(FOA)-MoTrPAc Phase 2 Animal Studies (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed); February 20, 2020

 

Agency

NIH

 

Description

The purpose of this FOA is to invite applications for Preclinical Animal Study Sites (PASS) as part of the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity in Humans Consortium (MoTrPAC) (http://commonfund.nih.gov/MolecularTransducers). Awards made through this FOA will support preclinical mechanistic studies on a range of molecular compounds identified in the initial PASS exercise protocol which was designed to complement and substantially expand the data from the human clinical study in MoTrPAC. This FOA is expected to support up to 4-6 additional Preclinical Animal Study Sites (PASS) as part of the MoTrPAC.

The work of the three existing PASS is divided into two phases. In Phase 1, the investigators developed and utilized treadmill running and tissue sampling protocols for Fisher 344 rats that parallel and greatly expand the potential impact of the MoTrPAC clinical protocols for active and sedentary volunteers. The PASS Phase 1 included two separate arms to examine the response of two age groups (6 and 18 months) of male and female animals to either an acute bout of exercise or to an intensive and progressive aerobic (70% VO2max) training protocol ranging from one to eight weeks in length. Harvesting tissues from both acutely- and training-exercised Fisher 344 rats along with appropriate sedentary controls has been completed, and the tissues have been distributed to the Chemical Analysis Sites for analysis according to MoTrPAC guidelines

In Phase 2 the three original PASS study sites are designing and conducting detailed mechanistic studies to identify the sources, signaling pathways, physiological targets, and functions of mobilized and identified molecular transducers of physical activity; recognize feedback and interaction effects among different pathways and tissues; and discover specific roles of the molecules associated with specific health benefits. The original three PASS sites have begun analyses of mechanisms involved in transducing the effects of exercise. Preliminary data from five abundant PASS tissues indicate that molecular signals produced by physical activity are abundant and diverse (MoTrPAC-data.org)

In view of the enormous number of molecules mobilized in the two treadmill exercise arms of the study, this new RFA calls for additional applications to join the consortium for the remainder of the MoTrPAC funding period to explore the mechanistic links between the candidate molecular transducers of physical activity and functional effects of exercise in tissues. Building on existing and future animal and human data, such preclinical studies will extend knowledge of the benefits of molecular transducers of exercise. Overall, data from existing and newly funded PASS studies are anticipated to substantially increase our understanding of how tissues and organs other than muscle, fat and blood adapt to the exercise induced changes. Data from the 19 PASS tissues will extend the analyses of candidate transducers of physical activity from the clinical study (muscle, adipose tissue and plasma) across multiple organs and tissues that are not accessible from human participants. Applicants should propose what they think is the best strategy and approach for investigating how these mobilized compounds synergize to coordinate the overall homeostatic response to exercise in a variety of tissues. Grantees from this RFA will work in conjunction with the MoTrPAC Steering Committee (of which they will be members) to finalize the molecules that will be investigated

The MoTrPAC Bioinformatics Center (BIC) will conduct a data Webinar for interested applicants at a date to be announced on the MoTrPAC Data Hub Website, the MoTrPAC site, and the Common Fund site soon after publication of this FOA.

 

Activity Code

U01

 

Announcement Number

RFA-RM-20-009

 

Closing Date

Letter of Intent (optional) due Feb. 20, 2020. Application due March 20, 2020.

 

Link to Full Announcement

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-20-009.html