Skip to main content
European Commission logo print header

Bio-Inspired Tools for Glycoscience

Descripción del proyecto

Descifrar la O-glucosilación para comprender mejor las enfermedades

La O-glucosilación, una compleja modificación postraslacional de los carbohidratos de la superficie celular, está relacionada con diversas enfermedades, entre ellas la enfermedad intestinal inflamatoria, la fibrosis quística y el cáncer. A pesar de su importancia, los mecanismos subyacentes a la O-glucosilación y su efecto en la enfermedad siguen sin conocerse bien. El objetivo del equipo del proyecto GLYCO TOOLS, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, es comprender mejor la función de la O-glucosilación a fin de identificar tratamientos y diagnósticos eficaces. En el proyecto se utilizará la química sintética orgánica e inorgánica, la enzimología y la glicobiología para estudiar los parámetros que controlan la diversidad combinatoria de los O-glucanos y su implicación en la unión a los receptores y la señalización intracelular. Esta investigación pionera allanará el camino para el desarrollo de herramientas de diagnóstico y tratamientos basados en glucanos.

Objetivo

Cell surface carbohydrates play key roles in cell recognition mechanisms. O-glycosylation is a ubiquitous post-translational modification that is highly dynamic and responsive to cellular stimuli through the action of cycling enzymes. Expression of specific O-glycans is linked to changes in gene expression in, for example, inflammatory bowel disease, cystic fibrosis and several types of cancer.


Protein-carbohydrate interactions typically exhibit high specificity and weak affinities toward their carbohydrate ligand. This low affinity is compensated in nature by the architecture of the protein, the host presenting the carbohydrate ligands in a multivalent manner or as clusters on the cell or mucosal surface. This effect is known as the multivalency or “cluster–glycoside effect” and has been well documented for lectin–carbohydrate interactions as increasing ligand affinity and selectivity. The fundamental understanding of these glycosylation patterns at molecular and functional levels will allow mechanisms associated with bacterial-host interactions, bowel disease and several cancers to be defined, which will facilitate the identification of effective treatments and diagnostics for these conditions in due course.

This is a multidisciplinary project involving synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry, enzymology and glycobiology. The proposal centres on the development of expedient synthetic and chemo-enzymatic methodologies for the preparation of novel multivalent O-glycan probes that will be used in the screening of O-glycosylation-linked interactions in health and in disease. These studies will help us understand the parameters controlling the combinatorial diversity of O-glycans and the implications of such diversity on receptor binding and subsequent intracellular signalling, which in turn will lead us to the development of new glycan-based diagnostic tools and therapeutics.

Régimen de financiación

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

Institución de acogida

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 1 986 356,00
Dirección
BEACON HOUSE QUEENS ROAD
BS8 1QU Bristol
Reino Unido

Ver en el mapa

Región
South West (England) Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area Bristol, City of
Tipo de actividad
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Enlaces
Coste total
€ 1 986 356,00

Beneficiarios (1)