Objective
Research objectives and content
OB protein, (also known as leptin), a previously unknown protein signal, is secreted from adipose tissue, circulate in the blood, probably bound to a family of binding proteins and acts on central neural networks that regulate ingestive behavior and energy balance. Leptin exerts its biological effect through its receptor (OB-R) belongs to the hematopoyetin/cytokine receptor superfamily class I. After the cloning of this receptor, occurred only one year ago, only a few studies have attempted to elucidate the signal transduction pathways of this receptor. For these reason there are numerous important questions remaining about the role of OB-R; moreover the knowledge of intracellular molecules that mediate signal transduction via OB-R are of tremendous interest. Our target in this project will be to highlight different aspects of the OB-R signaling determining alternatives to the initial JAK-Stat pathway in order to find connections with other intracellular mechanisms and also to define which of these signals, or as yet unidentified signals, is most important in body weight regulation.
Our attention will be focused on: 1- Studies on alternative JAK-STAT pathways involved in OB-R signal transduction. Our aim is to demonstrate that Insulin Receptor Substrate-1 (IRS-l) and Phosphatydilinositol 3'-kinase (PI-3' kinase) are associated with OB-R and also if there is an activation of these two proteins through phosphorylation upon leptin binding. 2- Studies on identification of OB-R sequences involved in the signaling 3- Studies on the SHC-GRB2-SOS and RAS pathway probably involved in the OB-R signalling.
Training content (objective, benefit and expected impact) The discovery and rapid characterization of the OB protein signal pathways could be significant for several reasons. First, it could provide additional evidences that obesity is a disease with a biological basis. Second, the rapid evolution of the OB protein pathway could provide a series of important advances in the knowledge base of obesity. This increasing knowledge base should help to pry open and shine a bright light onto the very dark 'black box' that contains the mechanisms and decision rules used in the brain for determining the level at which body fat content is regulated in humans and other animals. When these mechanisms will be understood at the molecular level, target identification for discovery and development of new, safe, effective pharmacological treatment for obesity could reduce risk factors and promote improved health of obese individuals. Knowing the OB-R signal transduction pathway will certainly be the primary objective of the obesity research, moreover these new knowledge will greatly expand our understanding of the development, maintenance and treatment of obesity and it should certainly provide additional hope for the many obese individuals. Additonally, the intracellular molecules that mediate signal transduction via OB-R are of tremendous interest. Although an understanding of some OB-R signal transduction capabilities is under way, it is critical to define which of these signals, or as yet unidentified signals, is most important in pathophysiology of obesity. Links with industry / industrial relevance (22)
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 physiology pathophysiology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition obesity
- natural sciences computer and information sciences artificial intelligence computational intelligence
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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.
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.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
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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.
Coordinator
15700 Santiago de Compostela
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.