DISCOVER

DISCOVER: Dissecting radIation effectS into the Cerebellum micrOenVironmEnt driving tumour pRomotion

Project objectives and goals: 

Radiation carcinogenesis is traditionally linked to DNA damage, but there's growing acknowledgment that radiation can induce microenvironmental changes and epigenetic modifications, challenging the conventional target theory. The DISCOVER project will explore the interplay between DNA damage, microenvironmental changes, and epigenetic modifications in radiation-induced carcinogenesis. Using Ptch1+/- mice with a predisposition for medulloblastoma, the project aims to understand how different cerebellar populations respond to moderate (2 Gy) and low (0.1 Gy) radiation doses. Various model systems, including mice, ex-vivo cerebellum slices, and in vitro cell cultures, will be employed to evaluate the microenvironment's role in transmitting radiation signals for carcinogenesis. The study will encompass comprehensive analyses of morphology, function, tumorigenesis, omics data, secretome, and extracellular vesicles. An integrated analysis of DISCOVER animal data and publicly available human brain cancer data aims to identify patterns/signatures for medulloblastoma development.

Project coordinator

Simonetta Pazzaglia
ENEA - Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Rome