Funding transnational collaborative research through joint transnational calls is one of the major objectives of E-Rare. This is the most important and effective joint activity to enhance the cooperation between European scientists working on rare diseases and thus reducing the fragmentation of research in this field. E-Rare launches calls on a yearly basis. The topic and eligibility criteria are specified every year and therefore may vary from one call to the other.
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Project Coordinator
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Edward Malaga-Trillo | Universität Konstanz | Konstanz, Germany |
Roberto Chiesa | Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche “Mario Negri” | Milan, Italy |
Genetic prion diseases, including Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome fatal familial insomnia and genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorders linked to point mutations and insertions in the PRNP gene encoding the cellular prion protein (PrPC). Disease-associated mutations favor PrPC misfolding and aggregation, leading to accumulation of pathogenic, neurotoxic forms of the protein in the brain. Currently there is no cure for genetic prion diseases, and they are invariably fatal. In this project, we propose to block mutant PrP aggregation by stabilizing the native conformation of the monomeric precursors. The underlying concept is to prevent aggregation of mutant PrP by increasing the Gibbs free energy barrier (∆G) required for the initial misfolding events. This goal could be achieved with small ligands of PrP capable of acting as pharmacological chaperones. In order to identify and characterize such compounds, we propose a multidisciplinary approach combining medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, biophysics, cellular biology and efficacy tests in animal models of disease. Our approach will lay the groundwork for the development of completely new classes of drugs for genetic prion diseases.
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For more information ABOUT E-Rare please contact:
E-Rare Coordinator
Daria JULKOWSKA
Tel.: +33(0) 1 78 09 80 78
+33(0) 6 20 14 13 81
daria.julkowska@agencerecherche.fr
Agence Nationale de la Recherche - ANR
Health & Biology Department
50 Avenue Daumesnil
75012 Paris, France