Project description
Novel insight into the regulation of energy balance
Neurons and glial cells of the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH) are responsible for energy balance regulation. Emerging evidence indicates that a subpopulation of cells in the hypothalamus known as tanycytes also serve as metabolic sensors, detecting variations of nutrient and hormone levels. The key objective of the EU-funded TANGO project is to unveil the mechanisms underlying the communication between tanycytes and ARH neurons. For this purpose, scientists will investigate the communication between these two types of cells at the genetic, molecular and anatomic level. Results will help comprehend the impaired brain ability of patients with obesity or type-2 diabetes to sense and respond to variations in energy homeostasis, paving the way towards new therapeutic strategies.
Objective
The escalating pandemic of obesity and type-2 diabetes represents one of the most pressing and costly biomedical challenges confronting modern society. The brain's impaired ability to sense and respond to variations in energy homeostasis is increasingly recognized as playing a role in the pathophysiology of these disorders. By sensing the nutritional status of the organism, distinct neural cell populations –including neurons and glia present in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH)– tightly regulate energy balance. In the last decade, it has become clear that tanycytes –hypothalamic glial cells lining the bottom of the third ventricle and sending a single basal process into the ARH– are also able to detect variations of nutrient and hormone levels. Henceforth described as “sensors” of the metabolic state, tanycytes would then modulate neuronal function in order to regulate energy balance. However, the mechanisms underlying the communication between tanycytes and ARH neurons in the context of metabolism remain largely unexamined.
The overall objective of this project is to elucidate the molecular, structural and functional organization of tanycyte/ARH neuron communications, and their involvement in the regulation of energy balance. A multidisciplinary approach including neuroanatomy, molecular biology, and physiology will be implemented to achieve four specific aims:
1) To decipher the genetic and neuroanatomical features of tanycyte/ARH neuron metabolic units
2) To ascertain the impact of tanycyte Annexin A1 on ARH neuronal function
3) To uncover the role of tanycyte local translation in specific tanycyte/neuron communications
4) To reveal the impact of tanycyte glucose-sensing on ARH neuronal gene expression
The elucidation of tanycyte/neuron communications will be essential to explain the regulation of food intake and to allow the development of new therapeutic strategies for obesity and associated metabolic syndromes.
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 basic medicine physiology pathophysiology
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology pandemics
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine endocrinology diabetes
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology homeostasis
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition obesity
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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)
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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.
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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-STG - Starting Grant
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) ERC-2020-STG
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1015 LAUSANNE
Switzerland
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