Project description
Immunotherapy for glioblastoma
Glioblastoma (GBM) remains a non-curable disease due to its high complexity and location beyond the blood-brain barrier complicating access by conventional therapies. The current treatment includes tumour resection followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy with a survival rate less than 5 % five years post-diagnosis. Tumour-associated macrophages type 2 (M2 macrophages) comprise 30–50 % of the infiltrated cells in the GBM microenvironment and support tumour expansion. The EU-funded BraINstorm project aims to develop the stimulation of the immune system via the delivery of tumour antigen peptides and immunomodulatory oligonucleotides promoting the reprogramming of M2 macrophages into M1 macrophages with an anti-tumour effect.
Objective
Glioblastoma (GBM) remains a non-curable disease due to its high complexity and its position beyond the blood-brain barrier, which precludes access by conventional therapies. The current standard of care includes tumor resection surgery followed by radiotherapy or chemotherapy; an invasive process with a survival rate after five years is less than 5%. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) type 2 (M2 macrophages) comprise 30-50% of the infiltrated cells in GBM microenvironment and support tumor expansion. Immunotherapy represents an appealing strategy to treat several cancer types by turning the immune system against tumor cells; tumor antigen peptides (TAAs) recently emerged as an immunotherapeutic approach that can provide for a long-lasting immune response. Immunomodulatory oligonucleotides can “switch” M2 macrophages into M1 macrophages that produce an anti-tumoral effect. The BraINstorm (Brain INtranasal storm) project aims to engineer a hyaluronic acid (HA)-based combination conjugates that tackle GBM by the stimulation of the immune system via the delivery of TAAs and an immunomodulatory oligonucleotide (CpG) that promotes M2 macrophage “re-education” generating an “anticancer storm”. In parallel, taking advantage of the intrinsic muco-adhesivity of HA, BraINstorm will explore the nose-to-brain drug delivery, a more patient-friendly route that reduces the invasiveness. Novel combination immunoconjugates will be fully chemical-physical characterized and preliminary in vitro studies will be performed assessing the biocompatibility, drug release, and nasal mucosa barrier crossing in an ex-vivo model. Finally, the prophylactic and therapeutic activity of the HA-based conjugates will be in vivo explored in a clinically relevant GBM in vivo model through intranasal (IN) and local treatment administration with regards to effects on tumor size, immune memory, and survival.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine surgery
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunotherapy
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
1348 LOUVAIN LA NEUVE
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.