Neuroimmune molecular networks in neurodegenerative and in infectious diseases

• Grant number: 18/10257-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: November 01, 2018
• End date: March 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Helder Takashi Imoto Nakaya
• Grantee: Tiago Lubiana Alves
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Neurodegenerative disorders and peripheral infections generate a heavy burden onhuman health both in Brazil and worldwide. With the rise of microbial drug-resistance and life expectancy this situation is expected to be further complicated. Furthermore, the incidence of cases of infection and neurodegeneration in the same patients may also increase. It is known that alterations in peripheral immunity can have repercussions in neurodegenerative processes.Despite epidemiological evidence for the influence of peripheral infections in the progression of neurodegeneration, the underlying mechanisms for this association are still to be elucidated. Moreover, to our knowledge, no therapeutic interventions are currently available for any infection-neurodegeneration comorbidities.his project proposes the use of a low-cost strategy for curation and reanalysis of transcriptomic data using a network medicine approach, clarifying molecular associations between infectious and neurodegenerative disorders. The integration pipeline developed will be applied to a series of published datasets of immune and brain samples from human patients of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as welals infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria and zika. Our analyses aim to detect a range of putative genes involved in disease neuro-immune networks, as well as uncover target genes for therapeutic intervention and key players for understanding the pathophysiology of comorbidities.

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

ALVES, Tiago Lubiana. Detection of populations in single-cell RNA sequencing data via coexpression modules. 2020. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Matemática e Estatística (IME/SBI) São Paulo.