Impact of Lipid Cell Composition on Beta-Amyloid Aggregation: Exploring Novel Therapeutic Targets for Alzheimer's Disease

Project Information

ABlina

Grant agreement ID: 101244201

DOI 10.3030/101244201

EC signature date 2 May 2025

Start date 1 July 2025

End date 30 June 2027

Funded under

• Widening participation and spreading excellence

Total cost No data

EU contribution € 191 343,12

Coordinated by

UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA
Portugal

Objective

The ABlina project aims to study how cell membrane lipid composition affects the formation and deposition of beta amyloid (Aβ) aggregates. To achieve this, Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations will be performed on membranes with varying lipid compositions, focusing on models that mimic senescent and Alzheimer's disease cells. The data generated will contribute to the establishment of a database, which will be subsequently analysed, to identify lipid patterns capable of modulating the behaviour of Aβ aggregation. If lipids promoting aggregation are identified, novel drugs could be formulated to inhibit their synthesis or interaction with Aβs, thereby preventing aggregation. Conversely, if any lipid is found to avoid aggregation, strategies could be designed to augment its presence within cerebral cells. To address the inherent spatial and temporal limitations of Molecular Dynamics (MD), Coarse-Grained (CG) modelling will be utilized. The project will be conducted at ITQB NOVA (University NOVA of Lisbon), under the supervision of Dr. Manuel N. Melo, a key contributor to the development of the original Martini Force Field, a widely recognized CG model that will be employed in this study. Through Dr. Melo's mentorship, I will receive advanced training in CG model development, enabling the accurate parameterization of lipids relevant to the project and enhancing the robustness of the database. The combination of Dr. Melo's extensive proficiency in CG methodologies and my prior experience in MD simulations and database management will establish a synergistic collaboration, expanding both my expertise and that of the host research group.
Overall, my project employs an innovative approach to investigate the relationship between cell membrane composition and Aβ aggregation, potentially revealing lipid membrane composition as a promising therapeutic target against Alzheimer’s disease.

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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

• medical and health sciences › basic medicine › neurology › dementia › alzheimer
• natural sciences › computer and information sciences › databases
• natural sciences › biological sciences › biochemistry › biomolecules › lipids

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Keywords

• Lipidomics
• Amyloid beta
• Coarse-Grained

Programme(s)

• HORIZON.4.1 - Widening participation and spreading excellence Main Programme

Topic(s)

• HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-TALENTS-02-01 - ERA Fellowships

Call for proposal

HORIZON-WIDERA-2024-TALENTS-02

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

Coordinator

UNIVERSIDADE NOVA DE LISBOA

• Net EU contribution: € 191 343,12
• Address: CAMPUS DE CAMPOLIDE ; 1099 085 Lisboa ; Portugal
• Activity type: Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
• Total cost: No data