Objective
The arenavirus Lassa fever virus (LFV) causes a severe viral hemorrhagic fever in humans with over 300, 000 infections and thousands of deaths annually. Fatal LFV infection is characterized by marked immunosuppression of the patient, resulting in uncontrolled viral infection with progressive hemorrhagic disease and shock. Since death occurs in absence of a significant anti-viral immune response, the fatal disease is caused by virus-induced changes in host cell function, rather than immunopathology. The analysis of the virus-host cell interaction is therefore of great importance to understand this disease and to develop novel therapeutic strategies. Binding of a virus to its cellular receptor(s) is not only the first step of virus infection but represents also a promising target for therapeutic intervention. The cellular receptor of LFV is alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-DG), an important cell surface receptor for proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM). Based on the pivotal importance of alpha-DG for normal host cell biology, the interaction of LFV with its receptor is of particular interest regarding virus-cell interaction and viral pathogenesis. Using a combination of biochemical and cell biological techniques we will investigate the role of the virus-receptor interaction for infection and viral pathogenesis. Since alpha-DG is involved in cellular signal transduction, we will investigate the impact of virus binding on receptor-mediated signaling in the host cell. In a next step, we will address the role of virus-induced receptor signaling for virus infection and its consequences for the host cell. Our recent studies showed that expression of the envelope glycoprotein (GP) of LFV in cells results in down-regulation of functional alpha-DG. In the present project, we will investigate the impact of this “virus-receptor interference” on the function of vascular endothelial cells, which play a key role in the pathogenesis of Lassa hemorrhagic fever.
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 microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
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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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2007-4-3-IRG
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
1011 Lausanne
Switzerland
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.