Project: Dissecting Mesenchymal-ENDothelial cross-talk, heterogeneity and function to mend vascular AGEing and atherosclerosis
| Acronym | MEND-AGE |
| Duration | 01/05/2019 - 30/04/2021 |
| Project Topic | Aging increases cardiovascular events through cell senescence with accelerated atherosclerosis, fibrosis, endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress (ROS), and inflammation. Resident mesenchymal cells (MCs), may not only drive fibrosis, but their cross-talk with smooth muscle, immune and endothelial cells (ECs) also affects angiogenesis, vascular tone, calcification and inflammation. Indeed, our consortium identified migrated MC driving atherosclerotic plaque calcification. Here, the molecular targets underlying the cellular ageing and cross-talk will be unveiled. We will: 1) analyse adventitial cell heterogeneity, fate and cross talk in arterial aging and atherosclerosis, 2) identify aging-induced drivers of vascular disease and 3) target aging-induced drivers in animal models to ameliorate aging-associated vascular pathology. The passion that drives this project is driven by a simple emerging hypothesis: It is possible to treat atherosclerosis and plaque rupture by synergizing endothelial-mesenchymal cross-talk to prevent excessive matrix production, angiogenesis, and inflammation. |
| Network | ERA-CVD |
| Call | Joint Transnational Call for Proposal 2018 (JTC 2018) |
Project partner
| Number | Name | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uniklinik RWTH Aachen | Coordinator | Germany |
| 2 | Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III | Partner | Spain |
| 3 | Jagiellonian University | Partner | Poland |
| 4 | Maastricht University Medical Center | Partner | Netherlands |