currently limited by lengthy culture periods. An inability to maintain physiologic (in vivo) conditions during this lengthy in vitro culture leads to cellular phenotype drift, ultimately resulting in generation of an undesired tissue. Enhanced tissue generation in vitro will greatly reduce culture times and costs, effecting improved in vitro tissue substitutes which remain true to their original phenotype. The research will be addressed under four work-packages. WP1 will investigate biochemical, biophysical and biological responses to varying culture conditions; WP 2, 3 and 4 will apply results in the fields of Tissue Engineering, Drug Discovery and Cellular Agriculture respectively. Research will involve extensive characterisation of derived- and stem-cell cultures in varying conditions of expansion and relevant health and safety and preclinical testing. The five year programme will be undertaken at the National University of Ireland, Galway, a centre of excellence in tissue engineering research, at a cost of € 2,439,270.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantInstitución de acogida
4 Dublin
Irlanda