NEUROFASCIA
Financiado
Neuronal control of fascia
The fascia is the largest tissue in the body, yet most of us never heard of it. This connective tissue delineates the skin, surrounds muscles, and closely envelops all organs. Clinically, it is mainly considered a mechanical barri...
The fascia is the largest tissue in the body, yet most of us never heard of it. This connective tissue delineates the skin, surrounds muscles, and closely envelops all organs. Clinically, it is mainly considered a mechanical barrier separating organs and muscles. But why should a simple barrier be populated with immune cells and receive extensive innervation by sensory and sympathetic neurons?
Here we propose that the fascia generates a sensory platform that detects damage to the tissues it envelops and communicates this information to the brain which in turn, initiates corrective programs and modulates immune activity. Our preliminary results support this hypothesis indicating that chronic depression in mice and direct optogenetic activation of sympathetic fascia innervations induce immune changes in the fascia.
We propose three major aims:
A) Characterization: Identify the anatomical and genetic characteristics of fascia innervation and fascia resident immune cells
B) Function: Determine how fascia inflammation is represented in the brain and how it affects pain responses
C) Modulation: Demonstrate how neural control of the fascia affects this tissue and its immune state
My multidisciplinary background uniquely positions me to study this novel aspect of brain-body communication. We will use viral tracing and spatial transcriptomics to characterize the fascia’s innervation; optogenetics to locally control neurons in the fascia; chemogenetics to manipulate brain activity; and high-dimensional immune characterization to establish the immunological outcomes in the fascia.
NEUROFASCIA has the potential to transform our understanding of brain-immune communication and open new therapeutic avenues for disease such as myofascial pain syndrome, endometriosis, and fibromyalgia, which are accompanied by low-grade inflammation and altered fascia innervation.
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Duración del proyecto: 60 meses
Fecha Inicio: 2023-06-19
Fecha Fin: 2028-06-30
Fecha Fin: 2028-06-30
Línea de financiación: concedida
El organismo HORIZON EUROPE notifico la concesión del proyecto el día 2023-06-19
Línea de financiación objetivo
El proyecto se financió a través de la siguiente ayuda:
ERC-2022-COG:
ERC CONSOLIDATOR GRANTS
Cerrada
hace 2 años
Presupuesto
El presupuesto total del proyecto asciende a
2M€
Líder del proyecto
TECHNION ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
No se ha especificado una descripción o un objeto social para esta compañía.
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5
Perfil tecnológico
TRL
4-5