Objective
The paramount importance of human membrane proteins for life contrasts with the lack of understanding of their molecular mechanisms of function and pharmacology. This project focuses on the molecular mechanisms of one of the most important and medically relevant families of neurotransmitter membrane transporters in the brain, the Human Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter (hEAAT) family. Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain and its extracellular concentration is mainly regulated by the hEAATs, which pump the transmitter into the cytoplasm of cells. This role is essential to neurological processes like memory, cognition, and learning. Importantly, glutamate can also be a potent neurotoxin and the deregulation of its extracellular levels is associated to numerous neurodegenerative and mental disorders. We aim to characterize the molecular function and pharmacology of the hEAATs using a broad multidisciplinary biophysical approach to obtain and integrate structural, energetic and dynamic information on these human membrane proteins. We will develop new methods to obtain for the first time the hEAATs in pure and stable form for rigorous biophysical analysis and generate a library of new selective compounds with pharmaceutical potential that target the transporters. This knowledge will be essential to gain a complete understanding of hEAATs function and to design new therapeutic and pharmacological strategies to alleviate the impact of common neuropathologies. Finally, the methods that we will develop for the hEAATs could be applied to other families of human membrane proteins and will help to bring our knowledge on membrane proteins to the human level.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry amines
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2012-StG_20111109
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
75724 Paris
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.