Objective
Hepatitis C poses a global health problem. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects over 170 millions individuals worldwide with the majority remaining undiagnosed and untreated. To this day, there is no vaccine and the available treatment, a combination of ribavirin and pegylated α-interferon has a limited efficacy and important side effects. A better understanding of HCV life cycle will unravel target for new potential therapeutics. In recent years, the knowledge concerning hepatitis C virus (HCV) entry inside the cells has improved, suggesting a complex mechanism involving several (co)receptors. All the studies regarding HCV entry have been performed in non polarized cells, however HCV infects primarily hepatocytes that are highly polarized cells with a complex organization. Polarized cells have two separate membrane domain, the apical and basolateral domain, with different functions and molecular composition. Separation of the two domain is achieved by complex and tightly regulated intracellular trafficking. Tight junction proteins, which play an essential role in cell polarization, figure in the different molecules involved in HCV entry. This suggests that cell polarity might be relevant to HCV entry and probably add supplementary constraints on HCV entry. In this project I therefore propose to study the mechanisms of HCV entry in polarized cells. To develop this project, a model of polarized hepatic cells will be established and used to investigate the specific roles of entry factors, the intracellular trafficking of the virus, the role of cytoskeleton in HCV entry and the dependence on signaling to mediate entry. The data generated in this project will shed new light on a complex and tightly regulated process. Importantly, studying entry in polarized hepatocytes should also bridge the gap between in vitro data and HCV infection in patients. This is especially important as HCV so far lacks a suitable animal model.
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: The European Science Vocabulary.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses hepatitis C
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences biological sciences cell biology cell polarity
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
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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.
Topic(s)
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.
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.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG
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Funding Scheme
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.
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.
Coordinator
75794 PARIS
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.