Project description
Protein nanocage-scaffolded proteoliposomes for vaccine development
Pathogenic bacteria pose a significant threat to global healthcare and the economy. In the context of antimicrobial resistance, there is an increasing push for vaccine development. Transmembrane beta-barrel (TMB) proteins in Gram-negative bacteria are key immunogens, but their unique folding requirements limit vaccine options. With support from the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ProNanovoVax project will develop protein nanocage-scaffolded proteoliposomes (PNC-PL) as effective nanoparticle vaccine platforms for TMBs. The project will use advanced strategies, such as multivalent presentation and immune targeting, to engineer TMB immunogens on PNCs, creating vaccine nanoparticles that resemble enveloped viruses. Computational methods will be used to design transmembrane anchors that host soluble protein ligands capable of recognising immune cells.
Objective
Pathogenic bacteria pose significant threats to the global healthcare and the economy. Amid growing concerns over antimicrobial resistance, many healthcare programs have pivoted to vaccine development, while new vaccine platforms are in a high demand for disease control and swift responses in the case of health emergencies. A major type of bacterial immunogen is transmembrane beta-barrel (TMB) proteins, which are found on the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria and play key roles in virulence. The native folding and trafficking of TMBs requires specific machineries that do not exist in eukaryotic cell membranes. Consequently, there has been few vaccine platforms for TMB immunogens. To address this need, I aim to construct protein nanocage-scaffolded proteoliposomes (PNC-PL) that can act as highly potent nanoparticle vaccine platforms for TMBs. Such nanomaterial will be developed using two cutting-edge strategies in vaccine formulation: multivalent presentation and immune targeting. Combining my strong background in PNC engineering and my host labs expertise in TMBs and their computation-assisted design, (1) I will multivalently present computationally engineered TMB immunogens on PNCs in a well-controlled manner, resulting in vaccines composed of PNC-PL nanoparticles that mimic the structures of enveloped viruses. (2) I will design transmembrane anchors using computation-assisted methods to host soluble protein ligands that recognize immune cells. The resultant complexes will be subsequently co-presented with TMB immunogens on PNC-PLs for immune targeting, which will further increase the vaccine potency. (3) With my co-host labs rich immunological resources, I will assess immune cell activation induced by the vaccines as a criterion of potency. This novel nanosystem will hold great promise to advance vaccine design with challenging immunogens and serve as a versatile technology for biomaterial design in drug delivery, artificial cells, and other applications.
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 microbiology virology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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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.
9052 ZWIJNAARDE - GENT
Belgium
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.