Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INFLANET (Training European Experts in Inflammation: from the molecular players to animal models and the bedside)
Reporting period: 2021-03-01 to 2023-02-28
The high prevalence of chronic inflammatory diseases has major impacts on life quality and healthcare costs in western societies. Accelerating the pace of anti-inflammatory drug discovery is a formidable challenge. This requires a comprehensive understanding of inflammatory processes, allowing us to link the underlying genetic, molecular and cellular events to the physiological processes in inflamed tissues.
The goal of INFLANET is to:
(1) Understand how inflammatory signals are detected, integrated and propagated in an organism.
(2) Elucidate the genetic bases of inflammatory disorders and inform therapeutic strategies.
(3) Use cutting-edge intravital imaging strategies in animal models to study inflammatory processes, and anti-inflammatory drugs actions.
(4) Develop original mathematical modelling tools to analyse the wealth of data generated, to inform disease model development, and to provide tools for physicians to understand the pathological basis of inflammatory disorders.
The goal of INFLANET is to:
(1) Understand how inflammatory signals are detected, integrated and propagated in an organism.
(2) Elucidate the genetic bases of inflammatory disorders and inform therapeutic strategies.
(3) Use cutting-edge intravital imaging strategies in animal models to study inflammatory processes, and anti-inflammatory drugs actions.
(4) Develop original mathematical modelling tools to analyse the wealth of data generated, to inform disease model development, and to provide tools for physicians to understand the pathological basis of inflammatory disorders.
The first part of the implementation of the project has been devoted to the development of new tools and new strategies to reach the goals:
We have been able to purify new danger signals that are released upon injury and that are instrumental in triggering inflammatory episodes. We have determined their structure and identified their expression in animal models. We have also investigated how the spike protein of SARS-CoV2 may induce a cytokine storm, and how tuberculosis related bacteria may induce inflammation.
We have developed many new fluorescent tools, and new imaging strategies to be able to visualize in the living animal how inflammatory episodes are initiated and how they are propagated in the organism.
By analyzing patient data, we have been able to identify a new human mutation responsible for a familial inflammatory disease, and therefore open the door for the identification of new drugs to treat such patients.
Based on our original results, we have developed new strategies to screen for new drug to treat inflammatory diseases.
We are developing new image analysis tools not only to analyze our research data, but also to help the interpretation of medical images from patients with inflammatory diseases.
We have been able to purify new danger signals that are released upon injury and that are instrumental in triggering inflammatory episodes. We have determined their structure and identified their expression in animal models. We have also investigated how the spike protein of SARS-CoV2 may induce a cytokine storm, and how tuberculosis related bacteria may induce inflammation.
We have developed many new fluorescent tools, and new imaging strategies to be able to visualize in the living animal how inflammatory episodes are initiated and how they are propagated in the organism.
By analyzing patient data, we have been able to identify a new human mutation responsible for a familial inflammatory disease, and therefore open the door for the identification of new drugs to treat such patients.
Based on our original results, we have developed new strategies to screen for new drug to treat inflammatory diseases.
We are developing new image analysis tools not only to analyze our research data, but also to help the interpretation of medical images from patients with inflammatory diseases.
The aim of our efforts is to validate new strategies to discover new anti-inflammatory drugs. We now have validated the biological models and the screening strategies to do so, and are confident that the project may be fruitful.
In terms of medical image analysis, new tools and new work flows will be available to study laboratory data and to draw conclusions from screens to discover new drugs.
In order to disseminate the results, we are currently producing videos to feed or YouTube channel and to produce a MOOC, and we are currently developing serious games to be played using a smartphone for teenagers to learn more on the immune system and on inflammation.
In terms of medical image analysis, new tools and new work flows will be available to study laboratory data and to draw conclusions from screens to discover new drugs.
In order to disseminate the results, we are currently producing videos to feed or YouTube channel and to produce a MOOC, and we are currently developing serious games to be played using a smartphone for teenagers to learn more on the immune system and on inflammation.