Objective
Self-tolerance is a key feature of the immune system; its failure causes autoimmune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis or Type-1-Diabetes. Remarkably, T cell tolerance operates via two fundamentally different mechanisms: potentially dangerous cells are either eliminated (clonal deletion) or re-programmed to differentiate into regulatory T (Treg) cells (clonal diversion). Paradoxically, both tolerance modes can ensue from self-antigen-encounter in the thymus, and the parameters specifying these opposing cell-fates remain poorly understood. Moreover, the relative contribution of clonal deletion versus clonal diversion to tolerance at the level of diverse immune cell repertoires has not been determined. In particular, the paucity of antigen-specific cells is a major experimental obstacle to unravelling to what extent cells with shared autoreactive specificity, yet different T cell receptors (TCRs), are subject to either mode of tolerance.
Breakthroughs in visualizing minute cohorts of antigen-specific cells, characterizing the TCRs on individual cells and large-scale TCR sequencing now provide a unique opportunity to tackle these challenging questions. Based upon my expertise in thymus biology and T cell selection, I will exploit these technological advances to reveal where and how tolerance either generates ‘holes’ in the repertoire or diverts cells into a ‘benign’ sub-repertoire. The main objectives are (i) to identify and classify deleted or diverted TCR-entities through comparing ‘uncensored’ and ‘censored’ repertoires in the absence or presence of a disease-relevant autoantigen and (ii) to identify TCR intrinsic features as well as T cell extrinsic determinants that specify clonal deletion versus clonal diversion.
The proposed research elucidates a fundamental aspect of vertebrate immunology, but also has major implications regarding the therapeutic promise of harnessing endogenous, antigen-specific Treg cells in autoimmunity.
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 neurology multiple sclerosis
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology autoimmune diseases
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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)
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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)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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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.
Funding Scheme
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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-ADG - Advanced Grant
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2016-ADG
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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.
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
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