Objetivo
Spontaneous mutations in three of the five known KCNQ family members are associated with rare monogenic neurological disorders including a novel rare neurological disorder linked to mental retardation. This project will focus on unravelling the cell biology underlying these disorders by identifying the processes that control KCNQ channel function, including their modulation by second messengers, biogenesis, targeting and transcriptional control. We shall identify and characterise the mode of action of new drugs that affect the function of these channels. We will analyse the biochemical and biophysical properties of the mutations associated with these disorders. Structure-function studies will unveil the processes affected, including the trafficking, membrane insertion, assembly (oligomerisation) and degradation of KCNQ channels. The transduction mechanisms underlying their regulation by neurotransmitters will be studied. By exploring protein-protein interactions, the molecular complexes that interact with these channels will be deciphered, and the physiological significance of the interactions identified and validated will be analysed. Because some mutations in the KCNQ loci do not appear to lie in the coding region, and nothing is known about the control of KCNQ gene transcription, we will study how the expression of those genes is regulated. Mouse models for some of the disorders are available for analysis in this project, and further conditional mutants will be produced to gain a more precise idea of the pathology of these diseases. Mutagenesis structure-function studies will also unveil the molecular basis for drug specificity, permitting the mechanisms of action to be defined. We have already found new drugs that modulate KCNQ channels with promising pharmacological potential and we will screen for new compounds using high throughput methods, evaluating their therapeutic potential.
Ámbito científico (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural. Véase: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural. Véase: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- ciencias naturalesciencias biológicasbioquímicabiomoléculasproteínasproteómica
- ciencias naturalesciencias biológicasbiología celular
- ciencias naturalesciencias biológicasgenéticamutación
- ciencias médicas y de la saludmedicina básicapatología
- ciencias médicas y de la saludmedicina básicaneurología
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Palabras clave
Tema(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
FP6-2002-LIFESCIHEALTH
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoria
Régimen de financiación
STREP - Specific Targeted Research ProjectCoordinador
MADRID
España