Project description
Blocking trypanosome attachment in livestock
Animal African trypanosomiasis is a severe livestock disease caused by trypanosome parasites and transmitted by biting flies. Despite causing major losses in Africa and South America, the most widespread species Trypanosoma vivax remains insufficiently investigated. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the VIVASEQ project will investigate how this parasite attaches to blood vessel walls, thereby avoiding clearance and damaging tissues. Researchers will identify the molecules used for attachment, study how the parasite rewires its metabolism to sustain this behaviour, and test ways to block it. Using advanced imaging, metabolomics and vessel-on-chip models, the project could support new disease-control strategies worldwide, with implications for regional livestock health.
Objective
Animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT) is a deadly vector-borne disease of livestock caused by Trypanosoma brucei, T. congolense, and T. vivax. T. vivax is the least studied but the most geographically widespread, driving epidemics across Africa and South America with major economic and social impacts. In the mammalian host, T. vivax exhibits unique vascular tropism through cytoadhesion to endothelial cells (i.e. sequestration), which promotes endothelial activation and tissue pathology. This host–parasite interaction requires both specific adhesion factors and energy to sustain binding under blood flow. Preliminary transcriptomic data from the host lab show that T. vivax undergoes marked transcriptional reprogramming during sequestration, with differential expression of adhesion factors, and upregulation of glycolytic genes, indicating that glucose metabolism supports vascular tropism.
In VIVASEQ, I propose to elucidate the molecular and metabolic mechanisms underlying T. vivax sequestration, with the ultimate goal of functionally disrupting this process, therefore preventing disease. This will be achieved by:
1) identifying the candidate parasite molecules mediating sequestration,
2) characterizing the metabolic remodeling that sustains this interaction, and
3) functionally targeting adhesion factors to disrupt sequestration.
I will apply cutting-edge approaches not yet implemented in T. vivax research, including targeted mass spectrometry, ultrastructural expansion microscopy, metabolomics, and a host-specific vessel-on-chip model. VIVASEQ will provide fundamental knowledge to support the implementation of sequestration-blocking strategies to control AAT, whilst potentially uncovering evolutionarily conserved mechanisms of parasite-endothelial cell interactions with broader relevance to vascular infections.
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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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
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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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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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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.
1649 023 LISBOA
Portugal
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