Objective
Predatory marine cone snails use extraordinarily complex venoms to capture prey. Most of the ~500,000 biologically active venom components are small, disulfide-rich peptides called conotoxins. They target receptors and ion channels of the nervous system with remarkable potency and specificity. Due to their enormous diversity and target specificity, conotoxins have become invaluable tools in molecular pharmacology and as therapeutic agents. However, their chemical synthesis is hampered by multiple disulfide bonds and additional post-translational modifications, which result in low folding yields and accumulation of aggregated or misfolded products. Recently observed differences between in vitro and in vivo synthesis strongly indicate that folding and modification of conotoxins in the endoplasmic reticulum of the venom glandular cells are tightly regulated processes. Understanding mechanisms that govern the proper assembly of conotoxins at a molecular level is a prerequisite for designing more efficient production systems for conotoxins and other disulfide-rich peptides of biological and pharmacological importance.
By using next-generation sequencing, bottom-up proteomics, protein-protein interaction and molecular silencing technologies, this study will elucidate crucial pathways for the oxidative folding and modification of conotoxins. These results will be used to develop a cell-based expression system for conotoxins that are difficult or impossible to synthesise chemically, thus providing novel agents for pharmacotherapeutic studies.
While our knowledge on the proper folding of larger protein substrates is constantly improving, research into the generation of small, disulfide-containing peptides is a newly emerging field. By bringing together world-leading scientists in conotoxin pharmacology and protein folding, this project will develop excellent scientific and leadership competences at a high level for a young talented European scientist.
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 neurobiology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins protein folding
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy
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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-IOF
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
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.