Objective The main goal of this proposal is to determine how the deadly bacterial pathogen, Neisseria meningitidis (NM), crosses the blood-tissue barriers and invades the brain and other vital organs. The main hypothesis behind this project is that NM, by interacting with the vascular endothelial cells with its pili, induces a signal that opens cell-to-cell junctions and allows the bacteria to penetrate the natural barriers using the paracellular route rather than the transcellular one as currently accepted. The methodology to be applied involves multidisciplinary approach with advanced imaging techniques, mass spectroscopy, basic cell biology and molecular genetics, and is aimed to take advantage of complementary expertise of involved research partners to solve this burning clinical issue. Understanding the mechanism by which a bacterial pathogen invades the brain and other organs will have consequences beyond the field of medical bacteriology, and will allow insights into regulation of cell polarity. Information gained from this study will be aid in the design of vehicles that mimick signals generated by N.meningitidis and thus contribute to the design of new systems for the delivery of drugs beyond the blood brain barrier. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmolecular biologymolecular geneticsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesmicrobiologybacteriologynatural sciencesbiological sciencescell biologycell polaritynatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsspectroscopy Keywords Actomyosin Blood-Tissue Barrier Caveolae Cell motility and polarity Neisseria meningitidis Paracellular Route Three-Dimensional Meningococcal Clusters Tight Junctions Trafficking Type IV Pili Programme(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) PEOPLE-2007-2-1.IEF - Marie Curie Action: "Intra-European Fellowships for Career Development" Call for proposal FP7-PEOPLE-2007-2-1-IEF See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF) Coordinator INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE Address Rue de tolbiac 101 75654 Paris France See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Laurence Parmantier (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution € 232 597,61
