Skip to main content
Vai all'homepage della Commissione europea (si apre in una nuova finestra)
italiano it
CORDIS - Risultati della ricerca dell’UE
CORDIS

Principles of UFMylation-driven antibacterial defence

Obiettivo

Shigella is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes bacillary dysentery, killing around 200 thousand people each year and representing an urgent global threat due to rising antibiotic resistance. Beyond its medical relevance, Shigella has long been a paradigm in cellular microbiology, yielding landmark insights into host–pathogen interactions and illuminating fundamental mechanisms in cell biology. In my recent work, I discovered that UFMylation—a ubiquitin-like protein modification pathway with established roles in cell homeostasis—functions as a novel antibacterial defence mechanism. UFMylation marks intracellular bacteria such as Shigella for elimination, in a process independent from canonical ubiquitylation and autophagy, thereby uncovering an unexpected and largely unexplored branch of host immunity. The proposed project will elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of antibacterial UFMylation, revealing novel molecular principles of host recognition of intracellular bacteria, downstream pathways driving microbial elimination, and sophisticated pathogen evasion strategies. I will further investigate how these molecular events intersect, compete and ultimately impact UFMylation-mediated homeostasis at the cellular and tissue levels, repositioning this pathway at the interface between host defence and physiology. Through the integration of in vitro reconstitution systems, cellular assays and organoid models, and leveraging the powerful molecular toolkit of Shigella, this project is uniquely positioned to deliver breakthrough discoveries in the field of host-pathogen interactions and cell biology. Advancing our fundamental understanding of UFMylation may inspire innovative therapeutic strategies against antimicrobial-resistant infections, while also informing pathological conditions associated with UFMylation, such as cancer, inflammation, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Campo scientifico (EuroSciVoc)

Questo progetto non è ancora stato classificato con EuroSciVoc.
Suggerisci i campi scientifici che ritieni più rilevanti e aiutaci a migliorare il nostro servizio di classificazione.

Parole chiave

Programma(i)

Argomento(i)

Meccanismo di finanziamento

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

Vedi tutti i progetti finanziati nell’ambito di questo schema di finanziamento

Invito a presentare proposte

(si apre in una nuova finestra) ERC-2026-STG

Vedi tutti i progetti finanziati nell’ambito del bando

Istituzione ospitante

UNIVERSITE DE GENEVE
Contributo netto dell'UE
€ 1 898 233,00
Indirizzo
RUE DU GENERAL DUFOUR 24
1211 Geneve
Svizzera
Regione
Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Région lémanique Genève
Tipo di attività
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Collegamenti
Costo totale
€ 2 296 585,48

Beneficiari (1)