Objective
"The applicant proposes a 2-year project to be performed under the supervision of Prof Bernheim, a neuromuscular disease expert at the University of Geneva. The goal of this project is to determine the role of isoforms of calcium-independent isoform phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) in cytosolic calcium entry and muscle cell death during Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
DMD is the most severe case of muscle-wasting diseases of the muscular dystrophies family. It affects 1 in 3500 children, and is caused by mutations in dystrophin mRNA leading to the absence of the protein in skeletal muscles from affected patients. As dystrophin is an important player in muscle maintenance, its absence leads to skeletal muscle degeneration. To date, this is an incurable disease with 100% of fatality. Affected boys first lose the ability to walk, then breath, and finally die before being 30 years old. Although many mutations have been characterized, more research is needed to understand the molecular and signaling mechanisms underlying DMD, and increase the opportunities to find new therapeutic targets. Recent experiments have highlighted the importance of calcium entry in muscle fibers death. iPLA2 appears to have a role in this elevated cytosolic calcium, and has been shown to be upregulated both in DMD patients and dystrophic mdx mice. The applicant will 1) establish the implication and roles of the different iPLA2 isoforms in DMD by comparing calcium responses and muscle cell-death in wild-type (wt) and mdx muscle fibers, and 2) determine the effects of specific inhibitors on muscle cell survival.
This project could have beneficial issues towards developing new strategies to counteract cytosolic calcium imbalance in muscle fibers from DMD patients, and thus potentially alleviate their symptoms.
The applicant will benefit from the expertise of Prof Bernheim and the knowledge she previously acquired abroad to conduct this research project, and later pursue a research and teaching career in Europe."
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- engineering and technology materials engineering fibers
- medical and health sciences basic medicine neurology muscular dystrophies duchenne muscular dystrophy
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- medical and health sciences basic medicine medical genetics
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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.
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.
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IIF
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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.
Coordinator
1211 Geneve
Switzerland
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.