Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-05-29

Regulation of mitosis by phosphorylation - A combined functional genomics, proteomics and chemical biology approach

Objective

The proliferation of cells depends on the duplication and segregation of their genomes. The latter is an immensely complex process that remains poorly understood at a molecular level. Mistakes during mitosis contribute to cancer whereas mistakes during meiosis that cause aneuploidy are the leading cause of infertility and mental retardation. During mitosis, sister DNA molecules are dragged towards opposite poles of the cell due to their prior attachment to microtubules with opposite orientations (bi-orientation). Bi-orientation involves dissolution of the nuclear membrane, changes in chromosome organization, and re-organization of the spindle apparatus. How mitotic cells coordinate these disparate but inter-locking processes is poorly understood. One thing, however, is certain.
Protein kinases like Cdk1 have fundamental roles. Nevertheless, Cdk1's actual function remains mysterious despite recognition of its importance by a Nobel prize. The same is true for other mitotic kinases, such as Plk1 and Aurora A and B. We need to know what set of proteins are phosphorylated, what their functions are, and how phosphorylation changes their activity. Identification of kinase substrates has been hampered by difficulties in mapping phosphorylation sites, in experimentally controlling protein kinase activity, and in evaluating the physiological consequences of defined phosphorylation sites. The premise behind this proposal is that all three hurdles can be overcome by new technologies, namely the use of RNA interference to identify in a systematic (functional genomics) manner potential substrates, iTAP- tagging to purify protein complexes, small molecules to inhibit specific kinases in a controlled fashion, and mass spectrometry to identify phosphorylation sites on complex subunits. Because the concept behind this project could be applied to other areas, it will have an impact on European cell biology far beyond the cell cycle community'.

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

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.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP6-2002-LIFESCIHEALTH
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.

IP - Integrated Project

Coordinator

FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FÜR MOLEKULARE PATHOLOGIE GESELLSCHAFT M.B.H.
EU contribution
No data
Total cost

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.

No data

Participants (10)

My booklet 0 0