AngioPhenol

 

Targeting angiogenesis is a promising strategy against chronic diseases such as cancer or atherosclerosis. In this regard, (poly)phenols have emerged as an interesting option regarding angiogenesis modulation thanks, in part, to the lack of side-effects associated with their consumption. After decades of intense research, the evidence supporting the role of the microbial metabolites as the active principle of dietary (poly)phenols remains elusive. An attractive theory invokes gut microbiota as a key variable in the “complex” equation “(poly)phenols/health”. The (poly)phenols/gut microbiota interaction perspective offers a novel paradigm for understanding how, through the consumption of PPs-rich foodstuff, processes such as angiogenesis could be modulated. This idea is addressed through different objectives:

- Identification of the angiogenesis-related receptors targeted by the microbial polyphenols

- Study of the role of the gut microbiota as mediator of the effects of the consumption of (poly)phenols-rich foodstuffs on angiogenesis in vivo

- Study of the direct effect of the microbial metabolites

- Investigation of the “prebiotic-like effect” of dietary (poly)phenols/microbial metabolites consumption on microbiota ecology

- In vitro study of the molecular mechanisms modulated by microbial-derived metabolites involved in the vascular endothelial function

AngioPhenol will be carried out via innovative research at one of the epicenters of (poly)phenols research (CEBAS-CSIC). This will allow a more differentiated characterization of the biological role of the gut microbiota as mediator of the biological activity of PPs and their microbial metabolites as well as the identification of the actual active principal ultimately responsible for the health effects after PPs consumption.