Project description
A cell-free therapy for acute respiratory distress syndrome
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe lung inflammatory condition that occurs in critically ill patients. Although mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are emerging as a promising therapeutic tool against ARDS, the risk of tumour formation halts their widespread use. The EU-funded ALGORITM project aims to develop and test a cell-free therapy for ARDS based on the extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by MSCs. Using human lung tissue models, scientists will evaluate the therapeutic potential of MSC EVs and the associated tissue changes. The project will provide evidence on the transcriptomic, metabolic and functional implications of MSC EVs administration, paving the way for the effective clinical translation of this approach.
Objective
Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a major cause of mortality in the critically ill patients with no effective pharmacological treatment. Recently, two distinct endotypes of ARDS were identified and validated in four large randomized controlled trials: a hyper-inflammatory and a hypo-inflammatory endotype. These endotypes have strikingly different clinical characteristics, biomarker profiles, clinical outcomes, and treatment responses. While these data are highly promising, the biology of these endotypes is not understood. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) hold significant therapeutic promise for ARDS and are rapidly progressing to clinical trials across the world. However, concern for the use of stem cells, specifically the risk of tumor formation, remains unresolved. Accumulating evidence suggests that MSCs exert their therapeutic benefit through the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs). MSC EVs are being actively developed as a cell free therapy for ARDS, but for the effective clinical translation it is important to establish EV therapeutic potential for both biological endotypes of patients. In this project, I am going to use cutting edge technology and employ the most physiological human lung tissue models to date to study the biology of ARDS endotypes and to test therapeutic potential of MSC EVs. The main objectives are: i) To reveal how endotype–specific environments alter human lung tissue and how these changes are affected by EV treatment at a single cell level, using single cell RNA-Seq transcriptomic profiling of precision-cut human lung tissue slices, ii) to study how endotype-specific environments (with or without EV treatment) alter functional properties of the alveolar epithelial-endothelial barrier using lung-on-a-chip microfluidic model, iii) to study how endotype-specific environments (with or without EVs) alter metabolism of the primary human pulmonary cells involved in ARDS pathophysiology using Seahorse Metabolic Analyser.
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.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology pathophysiology
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology
- medical and health sciences medical biotechnology cells technologies stem cells
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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.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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)
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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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.
BT7 1NN BELFAST
United Kingdom
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.