SInGle cells iN AuToimmUne inflammatoRy disEases

ongoing

Autoimmune disorders are highlyImmune-mediated disorders are highly heterogenenous entities for which the mechanisms of disease progression and therapeutic responses are only recently beginning to be understood. The patterns of transcriptome are the reflection of distinct cell types that are involved in the development of the disease process. Our plan is to approach the diseases beginning from a global view that allows us to then come down to the most relevant cell types in tissues and blood. In addition, by understanding disease heterogeneity and diseases similarities, we can also identify the best pathways to be targeted with specific biological treatments. The diseases involved are systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Crohn´s disease and ulcerative colitis. Based on a unique ongoing platform of clinical groups across Europe and specialists in cell and molecular profiling, imaging analyses, single cell sequencing and analysis, we will identify the molecular basis of each of the diseases heterogeneity, the mechanisms of treatment non responsiveness, and develop a specialized training program where students will be able to visualize the overall work from design to analysis of the data and become engaged in the unique multi-disciplinariry of this platform. The platform will have available existing clinical studies and clinical trials, but will be also producing new data from prospective studies where samples and tissues for each disease, based on the appropriate indications will be obtained with special protocols, for the study. The engaged students will be permeated by the latest advances in not one, but several new approaches and systems biology modelling, and develop out-of-the-box concepts where diseases can be viewed not as separate clinical entities but as novel groups of shared molecular and cellular patterns that impinge on specific tissues by specialized cell types.