Objective
"Mycobacterial diseases, like tuberculosis and leprosy, are still a threat for public health. Although antibiotherapy and BCG vaccine exist, they have failed to control these diseases. It is hence crucial to improve our knowledge of the factors involved in mycobacterial pathogenesis to design new therapies. The hallmark of mycobacterial pathogens is their ability to persist in the host by delaying the adaptive immune response. Among the mycobacterial factors suspected to play a role are phenolic glycolipids (PGL), which are produced notably by the major mycobacterial pathogens, including M. tuberculosis and M. leprae. PGL possess a common lipid core and species-specific saccharidic domains. However, the definitive proof of their role on immunomodulation is missing. In this project, I intend to investigate this issue and to identify the mechanism of action of PGL. I plan to use a novel strategy developed in the host laboratory based on the reprogramming of a biosynthetic pathway in BCG to make it synthesize species-specific PGL and to compare them in a similar relevant envelope. Using this tool, PGL from M. leprae was found to endow BCG with an increased capacity to exploit complement receptor CR3 for efficient invasion of phagocytes and evasion of inflammatory responses. To get insight into the structural basis, I propose to use a chemistry approach in which the various species-specific domains will be synthesized. The strength of this project is to combine my expertise in cellular microbiology with powerful approaches (recombinant BCG strains and synthetic PGL) to: 1) unravel the molecular mechanism of the interaction PGL-CR3 and its specificity by using different ligands; 2) identify other receptors for PGL; and 3) determine the signalling pathways involved in the immunomodulation by PGL. Besides to advance our understanding of the pathogenesis of major human diseases, I expect this work to open avenues for development of therapies against mycobacterial diseases."
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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine pneumology tuberculosis
- 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-2012-IEF
See other projects for this call
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.