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INTER-REGULATION OF CIRCADIAN AND AUTOPHAGIC PROCESSES IN STEM CELLS: IMPACT ON TISSUE REGENERATION AND AGING

Project description

The impact of ageing on stem cell regenerative potential

Tissue regeneration is facilitated by quiescent resident stem cells that become activated upon injury or the need to replace tissue-specific cells. Accumulating evidence indicates that with ageing, muscle stem cells known as satellite cells (SCs) lose their regenerative capacity, decrease autophagy and reprogram their circadian transcriptome. With this in mind, scientists of the EU-funded CIRCautophAGING project will investigate the mechanisms required to preserve stem cell regenerative fitness throughout life. They are working under the hypothesis that SC fitness is driven by an interplay between active autophagy and circadian regulation. Using transgenic animals, they will provide fundamental knowledge on stem cell biology and ageing, opening new avenues for regenerative therapies.

Objective

Regeneration of skeletal muscle relies on its stem cells, also called satellite cells (SCs). These cells remain quiescent throughout their life, and only activate in response to injury to form new muscle fibers. The regenerative capacity of these cells declines with aging. In the past years, Pura Muñoz Cánoves’ lab showed that, with aging, quiescent SCs 1) lose basal autophagy and 2) reprogram their circadian transcriptome (including the autophagic transcriptome). The molecular bases of these processes, their potential interrelation and the consequences of their failure with aging, are unknown. Our integrating hypothesis is that active autophagy and circadian regulation are interconnected and required to preserve stem cell regenerative fitness throughout life. We aim to answer the following questions: Which is the relative contribution of the stem-cell-intrinsic versus the organismal clock to muscle regeneration during aging? Are circadian and autophagy processes interconnected? This is, does circadian clock disruption alter autophagy in SCs? Conversely, does autophagy disruption affect their circadian regulation? If so, does autophagy re-induction by nutritional regimes restore circadian and regenerative functions in aged SCs? Mice genetically-modified for depletion of 1) selected circadian clocks or 2) autophagy will allow us to assess the relative contribution and interrelation of autophagic and circadian machineries to muscle regeneration during aging. We expect that completion of this project will provide new fundamental knowledge on stem cell biology, regeneration and aging, which will open opportunities for stem cell rejuvenation.

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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019

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Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 160 932,48
Address
PLACA DE LA MERCE, 10-12
08002 Barcelona
Spain

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Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 160 932,48
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