HEИндивидуална стипендия2023–2025

DROPCOS · Role of the neuroendocrine axis and its link with obesity in the genesis of PCOS

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

Период: 2023-05-01 → 2025-04-30
Финансиране от ЕС: 181 153 €
Участници: 1
Схема: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Връзката между мозъка, мастната тъкан и яйниците се изследва чрез генетичен модел при плодови мухи, за да се разберат механизмите на синдрома на поликистозните яйчники. Това помага за откриването на ранни биомаркери и нови цели за терапия при това разстройство.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

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

Резултати накратко

Role of the neuroendocrine axis and its link with obesity in the genesis of PCOS

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common hormonal disorder among women of reproductive age, affecting up to 15% of women globally. Despite its high prevalence and major impacts on reproductive health, fertility, metabolism, and mental wellbeing, the causes of PCOS remain unclear, and no definitive cure currently exists. This gap in knowledge severely limits the development of targeted therapies and preventive strategies. The DROPCOS project aimed to develop and utilize a novel genetic animal model of PCOS, using Drosophila melanogaster, to uncover the biological mechanisms underlying the syndrome. While PCOS is typically diagnosed during adolescence or adulthood, emerging evidence suggests that its roots may lie much earlier in life, potentially even during embryonic development. The project aimed to test this hypothesis by examining how neuroendocrine signaling, fat metabolism, and ovarian development are coordinated during early life stages. Specifically, the project investigated the role of genes involved in inter-organ communication, particularly between the brain, fat body (the fly equivalent of adipose tissue), and ovaries. The central objective was to characterize how disruptions in this neuroendocrine-adipose-gonadal axis can lead to PCOS-like features, such as excess germline stem cell proliferation, cystic ovaries, and metabolic imbalances. This project contributes to addressing a major global health issue and provides a cost-effective, high-throughput genetic platform for exploring potential therapeutic targets and early biomarkers of PCOS.

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

Цел на проекта

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a human hormonal disorder of complex etiology, characterized by reproductive, endocrine and metabolic abnormalities, which affects 15% of women of reproductive age and has a very low survival rate. Recent studies on its pathophysiology suggest that it reflects alterations in homeostatic feedback mechanisms between the ovaries, adipose tissue, and hypothalamic circuits that develop during embryogenesis. Despite its high prevalence and significant impact on health, there are no effective treatments for PCOS due to its complex etiology. The development of new animal models displaying features of human PCOS is an unmet need because classical mouse models of PCOS have relied on its induction with androgen excess, providing only very limited insight into the pathogenesis of PCOS. In a genetic screen against secretable and transmembrane proteins involved in tissue-to-tissue communication, the host lab has identified new genes that act as sensors of the amount of body fat in the larval prothoracic endocrine gland of Drosophila. This gland corresponds to the neurosecretory part of the mammalian hypothalamus and mutants in these genes are characterized by PCOS. The main objective of this proposal is to characterize how cell communication in the neuroendocrine-adipose tissue-ovary axis is responsible for the uncontrolled proliferation of gonadal germ cells. The underlying PCOS will be studied using single-cell genomic approaches, metabolomics, and genetic studies on the different elements that make up this axis. By elucidating the molecular/hormonal mechanisms involved in brain-adipose tissue-ovary communication in normal development and disease, I hope to better define the pathogenesis and development of targeted therapies against PCOS.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS · MadridКоординаторИспания