Objective
The androgen receptor (AR) is a nuclear receptor (NR) that plays a central role in prostate cancer. The transcriptional activity of AR can be modulated though a newly described regulatory surface on its ligand binding domain (LBD). We call this surface BF3 (binding function 3), and I discovered it during my postdoctoral research. So far the only coregulatory proteins described are able to regulate AR activity by binding to the coactivator binding pocket (AF2), which is also located on the LBD surface. Both pockets, AF2 and BF3, are physically connected. In my numerous molecular structures of the AR LBD solved by Xray crystallography, I have been able to see that BF3 is an allosteric modulator of AF2. BF3 is able to influence whether coactivator proteins are correctly recruited to AF2 to start the transcriptional cascade of AR-dependent genes. Thanks to my discovery of several BF3-interacting chemical compounds we have been able to determine which conformational changes are propagated from BF3 to AF2 impairing AR activity. Such small molecules are an important starting point for structure-based drug design to identify novel AR regulators that may be used as new treatments for prostate cancer. I have also investigated what effect mutations in BF3 have on AR transcriptional activity. The topology, localization, and physico-chemical properties of BF3 indicate that it is a bona fide pocket for protein-protein interactions and it may have a physiological regulatory action on AR function in vitro and in vivo. The identification, characterization and crystallization of BF3-interacting proteins and their crystal structure determination alone or in complex with AR are the main objective of my future research. Such proteins may be a novel class of AR coactivators in particular, or coregulators of other steroid NR. These studies are relevant to the NR and for the pharmaceutical fields, as BF3-binders may be novel targets to alter AR function in prostate cancer.
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 clinical medicine oncology prostate cancer
- engineering and technology materials engineering crystals
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- medical and health sciences basic medicine medicinal chemistry
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geology mineralogy crystallography
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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
08007 BARCELONA
Spain
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.