Objective
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important human pathogen that causes chronic liver diseases in millions of infected people worldwide. HCV is an enveloped single-stranded RNA virus that infects predominantly hepatic cells. The process of viral entry into the host cells is an obvious target for virus inhibition, however the exact mechanism of this event is not known. It is established that the two HCV envelope glycoproteins E1 and E2 are involved. The ectodomain of E2 interacts with high affinity with human CD 81, the best characterised cellular receptor of HCV.
The interaction between E2 and CD81 is also involved in immunomodulation during the HCV infection. E2 also forms heterodimers with E1 on the viral surface. The aim of the proposed project is to apply rec ently developed techniques for the expression of glycoprotein ectodomains in order to provide structural information on the ectodomain of HCV envelope glycoprotein E2 and its interactions with the cellular receptor CD81 and HCV glycoprotein E1. The structure of E2 and its complexes with CD81 and E1 will provide a better understanding of the function of HCV envelope glycoproteins in cell surface recognition and membrane fusion and thus HCV pathogenesis. Structural information on E2 may also be exploited for developing new drugs targeting this human pathogen.
Working on the proposed project, I will obtain experience in numerous new techniques, including e.g. protein expression in mammalian and insect cells and mass spectrometry as well as advance my knowledge of protein crystallography. I will also use local high-throughput platforms and robotics. This will allow me in the future to work independently on complex projects at the interface of biology and biophysics.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geology mineralogy crystallography
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses hepatitis C
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine hepatology
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry mass spectrometry
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.
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
OXFORD
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.