The Horizon 2020-funded PRIME project ("Prevention and Remediation of Insulin Multimorbidity in Europe") aims to unravel how brain disorders throughout life can be traced to alterations in insulin signalling and how this relates to type 2 diabetes and obesity. On 3 & 4 February, PRIME hosted an online General Assembly meeting, bringing together consortium members from i17 partnering organisations that include academic institutions, SMEs, scientific associations and patient organisations. The General Assembly (GA) meeting was kicked off by Janita Braalten of Radboud University Medical Center (RUMC), who co-coordinates PRIME with Barbara Franke, Geert Poelmans (Drug Target ID) and Christiana Krammer (Concentris).
The first morning of the GA was dedicated to presentations from workpackages that include studies of clinical data. Soren Dalsgaard (Aarhus University) presented an update on work in WP1, which is looking at the prevalence of insulin signalling multimorbidity across the lifespan. Next, Geert Poelmans spoke about WP4 "Mechanism validation and refinement at the genetic and genomic level" which has identified genetic overlaps between conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder, autism and type 2 diabetes - conditions that could potentially be termed "insulinopathies of the brain". Finally, WP5 leader Silke Matura of Frankfurt University Hospital presented work being carried out in WP5 on interventions and integrative modeling, looking at whether existing interventions could be repurposed to treat insulin-related multimorbidity.
The afternoon sessions on 3 February were focused on WP6 and WP7, which are dealing with communication, exploitation, ethics and training for PRIME researchers. Alexander Hage of the Mannheim Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) presented the work he has been doing to review existing clinical guidelines for brain and insulin disorders, including guidance from bodies such as NICE (UK) and EMA. Jeanette Mostert (RUMC), who is leading communication and dissemination activities, showcased some of the webinars and social media activities that have taken place over the last year, with Jan Buitelaar (RUMC) giving an overview of the status of research ethics management in the project. The final day of the PRIME meeting was mainly focused on the preclinical research activities being carried out in WP2 and WP3. WP2 is led by Simone Macri (Instituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome), and is focused on mechanism validation and refinement in animal models of disease. Simone described the different animal models that are being used to understand the insulin-based mechanisms that may contribute to brain disorders, and updated on new findings from these studies. Next, Simone Berkel of Heidelberg University Hospital provided an update on WP3, which is similarly looking at mechanism refinement and validation, but in cellular models of disease.
Simone and her team are using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from people with type 2 diabetes to create "diseased" brain cells that can then be probed mechanistically using different experimental assays. This session was then followed by a round of brainstorming, where partners were able to ask questions and make suggestions about new avenues for research. Geert Poelmans then drew the meeting to a close, thanking attendees for their valuable input and contributions. PRIME has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No.847879.
