Project description
Revealing the machinery and processes behind epitope selection and reception
Epitopes — specific peptide regions of pathogens —trigger the adaptive immune system. The peptide-loading complex (PLC) transports them intracellularly and loads them onto major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) molecules in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Stable peptide-MHC I molecules are then released and expressed on the cell’s surface to be recognised by T-cell receptor (TCR) complexes to initiate T cells’ cytotoxic responses. The supramolecular architectures of the PLC and TCR, and dynamic ER and receptor signalling processes have been difficult to study. The ERC-funded ImmunoMachines project aims to reveal these in groundbreaking studies of epitope selection and reception in human disease.
Objective
To combat daily threats of pathogens and abnormal cells, the human organism features a sophisticated defense mechanism called the adaptive immune system. In broad terms, this intricate mechanism is triggered by specific peptide epitopes presented on molecules of the major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I), which are scanned by cytotoxic T cells. Intracellular transport, loading, and cell-surface recognition of antigenic peptides on MHC I are orchestrated by machineries, the peptide-loading complex (PLC) and the T cell receptor (TCR) complex. The PLC is composed of multiple subunits, including the antigen translocation unit TAP, the MHC I heterodimer, and several chaperones ensuring that only stable peptide-MHC I molecules are released to the cell surface for decoding by TCR complexes. Ligand binding and the supramolecular organization of TCR complexes are translated into phosphorylation of conserved tyrosine-containing cytosolic sequence motifs that initiate downstream signaling cascades. Based on their incredible efficiency and selectivity, we hypothesize that the biogenesis of MHC I is highly processive and coupled via allosteric networking, and that antigen processing and recognition machineries are compartmentalized by a defined supramolecular organization. However, despite their fundamental importance, these architectural details of the PLC and the TCR, as well as the dynamic networking that is included in the quality control of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and receptor signaling processes, remain enigmatic due to their inherent dynamics, low abundance, and complexity.
This ambitious proposal will contribute to a long-awaited holistic understanding of the machineries that shape the vertebrate adaptive immunity. The expected findings from this project will be groundbreaking in understanding the hidden processes of epitope selection and reception in human disease.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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.
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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)
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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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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.
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) ERC-2023-ADG
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60323 Frankfurt Am Main
Germany
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