Name of Fellow

    Prof Nicholas Gay

    Institution

    Funder

    Wellcome Trust

    Contact information of fellow

    Country

    United Kingdom

    Title of project/programme

    Molecular mechanism of innate signalling in the immune and nervous system.

    Source of funding information

    Wellcome Trust

    Total sum awarded (Euro)

    € 3,327,676

    Start date of award

    01/03/13

    Total duration of award in years

    7.0

    The project/programme is most relevant to:

    Parkinson's disease & PD-related disorders

    Keywords

    Neurodegen | Parkinson

    Research Abstract

    My goal is to take an inter-disciplinary approach to address two major objectives. Firstly I aim to understand the supramolecular organization of innate immune signaling platforms, their dynamics and the molecular basis of cooperative assembly and signaling crosstalk with reference particularly to the Toll and Toll-like receptors (TLR). We will define the protein-protein interfaces between receptors, ligands and adaptors that are critical to TLR signal transduction using an integrated structural biology approach. We will also study the molecular basis of signalling cross-talk from the TLR pathway with reference to the adaptor BCAP, that links to PI3 kinase and TRIF which couples interferon beta and apoptotic signals. Our second objective is to study the role of Toll and TLRs in neurogenesis and neurodegeneration. Specifically we will determine how LRRK2, a protein kinase that is a genetic risk factor for Parkinson’s disease, and TLRs are activated in microglia and how activation is linked to neurotoxicity. Specifically we will analyse what cellular factors activate TLRs in the absence of infection and what proteins associate with LRRK2 in the presence and absence of signalling. We will also use transcriptomic and proteomic approaches to identify which genes are expressed when microglia are activated and what proteins are substrates for the LRRK2 kinase. An understanding of the events that initiate and maintain neurodegeneration will lead to the development of novel therapi es aimed at inhibiting these processes.

Types: Fellowships
Member States: United Kingdom
Diseases: Parkinson's disease & PD-related disorders
Years: 2016
Database Categories: N/A
Database Tags: N/A

Export as PDF