Objective
Malaria is one of the most devastating infectious diseases affecting half of the world population and killing close to a million people every year. Widespread resistance of the malaria parasite to most front-line drugs and the rapid emergence of resistance against new therapies have made the validation of novel pharmaceutical targets and the identification of potent pharmacophores extremely urgent. In an effort to synergize basic research with malarial drug development the pharmaceutical industry has run large phenotypic screens and identified thousands of new compounds with antimalarial activity. These hits represent a treasure-throve of chemical tools to study parasite biology. However, in order to harness the potential benefits of these hits it is crucial to determine the mechanism of action by which these compounds exert their antiparasitic activities.
Here we propose a global chemical proteomic approach to identify the molecular targets of some of these bioactive molecules using broad-spectrum activity-based probes (ABPs). ABPs are small reporter molecules that use the conserved catalytic or binding mechanism of an enzyme family to covalently modify their active sites. A tag embedded within the structure of the probe allows for visualization of labeled proteins in a gel-based format. When used in a complex proteome, ABPs report on the active site occupancy of all members of an enzyme family, thus making them ideal tools to simultaneously screen dozens of targets against potential inhibitors.
The goal of this proposal is to run a pilot study by screening 400 of the most promising antimalarial compounds against all serine hydrolases, cysteine proteases, and ATPases found in infected red blood cells. We will then use the latest advances in Plasmodium genetics to validate the identified enzymes as new antimalarial targets. Importantly, the methodology outlined in this proposal is broadly applicable to any biological system and expandable to other enzyme families.
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 basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy drug discovery
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases malaria
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins proteomics
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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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-2013-CIG
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.
MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)
Coordinator
NW1 1AT London
United Kingdom
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.