H2020Индивидуална стипендия2018–2020

AstroMiRimage · Super-resolution imaging to uncover microRNA control of astrocytes in epilepsy

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2018-12-01 → 2020-11-30
Финансиране от ЕС: 175 866 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF-EF-ST

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Астроцитите в мозъка и контролът им чрез microRNA се изследват, за да се създадат нови методи за терапия при епилепсия. Това е важно, защото около 30% от пациентите не реагират на стандартните лекарства, които влияят само върху невроните.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Super-resolution imaging to uncover microRNA control of astrocytes in epilepsy

AstroMiRimage aims at finding novel therapeutics for epilepsy, a chronic neurological disease characterised by recurrent epileptic seizures which affects more than 70 million people worldwide (six million in Europe). A diagnosis of epilepsy can have major implications on a person’s life, for example losing the right to drive or to exercise a profession. People with epilepsy are also at an increased risk of death. Seizures are generally controllable using antiepileptic drugs. However, about 30% of people with epilepsy do not respond to commonly available drugs. Altogether, drug-refractory epilepsy is estimated to have a socio-economic burden of ~14 billion Euro per year in Europe. Therefore, there is an urgent unmet need to develop novel therapeutics for epilepsy. All current antiepileptic drugs and also most pre-clinical therapies act on neurons, the cells in the brain that are responsible for electrical signal transmission and generation of seizures. Nevertheless, a universal hallmark of epileptic tissue is astrocyte dysfunction which has not received much attention as a therapeutic target. Astrocytes are a type of support cells in the brain, and they play important roles in the healthy and diseased brain. The main objective of this project is to establish a novel treatment option that specifically targets astrocytes to prevent excessive network excitation and thus seizure generation.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

This Horizon2020 – Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions – Individual Fellowship grant proposal focuses on exploring mechanisms controlling the structure of support cells (astrocytes) in the brain that promote hyper-excitable neuronal networks and underlie common, chronic neurologic disorders such as epilepsy. My research builds on emerging data showing the molecular machinery for microRNAs - short non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by targeting mRNAs - is present locally, within astrocyte processes. For this purpose, I will employ for the first time super-resolution microscopy to visualise astrocyte processes and microRNAs in rodent and human brain. I will then target candidate microRNAs to influence astrocyte morphology, and increase local translation of neurotransmitter and ion channels in astrocytic processes. In turn, this allows the clearing of excess glutamate and potassium from the synaptic cleft and hence prevents synchronous neuronal discharges that generate seizures. During the fellowship, I will acquire new research skills in modelling epilepsy and through training and secondments, where I will visualise locally produced proteins in astrocyte processes after microRNA targeting. The ground-breaking nature of the project will enhance my creative and innovative potential. With advanced training and international mobility, the fellowship will help me to diversify my scientific and non-scientific skills needed to help me reach my career goal of transitioning into an independent principal investigator in molecular imaging and translational neuroscience focused on astrocyte biology and pathophysiology. These findings will have strong therapeutic relevance, offering a novel strategy for seizure-suppressive or disease-modifying actions via targeting microRNAs that regulate aberrant astrocyte morphology that could benefit patients with drug-resistant, refractory epilepsy, which affects approximately 2 million people in Europe.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS IN IRELAND · DUBLIN 2КоординаторИрландия