Project description
Drug transport dynamics for improved therapy
The success of any drug depends on how effectively it reaches its target. Drug transport is a complex process influenced by factors such as blood flow and protein binding, as well as the presence of physiological barriers like the blood-brain barrier. The ERC-funded DynamITE project aims to explore drug transport networks. Specifically, it will use hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to monitor protein structural changes and identify modulators that can enhance or block drug transport. The project focuses on transporters linked to antibiotic resistance and drug delivery to the brain, while also advancing HDX-MS for real-time observation in living cells. The goal is to enable targeted modulation of transport activity across various transporters.
Objective
"The therapeutic effect of a drug is largely determined by how effectively it reaches its site of action. Drug distribution in the human body is defined by an intricate network of transporters, offering potential for dynamically controlling where a drug spends most of its time. DynamITE aims to provide the tools to manipulate this ""highway network"" of drug transport at will. DynamITE will exploit the common mechanism shared by transporters, that is the alternating-access. Every transporter must dynamically switch between different states to enable directional transport of its substrate through the biological membrane. At the molecular level, this involves important local and global changes in the protein's three-dimensional structure. The foundational methodology of DynamITE is a structural mass spectrometry approach that reports on such changes: hydrogen-deuterium exchange coupled to mass spectrometry (HDX-MS). I have demonstrated that HDX-MS can fingerprint the effects of drugs on the dynamic switching between states. DynamITE builds on this knowledge to identify and design modulators of transporter dynamics. A modulator that prevents the conformational changes underlying transport will block drug transport, while a modulator that increases the rate of conformational transitions will accelerate transport.
DynamITE’s approach will be applied to selected drug transporters with proven critical roles in antibiotic resistance, drug toxicity, and drug transport into the brain. In parallel, DynamITE will advance the HDX-MS technique to make it applicable to living cells. Such a development will enable the observation of protein dynamics in cellulo, with a molecular level of resolution—something currently inaccessible. This methodological breakthrough be used to monitor drug transporters dynamics while in action within the cell. The toolbox developed within DynamITE will be applicable to any transporter for which targeted modulation of transport activity is desired.
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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)
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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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.
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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-2025-STG
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1050 BRUXELLES
Belgium
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