Thanks to this funding, Dr. Rohit Shrivastava will carry out the AstroExo-HD project, whose aim is to develop new methods for early diagnosis and to identify potential therapeutic targets in Huntington’s disease.
The MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship is one of the most competitive grant programs for young researchers in Europe. In the most recent call, more than 17,000 applications were submitted, of which only 1,610 projects received funding. Only five grants were awarded to Poland, one of them to a scientist at Łukasiewicz – PORT.
Huntington’s disease is a severe, inherited neurodegenerative disorder that leads to progressive brain damage. There are currently no approved therapies that could slow its progression, and the available diagnostic methods allow changes to be detected only at a late stage.
The AstroExo-HD project proposes a new approach to studying the still poorly understood mechanisms of the disease. Instead of focusing exclusively on neurons, researchers will analyze the role of astrocytes – cells that support brain function – and communication mediated by microscopic extracellular vesicles.
Working under the supervision of Dr. Agnieszka Krzyżosiak in the Neurodegeneration Mechanisms Research Group, Dr. Rohit Shrivastava will investigate how disrupted protein homeostasis in astrocytes affects extracellular vesicle (EV) signaling and how this leads to neuronal dysfunction. The researchers hope that this approach will allow the identification of new early biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets.
The research will use cells derived directly from patients that retain traces of their age, which will allow a more faithful reproduction of the processes occurring in the brains of affected individuals.
The project results may contribute to earlier and less invasive diagnosis of the disease, the identification of new drug targets, and the development of precise biological therapies, including approaches based on nanobodies – small antibodies that enable precise targeted therapies. The research outcomes may also be significant for other neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Alzheimer’s disease.
The Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowship program, funded under Horizon Europe, enables the implementation of ambitious and innovative research projects. AstroExo-HD expands the activities of Łukasiewicz – PORT with another innovative approach to research on neurodegenerative diseases, strengthening the institute’s competencies in the area of precision medicine and the development of targeted therapies.
