Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Regulation of cell growth and division by selective degradation mechanisms

Objective

Cell growth and division are tightly regulated by phosphorylation and selective degradation of cellular components. Whereas autophagy is mainly responsible to eliminate long-lived proteins and organelles, the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) rapidly degrades proteins when fast adaptation is needed. Defects in these degradation systems accounts for numerous human diseases, including cancer, muscle dystrophies, viral and bacterial infections and neurodegeneration. While rapid progress has been made in the identification of UPS and autophagy components, little is known about their regulation and the molecular mechanisms that ensure substrate specificity. We therefore propose an interdisciplinary combination of biochemistry, cell and structural biology, genetics, RNAi-screening, quantitative microscopy and microfluidic technology to tackle these questions in yeast and mammalian cells.
E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes are important UPS components that specifically bind substrates via dedicated adaptors. In particular, cullin-based E3-ligases control cell growth and division, but much needs to be learned about their regulation and the identity and function of their key substrates. Moreover, we uncovered a function of RING-H2 E3-ligases in MAP-kinase networks, providing a new link between phosphorylation and the UPS. Finally, while autophagy can selectively remove protein aggregates and damaged or excess organelles, the underlying mechanisms that provide specificity to this process are poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests that ubiquitin may also serve as a recognition signal for selective autophagy. We will thus investigate the roles of ubiquitin and specific autophagy substrate-adaptors, and focus on the molecular crosstalk between selective autophagy and the UPS.

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

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.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

ERC-2010-AdG_20100317
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.

ERC-AG - ERC Advanced Grant

Host institution

EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH
EU contribution
€ 2 426 976,00
Address
Raemistrasse 101
8092 Zuerich
Switzerland

See on map

Region
Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

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.

No data

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0