Project description
Imaging of HIV cell entry to aid vaccine design
The recent discovery of neutralising antibodies against HIV-1 has rekindled vaccine efforts. To aid rational vaccine design, scientists of the EU-funded FUSION project aim to understand the mechanism underlying target recognition and characterise polyclonal antibody responses. For this purpose, they will employ state-of-the-art time-resolved imaging techniques to visualise HIV-1 fusion on the surface of living cells and decipher the mechanism by which different neutralising antibodies disrupt this fusion, which is conserved amongst different HIV strains. By unveiling key virus–host cell interactions at the molecular level, FUSION will pave the way for the design of novel drugs and vaccines.
Objective
The HIV-1 vaccine research has re-emerged in the last few years due to the identification of antibodies that neutralize most HIV-1 circulating strains. A deeper understanding of the mechanistic mode of target recognition for these antibodies represents a big hope in the field. This project aims at understanding and characterizing polyclonal antibody responses to aid rational vaccine design via radically new technologies on light microscopy. The molecular mechanism of time-resolved HIV-1 fusion will be visualized and quantified on the surface of living cells by combining real-time single virus tracking, fluorescence fluctuation spectroscopy and 3D single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) imaging. The implementation of a new technology that allows three-dimensional nanometre localization of single particles will allow us to multiplex single molecule experiments with functional readouts for single-virus HIV-1 fusion simultaneously. Here, I will systematically establish the mechanism of action of different families of neutralizing antibodies and how they disrupt the three-step HIV fusion reaction, conserved among different HIV tropism, recently discovered by our group. I will unveil the molecular insights on the precise Env-induced, time-resolved stoichiometry of CD4 and co-receptors (CCR5 or CXCR4) in the presence and absence of different combinations of bNAbs and study their impact on HIV transmission. FUSION will open new avenues to design putative drugs that target host-specific receptor and co-receptor oligomeric states to block HIV-1 fusion. This project systematically applies cutting-edge time-resolved imaging approaches as a gold standard to ascertain how different combinations of bNAbs perturb the HIV fusion mechanism in CD4+ T cells and macrophages. I will establish a world-class laboratory in HIV-1 and single molecule microscopy. I will decipher several key virushost cell interactions at molecular level and contribute to rational vaccine and drug desig
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases RNA viruses HIV
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- natural sciences physical sciences optics spectroscopy
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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.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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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) ERC-2019-COG
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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.
WC2R 2LS 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.