Objective
"Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) represents the most problematic hospital acquired infection in Europe. It is also increasingly recognized as a community-associated disease. Current treatments for C. difficile disease are inadequate and other strategies must be found to treat or prevent disease. C. difficile is an anaerobic Gram-positive, spore-forming enteric pathogen. After disruption of the intestinal barrier by antibiotics, spores of C. difficile germinate and bacteria multiply in the intestine. Toxins are released and cause symptoms of disease which include diarrhea, or in the worst case, pseudomembranous colitis.The crucial early step of C. difficile infection is colonization of the intestine. C. difficile, like most bacterial pathogens, displays proteins on its surface that may act as adhesins and facilitate interaction with the host in order to allow colonization.
Gram-positive bacteria predominantly use their thick cell wall as a platform for display of surface proteins. Cell wall surface proteins can be covalently linked to the peptidoglycan by a sortase enzyme, a membrane-associated transpeptidase. Sortase enzymes and their substrates are promising therapeutic targets for the development of novel antibiotics. To date no sortase enzyme or substrates have been described in C. difficile, although we have identified several sortase and sortase substrate genes within the genome.
The project described here will investigate the role of the C. difficile sortase enzyme and sortase substrates. A variety of state-of-the art techniques will be used to explore these proteins, including advanced molecular genetics, in vivo animal models of infection and structural biology. The characterization of sortase enzymes and sortase substrates will allow firstly a better understanding of the colonization process of C. difficile and secondly will allow the identification of new virulence factors, which constitute potential vaccine components."
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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.
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.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IEF
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
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.
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.
Coordinator
SW7 2AZ LONDON
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.