Objective
Proteases are large group of proteins that cleave the amide bond in peptides and proteins. Common properties of all these proteases is the activation of water molecules for catalysis and that the proteins undergo conformational changes upon substrate binding.
Hence it came as a surprise when membrane embedded proteases was identified. Proteases residing in the membrane should be able to create a microenvironment for water and the hydrophilic residues required for catalysis and should be capable of bending o r unwinding hydrophobic substrates making them suitable for cleavage.
Membrane proteases have been implicated in different processes such as cellular differentiation, in unfolded protein response, lipid metabolism, signal peptide processing and, in prokaryotes, generation of peptide pheromones and response to extracellular stress.
These have been collectively termed as Regulated Intramembrane Proteolysis (RIP), which has emerged as a novel mechanism in cell signalling. Some transmembrane proteins are kept inactive in their membrane-tethered form and require proteolysis for activation. Intramembrane proteolysis results in the release of these domains that move to a new location where they can carry out their biological function.
Two of the well-studied membrane proteases include the rhomboid proteases involved in the Drosophila EGF receptor pathway and the g-secretase implicated in the processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) implicated in Alzheimers disease. The membrane proteins belonging to this family have similar catalytic residues as some of the classical soluble proteases.
This raises the question how these conserved amino acids embedded in the lipid bilayer have access to and activate water that is required for catalysis, and how the substrate is recruited. To understand this we would like to obtain high-resolution structures of a membrane protease and study the mechanism of intra-membrane proteolysis.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology cell signaling
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry amines
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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.
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.
FP6-2005-MOBILITY-5
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.
Coordinator
LONDON
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.