The Horizon 2020-funded PRIME project aims to connect the dots between diseases such as diabetes, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and Alzheimer’s disease, identifying shared mechanisms and disease drivers. Between 10-12 May, the PRIME consortium met in Budapest, discussing the latest findings of the project and planning the next steps to achieve the objectives of this ambitious and wide-ranging research project. PRIME brings together a wide range of disciplines and stakeholder groups, including laboratory scientists, clinical researchers, metabolic disease specialists and experts working in non-governmental organisations. Together, they are investigating whether altered insulin signalling could connect brain-based diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and autism, with somatic diseases like type 2 diabetes and obesity.
PRIME involves partners from 17 institutions across Europe, and is coordinated by Professor Barbara Franke, of Radboud University Medical Center (RUMC). Although insulin is most commonly linked to diabetes - thanks to its role in regulating how we process sugar - it also has effects on our blood vessels and brain cells, potentially impacting the development of neuropsychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. In PRIME, scientists are analysing the role of insulin in these diseases using a wide range of laboratory, preclinical and clinical research methods. The first day of the PRIME General Assembly focused on the clinical end of the research spectrum. Willemijn Jansen (University of Maastricht) presented a recent meta-analysis investigating the association between diabetes measures and Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, and Valérie Bertaina-Anglade (Biotrial) provided an update on the PRIME clinical study, which is collecting data and samples from people with Romano-Ward Syndrome.
PRIME is also using advanced analytics to probe existing clinical datasets. Nina Roth Morta (RUMC) and Hyun Ruisch (Drug Target ID) presented their work on identifying potential disease mechanisms at the genetic and genomic level, and Olha Shkaravska (Machine2Learn) outlined how she is analysing data from the UK Biobank and PREDIMED-Plus studies to identify risk factors for cognitive decline in type 2 diabetes. Clinical partners from the Mannheim-based Central Institute for Mental Health explained how they are reviewing clinical guidelines on brain and somatic diseases from over 15 countries, including the UK, Germany and France among others. Rounding off the first day of the General Assembly, dissemination partners from the European Brain Council and RUMC (Jeanette Mostert) led a lively discussion on how to communicate PRIME to different stakeholders, outlining plans for a policy event in 2024 and detailing the ongoing webinar series. Day 2 of the PRIME General Assembly brought the audience back to the laboratory. Partners from the Instituto Superiore di Sanita (Rome), University College Dublin (Ireland) and Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitaet (Germany) shared updates on their studies looking at mechanism validation and refinement in preclinical models of disease. This research uses established models of diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease to study the presence of neuropsychiatric traits, and whether existing and potential drugs could be useful treatments.
Partners from Heidelberg University (Germany) and Semmelweis University (Hungary), explained how they are using neurons derived from connective tissue cells donated by patients with diabetes to refine and validate disease mechanisms, identifying targets and molecules that overlap with the preclinical and clinical PRIME studies. A final session of the General Assembly was focused on patient involvement in research, and how patient organisations can contribute to projects such as PRIME. Angela Bradshaw (Alzheimer Europe) and Sabine Dupont (International Diabetes Federation – Europe) introduced their respective organisations and explained how they contribute to research projects, providing examples and learnings on public involvement. Finally, Janita Bralten, who co-coordinates PRIME, drew the meeting to a close, thanking attendees for their valuable input and contributions. Discover the PRIME project, here: https://prime-study.eu/