Project description
Inhibiting immune suppression in cancer
Tumours are known to evade immune responses, thereby limiting the efficacy of immunotherapy and vaccination efforts. Although cancer cells express aberrant glycosylation patterns, their immunosuppressive role has been largely overlooked. The EU-funded MGLycan project will focus on the macrophage galactose-type lectin (MGL), the key receptor on immune cells that recognises aberrant sugars on cancer cells. MGL is overexpressed in macrophages and dendritic cells during immune suppression. The main objective of the project is to design inhibitors that block the MGL interaction with cancer cells, blocking downstream signalling that culminates in immune suppression.
Objective
The appearance of aberrant glycans on the tumor cell surface is one of the emerging hallmarks of cancer. Tumor growth is accompanied by tumor evasion of the immune system which limits the efficacy of cancer vaccines. However, and despite the fact that aberrant tumor glycosylation alters how the immune system perceives the tumor and, can also induce immunosuppressive signaling through glycan-binding receptors, the role of tumor glycosylation in immune evasion has mostly been overlooked. It is clear that new strategies to avoid the immune escape mechanisms generated by tumor cells are required. The interaction between the immune system and Tumor-Associated Carbohydrates Antigens (TACAs) is facilitated by a diverse set of carbohydrate-binding receptors, as the C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) which mediate specific interactions with TACAs controlling many features of the immune response. The immune escape mechanisms generated by truncated O-glycans, such as Tn antigen (αGalNAc-Ser/Thr) are still poorly understood. Human macrophage galactose-type lectin (hMGL) is a CLR that recognizes terminal GalNAc moieties, and is, therefore, a prime receptor for the aberrant O-glycans in cancer. MGL is upregulated in tolerogenic and immature dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages playing an important role in immunosuppression. It interacts with effector T-cells, resulting in reduced proliferation, cytokine secretion and induction of T-cell apoptosis. In this project, we propose the design and synthesis of multivalent MGL ligands mimetics with an improved affinity toward this receptor, that will serve as selective inhibitors to reverse GalNAc-mediated immune suppression for cancer immunotherapy.
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 pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine oncology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine immunology immunotherapy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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.
20009 San Sebastian
Spain
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.