2004-10-12
Szanowni Państwo,

Otrzymaliśmy ofertę koordynatora z Izraela poszukującego partnerów do
projektu składanego na najbliższy konkurs LIFESCIENCES w ramach tematu
LSH-2004-1.2.1-3: Exploring the potential of stem cells and/or primary cells, for the understanding of monogenic rare diseases and the development of new drugs for their treatment - INTEGRATED PROJECT.
Tytuł składanego wniosku: Investigating the in vivo functions of Notch1
in mammalian retinogenesis.
A oto jej treść:

Deadline 2006.12.31

CONTACT
Organisation Tel Aviv University Department Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine
Contact person Dr. Ruth Ashery Female
Address Ramat Aviv Email ruthash@post.tau.ac.il
Postcode 69978 Fax 00972-3-6409900
City Tel Aviv Telephone 00972-3-6409331
Country Israel

PROJECT
Title Investigating the in vivo functions of Notch1
in mammalian retinogenesis

Project type: Integrated Project


Status 1 planned for submission
0 running EU project

Call references
FP6-2002-LIFESCIHEALTH


Priorities’ Main Research Areas
Life Science genomics and biotechnology for health

Workprogramme Topic (according to each priority workprogramme) LSH-2004-1.2.1-3: Exploring the potential of stem cells and/or primary cells, for the understanding of monogenic rare diseases and the development of new drugs for their treatment – INTEGRATED PROJECT

Project description The vertebrate retina contains six neuronal and one glial cell types and has been an excellent model system for the study of cell type specification in the CNS. These retinal cell types evolve from a common population of retinal progenitor cells residing in the inner portion of the optic cup. Combination of cell intrinsic and extrinsic cues determine retinal progenitor cell (RPC) fate. One of the main pathways that influence retinal progenitor cell fate is the Notch receptor cell-cell signalling pathway. This signalling pathway has been shown to influence neuronal cell fate in invertebrates as well as vertebrate species. The importance of this pathway in mammalian retinogensis has been implicated by several line of evidence including the expression pattern of Notch1 and the receptors and by over expression experiments. These studies suggested that Notch1 signalling in retinal progenitors might regulate neuronal versus glial differentiation of multipotent progenitor cells. However, the direct analysis of Notch1 loss of function phenotype has been precluded due to the lethal phenotype of the Notch1 knockout mice. In order to investigate the role of Notch signalling pathway in the dynamic process of retinogenesis we will investigate the in vivo functions of Notch1 in retinal progenitor cells by using the Cre/loxP approach. The phenotype of the somatic mutants will be analyzed in respect of molecular cellular and morphological changes; In addition we will identify the genes, which are differentially miss-expressed in Notch1 mutant RPCs using oligonuleotide microarray and PCR based subtraction approach. This program will allow us to unravel the regulatory network regulated by Notch1 in the process of transition from RPCs to neurons. This insight will expose the molecular basis of neurogenesis and contribute to future therapeutic approaches including regeneration of the neuronal cell types.
Keywords Neurogenesis, retinogenesis, microarray, Cre/loxP, Notch, gene expression pattern,

Role 1technology development
1 research
Start of partnership 1 start-up phase
0 mid-term
0 end-phase

Expertise required Study neurogenesis, retinogenesis in vertebrate, expertise in high throughput analysis of gene expression profiles.