Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

PROTEIN TYROSINE PHOSPHATASES IN METABOLIC DISEASES: OXIDATION, DYSFUNCTION AND THERAPEUTIC POTENTIAL

Project description

The role of tyrosine phosphatases in metabolic disorders

Emerging evidence indicates that protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are implicated in insulin and glucose signalling, serving as molecular switches for key events in the development of diabetes. Oxidative stress inhibits PTP activity and is associated with obesity and inflammation. Scientists of the EU-funded METAPTPs project have developed an innovative proteomics approach for quantifying PTP oxidation in metabolic cells of patients with diabetes. Insight into PTP inactivation will help determine the impact of PTP deficiency on cellular responses and diabetes development. Moreover, the project will propose specific antioxidants or diets capable of restoring PTP function and reversing metabolic disorders.

Objective

Diabetes mellitus is characterised by hyperglycaemia caused by an absolute or relative insulin deficiency. The global prevalence of diabetes has reached more than 410 million individuals, underscoring the need for novel therapeutic strategies targeting the pathology as a multi-organ disease. Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) constitute a superfamily of enzymes that dephosphorylate tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins and oppose the actions of protein tyrosine kinases. My previous studies and preliminary data suggest that PTPs act as molecular switches for key signalling events in the development of diabetes, i.e. insulin/glucose/cytokine signalling. Dysregulation of these pathways results in metabolic consequences that are cell-specific. Oxidative stress abrogates the nucleophilic properties of the PTP active site and induces conformational changes that inhibit PTP activity and prevent substrate-binding. I have recently developed an innovative proteomic approach to quantify PTP oxidation in vivo and demonstrated that this occurs in liver/pancreas under pathological conditions, including obesity and inflammation. In this proposal, I aim to fully characterise the activity and oxidation status of PTPs in dysfunctional metabolic relevant cells in obesity and diabetes. Importantly, the crucial role of PTPs make them promising candidates for the treatment of metabolic disorders. I hypothesise that specific antioxidants, diets and/or adenovirus will restore PTP function and ameliorate the metabolic deleterious defects in pre-clinical studies. Over the next 5 years, I aim to:

• Identify the major oxidised PTPs in metabolic relevant tissues/cells in both obesity and diabetes.
• Determine the contribution of PTP inactivation in cellular responses to metabolic signalling in human samples.
• Assess the impact of tissue-specific PTP deficiency on the development of obesity and diabetes.
• Test novel therapeutic approaches targeting PTPs to prevent/reverse metabolic disorders.

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)

Programme(s)

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.

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.

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

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

(opens in new window) ERC-2018-COG

See all projects funded under this call

Host institution

UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 1 966 906,00
Address
AVENUE FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT 50
1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium

See on map

Region
Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Région de Bruxelles-Capitale/ Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest Arr. de Bruxelles-Capitale/Arr. Brussel-Hoofdstad
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
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.

€ 1 966 906,00

Beneficiaries (1)

My booklet 0 0