Project description
Towards new antiviral drugs
There is a high unmet medical need for antiviral drugs. Funded by the European Research Council, the MEDICATE project aims to address this issue by focusing on the identification of new transmembrane viral proteins. Some viruses express such proteins, which play vital roles in virus replication or virulence. MEDICATE researchers will identify viral sequences that encode transmembrane proteins and explore their potential as drug targets. Specifically, they will investigate putative viral ion channels and possibly use them as targets through drug repurposing. Overall, the project is expected to drive a novel path in antiviral drug discovery.
Objective
Viruses are obligate pathogens with massive impact on global health. Nearly all currently marketed antiviral drugs target viral enzymes. We hypothesize that hitherto unrecognized virus-encoded transmembrane proteins may prove valuable as pharmaceutical targets.
Through a systematic dissection of viral genomes (WP1) we will identify potential transmembrane segments in a defined workflow. We will predict their function in silico (WP2) as being either (A) internalizing transmembrane proteins or (B) ion channels. Segments showing promising transmembrane and/or internalization motifs will be expressed, functionally characterized and evaluated in proof-of-modality assays (WP3). The newly identified internalizing proteins may transfer a molecular Trojan horse, a toxin payload, into infected cells, which will be tested with a generic fusion-toxin protein (Mode A), while the potential viral ion channels (viroporins) will be tested for their ability to mediate a current via formation of ion pores (Mode B). In WP4, the internalizing transmembrane proteins passing the WP1-3 attrition will be utilized for initial drug discovery and fusion-toxin protein design. Through co-internalization with the viral transmembrane protein, the toxins may prevent long-term pathologies by eradicating the virus. The novel viroporins will be screened for inhibition using ion channel drugs regulatory approved for other purposes. This ensures fast access to the market through drug repurposing, allowing for prevention and treatment of acute virus pathology.
This project on new ground entails high risk, yet also creates opportunities of enormous gain, considering the huge unmet medical needs for effective and specific antiviral therapeutics. However, the biggest gain is the potential for ground-breaking discoveries regarding virally encoded transmembrane proteins, thereby bridging basic virology and molecular pharmacology with structural biology and early drug discovery in a highly innovative manner.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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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.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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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.
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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.