QuantPalm_immunity · Quantitative analysis of protein S-palmitoylation in host resistance to intracellular pathogens.

Quantitative analysis of protein S-palmitoylation in host resistance to intracellular pathogens.

The failure in the treatment of infectious diseases by antibiotics, also known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is estimated to be responsible for 25,000 deaths per year in the EU and 700,000 deaths per year worldwide. The European commission recognizes the pressing need for new antimicrobial drugs and recently adopted a new action plan against AMR (June 2017). The new action plan aims to boost research and to address knowledge gaps with the aim to develop new antibiotics exploiting novel modes of action. “QuantPalm_Immunity” addresses one of the knowledge gap. The immune system is a network of cells, tissues and organs responsible of defending the body against attacks by foreign invaders that can cause infections. The foreign invaders are known as pathogens and they include bacteria, parasites and viruses. It is not fully understood how cells can recognize and destroy pathogens or alternatively how pathogens can escape host defense and lead to infection. Understanding the mechanisms by which host cells resists to pathogens and alternatively how pathogens achieve increased virulence against their host, provides our greatest weapon in the fight against microbial infection and may reveal new classes of antimicrobial targets. Proteins are synthesized based on their DNA sequence and are often modified by small molecules such as lipids and sugars. These small modifications are essential for proteins to function properly in cells. The first objective of the action “QuantPalm_Immunity” was to find which proteins involved in the fight to pathogens infection (immune proteins) are modified with a lipid, palmitic acid, and to study if levels of this lipid modification change upon infection. The second objective of the research was to understand why the lipid is important for the protein function and correct localization in cells. The third objective was to understand how this lipid modification is important to destroy the pathogen via a process called autophagy. Research addressing the first and second objectives has been carried out for two years at the partner organization, The Rockefeller University (New York, USA), in a lab specialized in lipid modifications of proteins. The third objective was implemented at the Crick (London, UK) in a lab specialized in autophagy.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз