Project description
Intestinal mucus degradation in inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a rising global health concern that presents with persistent ulcerations in the gastrointestinal tract. Although a low-fibre diet and the gut microbiota seem to contribute to the disease, the precise mechanisms are poorly understood. The EU-funded MUCO-IMMUN project focusses on the bacteria known as the mucobiomes, which use enzymes to digest the host intestinal mucus layer, acting as the first line of defence against pathogens. Since dietary fibre regulates the mucolytic activities of these bacteria, scientists are working under the hypothesis that mucobiomes play a role in IBD pathogenesis. Identification of the immune pathways that are deregulated in IBD will aid the design of innovative diet-based therapies.
Objective
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are chronic disorders characterized by persistent ulcerations in the gastrointestinal tract, drastically affecting the patient’s quality of life. Initially regarded as “Western diseases”, they have now become a global problem. Despite IBD being a set of inflammatory diseases, the underlying host immune pathways remain unclear, making it difficult to reliably treat and cure patients. The low-fiber Western diet, and the microbial communities that live in our intestines (the gut “microbiome”), have been proposed as major environmental contributors of the disease - but the mechanisms of their contribution are poorly understood.
Among the gut microbiome, the mucobiomes are defined as the microbial communities enzymatically geared to digest the host intestinal mucus layer – our first line of defense against invading pathogens. Their mucolytic activities are regulated by dietary fibers. Thus, we hypothesize that, under a low-fiber diet, the mucobiomes catalyze important disease-promoting immune pathways of IBD. Using an original animal model combining genetic susceptibility, dietary fiber deficiency and different microbiota compositions, we aim at highlighting (1) the role of the mucobiome in IBD pathogenesis, and (2) key immune-pathways regulated by the mucobiome. These objectives are ambitious, yet highly feasible given the expertise of the actors. The proposed work provides a unique dimension to understand the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of a key physiological trait of gut bacteria: host-secreted mucus degradation. The success of this project relies on a close interdisciplinary collaboration that will benefit to develop the researcher's career, the hosting group’s projects, the hosting institute's visibility, and establish innovative diet-based therapies for IBD patients.
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.
- engineering and technology materials engineering fibers
- medical and health sciences health sciences inflammatory diseases
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine gastroenterology inflammatory bowel disease
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology microbiomes
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
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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.
1445 Strassen
Luxembourg
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.