Project description
Advanced Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic tool
One of the central features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the abnormal modification and aggregation of Tau proteins, which disrupt brain function. Detecting these changes early is vital for AD diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Existing tools consist of immunoassays and mass spectrometry but face limitations in sensitivity and practicality for clinical use. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action programme, the SPoTIP project will develop a novel diagnostic tool for detecting single Tau molecules in real time and with great sensitivity. This tool is based on nanopore technology and will be able to detect all Tau modifications including disease-relevant phosphorylations and truncations. Using this tool in the clinic will lead to early detection of AD and tauopathies.
Objective
Abnormal post-translational modifications (PTMs) can lead to the aggregation of Tau proteins, which characterize a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. Some abnormal Tau proteins will be released into biological fluids, providing a chance for minimally- or non-invasive diagnosis. For Alzheimer's Disease (AD), site-specific phosphorylations and truncations are representative PTMs that have been proved as biomarkers for its early diagnosis and progression monitoring. To detect and quantify these abnormal Tau proteoforms, two methodologies—immunoassays and mass spectrometry (MS)—are frequently employed. However, both of them encounter significant challenges in clinical trials; immunoassays suffer from limited epitopes and false positive results, while MS involves a complicated and time-consuming workflow.
Nanopore technology, distinguished by its capability of real-time single-molecule sensing, has shown great prospects in polypeptide analysis, potentially offering distinct advantages over the forementioned methods in clinical trials. Recent progress has been made to sense PTMs deep within full-length polypeptides. By leveraging the recent advances in nanopore technology and the development of numerous site-specific anti-Tau binders, this project aims to exploit a single-molecule toolkit for detecting Tau of varying lengths and clinically relevant phosphorylations across full-length Tau proteoforms. To achieve that, we will leverage engineered nanopores developed by the host lab to facilitate translocation of intact Tau proteoforms, alongside a binder-assisted strategy to amplify the signals of targeted truncations and phosphorylations while minimizing interference from non-target backgrounds. Should our goal accomplished, it could provide a sensitive and robust diagnostic tool for the assessment and monitoring of tauopathies, as well as contribute to the advancement of tauopathies research to single-molecular resolution.
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 neurology neurodegenerative diseases dementia alzheimer
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- natural sciences chemical sciences analytical chemistry mass spectrometry
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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)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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OX1 2JD Oxford
United Kingdom
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