GATSNCE

Genetic Analysis of Temperature Sensation and Nociception in Caenorhabditis elegans

Coordinatore	UNIVERSITE DE FRIBOURG    more  Organization address address: AVENUE DE L'EUROPE 20 city: FRIBOURG postcode: 1700 contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Monique Cognome: Bersier Email: send email Telefono: +41 26 300 7003 Fax: +41 26 300 9600
Nazionalità Coordinatore	Switzerland [CH]
Totale costo	52˙083 €
EC contributo	52˙083 €
Programma	FP7-PEOPLE Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
Code Call	FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG
Funding Scheme	MC-CIG
Anno di inizio	2012
Periodo (anno-mese-giorno)	2012-02-01   -   2014-02-28

 Partecipanti

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	UNIVERSITE DE FRIBOURG  Organization address address: AVENUE DE L'EUROPE 20 city: FRIBOURG postcode: 1700 contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Monique Cognome: Bersier Email: send email Telefono: +41 26 300 7003 Fax: +41 26 300 9600	CH (FRIBOURG)	coordinator	52˙083.33

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Pain is a major medical concern and there is an undeniable need to improve the therapeutic options in pain management. In this project, a simple model organism is used to identify and characterize new potential drug targets.

Nociception is defined as the neural processes of encoding and processing noxious stimuli triggering pain. Nociception and temperature sensation are related processes. The general goal of this research project is to shed new light on their molecular and neural basis, by using the small nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This model organism presents several advantages, including the availability of a complete nervous system wiring diagram, efficient genetic techniques, and a stereotyped avoidance behaviour in response to noxious heat, providing a simple readout of thermal nociception. Recent work by the applicant has demonstrated the suitability of this model. New assays were developed to quantify the heat avoidance behaviour and a pilot mutagenesis screen led to the identification of several genes, which mutation impairs noxious heat avoidance. The specific goals pursued in the present project are: 1) to characterize the interplay between the recently discovered “heat avoidance” genes 2) to identify more genes required for heat avoidance, by scaling up the genetic screen 3) to identify the neurons involved, by using cell-specific gene rescue in mutants and by neuronal ablation 4) to understand the logic of the neural circuit involved by expressing light-activated channels enabling an on-demand artificial neural activation

Because thermal nociception mechanisms appear to be at least partially conserved between worms and humans, characterizing the genetic and neural pathways involved will provide novel insights on potential therapeutic target for pain management.'