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Forschungsinstitut fuer Augenheilkunde
INSTITUTE FOR OPHTHALMIC RESEARCH
FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FÜR AUGENHEILKUNDE

European Research Project on Mendelian Inherited Optic Neuropathies

ERMION

Inherited optic neuropathies (IONs) represent a genetically heterogeneous group of degenerative disorders of the optic nerve that affect more than 50.000 persons in Europe. The five main objectives of ERMION are the following :

  1. establishment of joint biological resources to study the genetics and cellular pathophysiology of IONs.
  2. mapping of new gene loci and identification of new genes associated with ION.
  3. identification of proteins that interact with OPA1, a major disease factor in IONs.
  4. studying the mitochondrial and cellular disease process in retinal ganglion cells obtained from OPA1 mouse models.
  5. investigation of cellular changes in mitochondrial bioenergetics and dynamics induced by OPA1 dysfunction in human neuronal like cells and their application for the evaluation of drugs with potential therapeutic effect.

Project Details

Project Coordinator:Dominique Bonneau, Angers (France)
Other Partners:Bernd Wissinger (Tübingen, Germany), Guy Lenears (Montpellier/France), Andrea Martinuzzi (Conegliano, Italy)
Funding Agency:BMBF-DLR (ERA-Net Program), Contract-No.: 01GM1006
Funding Period:05/2010 - 04/2013 (36 Month)