Project description
PI3K signalling activation as an anti-cancer strategy
Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling is central for many biological functions and exhibits aberrant regulation in cancer. The EU-funded PI3K MODULATORS project aims to hyper-activate PI3K signalling in white blood cells as a therapeutic intervention for haematological malignancies. For this purpose, researchers will undertake a high-throughput screening approach to discover small-molecule PI3K activators specific for the white blood cell isoform of PI3K. They will study the mode of action of these activators as well as the mechanism of PI3K-mediated cancer cell death through various structural and biochemical analyses. The project's results will pave the way for the exploitation of PI3K drugs in cancer therapy.
Objective
PI3K signalling is a critical regulator of many cellular functions including cell growth and survival, and is deregulated in cancer and auto-immunity.
This proposal is based on the concept to cause cell death by hyperactivating signalling in cancer cells above a tolerable threshold. This idea has been previously proposed for other kinases, but no small-molecule activators were available to formally test the idea.
This proposal focuses on activators of the leukocyte-enriched PI3Kd, an isoform of PI3K that is involved in immune regulation and haematological malignancies.
The 3 key objectives and their approaches are:
1. To discover and characterise small-molecule PI3Kd activators. This will be achieved using a combination of virtual screening and high throughput screening.
2. To understand the mechanism of PI3Kd activation. This enables understanding of how these activators function, and provides structural data that can be used for structure-based design and compound improvement. This will be achieved using structural biology (HDX-MS and crystallography), biochemical (lipid kinase) and biophysical (binding) assays.
3. To determine the activity of PI3Kd activators in haematopoietic malignancies. In order to use PI3Kd activators in cancer therapy, it is critical to determine the conditions under which hyperactivation of PI3Kd results in cancer cell death. This will be achieved with a panel of B and T-cell lymphoma cell lines using cell viability assays under different conditions.
These objectives integrate my expertise in compound screening, molecular modelling and compound design with the world-leading expertise of the Host Lab in PI3K signalling, cancer biology and drug development. This proposal aims to make breakthroughs in understanding PI3K signalling, its exploitation in drug development and in cancer-therapy. This will be a key turning point in my scientific career and facilitate PI3K drug development collaborations of the Host Lab with the pharmaceutica.
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
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geology mineralogy crystallography
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology structural biology
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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-2018
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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.
WC1E 6BT 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.