The importance of glycoscience in the development of biology and medicine and the central role played by chemistry in this process, have recently been pointed out by ESF. However, it appears that exposure of young scientists in their training phase to the chemical biology of carbohydrates is still lacking.
In the CARMUSYS programme we unite 12 internationally renowned research teams from seven different European countries, all of which have already contributed to an advancement of knowledge relevant to the field of glycoscience. Together we present a collaborative training project aimed at designing and synthesizing carbohydrate multivalent systems to be used as inhibitors for pathogen attachment and penetration into target cells that present a receptor in genital and intestinal mucosa, the main site for contact and entry of micro-organisms into the body. The execution of the proposed programme requires a multidisciplinary approach, which is based on the natural complementary expertise of the different research teams.
This multidisciplinary project strives to approach the design and synthesis of carbohydrate multivalent systems to be used as inhibitors for pathogen attachment and penetration into target cells that present the receptor DC-SIGN. Preferably, the carbohydrate component should not interfere with other C-type lectin receptors on other DC subsets, such as langerin. Moreover, we plan to use these multivalent systems as tools to get information about the molecular basis that governs this recognition process between pathogen glycoproteins and DC-SIGN with the aim to rationalize the design and synthesis of new drugs. Also, the role that DC-SIGN plays in the immune response through the interaction and recognition of pathogens leads to a very complex pathway of signalling cascade that could be modulated artificially using these carbohydrate multivalent systems as effectors. These studies could provide new insights to unravel the complex mechanisms of the immune system against pathogen invasion and could open strategies to develop vaccines through the modulation of dendritic cell activity.
To reach the main scientific goals of this work, a highly interdisciplinary group of scientists (synthetic chemists, computational chemists, biochemists, immunologists, etc.) has been assembled, some of whom are already collaborating on the topic. These studies and their finding have converted DC_SIGN in a new important target
In the CARMUSYS programme we unite 12 internationally renowned research teams from seven different European countries, all of which have already contributed to an advancement of knowledge relevant to the field of glycoscience. Together we present a collaborative training project aimed at designing and synthesizing carbohydrate multivalent systems to be used as inhibitors for pathogen attachment and penetration into target cells that present a receptor in genital and intestinal mucosa, the main site for contact and entry of micro-organisms into the body. The execution of the proposed programme requires a multidisciplinary approach, which is based on the natural complementary expertise of the different research teams.
This multidisciplinary project strives to approach the design and synthesis of carbohydrate multivalent systems to be used as inhibitors for pathogen attachment and penetration into target cells that present the receptor DC-SIGN. Preferably, the carbohydrate component should not interfere with other C-type lectin receptors on other DC subsets, such as langerin. Moreover, we plan to use these multivalent systems as tools to get information about the molecular basis that governs this recognition process between pathogen glycoproteins and DC-SIGN with the aim to rationalize the design and synthesis of new drugs. Also, the role that DC-SIGN plays in the immune response through the interaction and recognition of pathogens leads to a very complex pathway of signalling cascade that could be modulated artificially using these carbohydrate multivalent systems as effectors. These studies could provide new insights to unravel the complex mechanisms of the immune system against pathogen invasion and could open strategies to develop vaccines through the modulation of dendritic cell activity.
To reach the main scientific goals of this work, a highly interdisciplinary group of scientists (synthetic chemists, computational chemists, biochemists, immunologists, etc.) has been assembled, some of whom are already collaborating on the topic. These studies and their finding have converted DC_SIGN in a new important target