Project description
The immune responses of Atlantic cod to bacterial infections
Francisellosis is a bacterial infection in Atlantic cod that poses challenges for fisheries due to limited treatment options and the absence of licensed vaccines. Genome studies reveal a lack of MHC class II immune pathways in cod, while MHC class I and toll-like receptors are expanded. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NoMCod project will investigate the roles of MHC I and TLRs in cod, focusing on their involvement in immune responses to bacterial infections. It will characterise these molecules and identify infection mechanisms. Techniques will involve culturing primary macrophages and using imaging and transcriptomic methods to study their response to Francisella noatunensis subsp. Noatunensis infection to inform antibacterial therapies for Atlantic cod.
Objective
Title: The Immunological Puzzle of Atlantic Cod: Thriving Without MHC II
Francisellosis is a bacterial infection caused by Francisella noatunensis subsp noatunensis (F.n.n) in teleosts such as Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). These vulnerable Atlantic cods are crucial for sustainability of the North Atlantic ecosystem and fisheries. The disease is generally manifested as granulomatous lesions in head, kidney, liver, gills, heart and spleen. At present, its treatment is a major challenges for commercial fisheries sectors with the current availability of only antibacterial drugs with limited efficacy and no licensed vaccine available for the fish, so far. Genome sequencing of Atlantic cod revealed lack of otherwise well conserved among other vertebrates, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II immune pathway due to gene losses of MHC II, CD4 and invariant chain (Ii) and presence of an expanded MHC I and toll-like receptor (TLR) repertoire. Little is known for the compensatory mechanisms governing immune responses against infections in the cod, in the absence of MHC II. We aim to determine the functions of MHC I and TLRs and mechanisms of antigen presentation and immune responses to bacterial infection in the cod fish with 2 objectives 1) characterization of MHCs and TLRs using teleosts as model systems b) identify the mechanisms of bacterial infection involving MHCs and TLRs. The methodologies involve culturing of wild caught Atlantic cod derived primary macrophages and cell lines, transfection with fluorescently labelled MHCs and TLRs, microscopy (live-cell imaging, super-resolution microscopy), RUSH assays, mass spectrometry, pull down assays, transcriptomics to elucidate the role of different MHC I and TLRs in response to F.n.n infection. This will enable us to delineate expanded roles of MHC I and TLRs and provide a platform to develop effective antibacterial therapeutic strategies against F.n.n infection in Atlantic cods.
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.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries fisheries
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy super resolution microscopy
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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0313 Oslo
Norway
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