Project description
Towards new strategies to fight infection
Adhesin proteins are crucial in bacterial infections. Their modification with highly unique sugars seems to be essential for their stability and adherence to host cells. In this context, the EU-funded STICKY SUGARS project will explore the potential of targeting bacterial adhesin sugars towards novel antibacterial strategies. Currently, there is a lack of suitable methods for the direct detection of sugars on adhesins. This has hindered the development of antibacterial strategies against them. As such, the project aims to revolutionise our understanding of adhesin sugars by designing an innovative approach that combines carbohydrate chemistry, enzymology, microbiology and molecular dynamics. By visualising and quantifying adhesin sugars directly on bacterial surfaces, it is possible to study their prevalence and response to antibacterial treatments, paving the way towards clinical applications.
Objective
With bacteria increasingly resistant to current antibiotics, new strategies to fight infection are needed. Bacterial adhesin proteins, which play an important role in the establishment of infection, appear to be promising targets for novel therapies. Adhesins enable the first contact between bacteria and host cells. We know that some adhesins are modified with highly unique sugars that are important for adhesin stability and adherence. However, we do not know how widespread this modification is, and whether it constitutes a good target for antibacterial strategies. A lack of suitable methods for the detection of bacterial adhesin sugars has impeded the detailed study of these sugars, blocking further efforts to develop antibacterial strategies against bacterial adhesin sugars. In this project, I aim to revolutionize our understanding of adhesin sugars, in terms of timing and prevalence of the modification, which is crucial information to start targeting adhesin sugars. To this end, I have designed an innovative approach that combines the strengths of carbohydrate chemistry, enzymology, microbiology and molecular dynamics to 1) establish straightforward methods to selectively visualize and quantify the adhesin sugars directly on the surface of bacterial cells; 2) detect the presence of adhesin sugars under changing growth conditions and in relevant clinical isolates; and 3) develop a computational method to predict the presence of sugars on adhesins that have not yet been identified. Recent findings from my team on the process of adhesin modification underscore the uniqueness of adhesin sugars, and this experience puts me in an ideal position to start this project. The overarching goal of STICKY SUGARS is to lay the foundation for the exploitation of adhesin sugars as antibacterial targets. By visualizing adhesin sugars directly on bacteria, we can observe their response to antibacterial treatments and pave the way toward clinical applications in the future.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs antibiotics
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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)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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-2022-STG
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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.
9712CP Groningen
Netherlands
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