Objective
Certain papillomaviruses (PVs) are a major public health concern as in humans they are responsible for virtually all cases of cervical and anal cancer, and for a fraction of cancers on the penis, vagina, vulva and oropharynx. But oncogenic PVs are actually an unfortunate exception, as most PVs cause asymptomatic infections, and a few cause benign, wart-like lesions. Despite the efforts directed towards the understanding of the different clinical manifestations of infection, our knowledge on PV evolution remains fragmentary.
Oncogenic human PVs arose recently, after acquiring the E5, E6 and E7 genes. The integration of the E5 proto-oncogene in the ancestral AlphaPV genome allowed viruses to evade host immune response. Thereafter E6 and E7 acquired the ability to target essential tumor suppressor proteins, paving the way for carcinogenesis. Tracking the evolutionary history of the E5, E6 and E7 oncogenes will thus help understand the emergence of oncogenic human PVs. Regarding the deep roots of PVs, small DNA viruses may share a common ancestor as they encode proteins sharing similar functions and domains, but their evolutionary origin is still an enigma.
Here I propose to apply an evolutionary medicine approach, combining in silico and wet-lab approaches, to study key events that occurred during PV genome evolution. We will go back into history and study how and when certain PVs became oncogenic. We will resurrect the ancestral oncogenes, and experimentally test hypotheses about the function of the resurrected proteins in different environmental contexts. We will then generate a comprehensive scenario modelling the appearance of the modern PV genome and the emergence of the oncogenic phenotype of certain PVs. Finally we will explore the relationships between small DNA viruses and test whether they may have a common origin. Our ultimate aim is to understand why a few PVs are oncogenic for a few host species, while most PVs cause asymptomatic infections in most hosts.
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 pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunotherapy
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology cervical cancer
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases DNA viruses
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2016
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
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.