Objective
Malaria remains a major problem of public health in developing countries. It is responsible for about 600000 deaths per year, predominantly children in sub-Saharan Africa. There is an urgent need for novel therapies as resistance against current treatments is widespread. The complex parasite biology requires a multifaceted approach targeting multiple life cycle stages and virulence pathways. The pathogenesis of the most deadly of human malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum, is related to the capability of infected red blood cells to sequester in deep tissues. Sequestration is critical for the completion of the red blood cell cycle because the release of parasites into the blood circulation allows recognition by surveillance macrophages and clearance in the spleen. A series of studies have since led to the understanding that sequestration of asexually replicating parasites is caused by the adherence of parasite infected red blood cells to the vascular endothelium of various tissues in the body.
We have recently demonstrated that gametocytes, the only stage capable of transmission to the mosquito vector, develop in the extravascular environment of the human bone marrow. Preliminary studies in the mouse model have confirmed this finding and also suggest existence of an asexual reservoir in the bone marrow. In this innovative multidiscipinary proposal we aim to investigate the host pathogen interactions at the interface between infected red blood cell and bone marrow vasculature. Specifically we will focus on the following questions: how do parasites home to bone marrow? What are the changes in the bone marrow endothelium upon infection? How do parasites adhere with and transmigrate across the vascular endothelium in the bone marrow? The proposed studies initiate detailed characterization of a new paradigm in malaria parasite interaction with the host vasculature and provide a compelling new avenue for intervention strategies.
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 health sciences infectious diseases malaria
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2015-CoG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
G12 8QQ Glasgow
United Kingdom
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.