Objective
For the last ten years, protein engineering technologies have been developed to make zinc finger peptides to recognise a wide variety of user-defined DNA sequences. This has enabled the construction of synthetic transcription factors that can upregulate or repress target genes at will. More recently, synthetic zinc fingers have been linked to nucleases to direct double stranded breaks at desired loci within genomes. These breaks increase the efficiency of homologous recombination so that, by providing an exogenous repair sequence, it is possible to repair or mutate endogenous genes. Although zinc finger engineering has reached a state of maturity, there are very few groups in the world who have the technical know-how to adopt this technology, and this has delayed general uptake. We will use the expertise we have developed, in both zinc finger engineering and gene repair, to construct zinc finger proteins to recognise some of the most highly-connected (and widely-studied) genes in biology. This will serve as a toolkit for the research community to target hub genes and either mutate or repair them. As a starting point we propose to target the following hub genes: TBP (TATA-binding protein), p53, p300, RXR, pRB, RelA, c-jun, c-myc, and c-fos. These genes are the most connected hubs in the human transcription factor network (TRANSFAC 8.2 database) and their mutants are associated with a variety of diseases. We will engineer and characterise zinc finger proteins that recognise these DNA sequences in vitro and induce gene repair in vivo. For example, this will allow cancer cell lines to have particular oncogenes repaired or mutated, within the context of all the other mutations that have been accrued during the process of oncogenesis. This will help to characterise the contribution of network nodes and hubs to the observed phenotypes. Ultimately, some of the gene repair peptides we create will have therapeutic potential, as well as providing tools for systems biology.
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 genetics DNA
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry transition metals
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics mutation
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
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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.
ERC-2007-StG
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
SW7 2AZ 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.