Projekt PROT-TOWING z finansowaniem Funduszy Europejskich dla Nowoczesnej Gospodarki
The Foundation for Polish Science has announced the results of the 1/2024 call for proposals under the FIRST TEAM activity funded by the National Centre for Research and Development. A total of 174 projects were submitted for the call, and funding (amounting to nearly PLN 71 million) was awarded to 18 projects. Among them is “PROT-TOWING: opracowanie innowacyjnej technologii molekularnego holowania do selektywnej inaktywacji chorobotwórczych białek (eng. PROT-TOWING: Development of Innovative Molecular Tugging Technology for Selective Inactivation of Pathogenic Proteins)”, a project led by prof. Łukasz Opaliński from the Faculty of Biotechnology. Congratulations!
The FIRST TEAM activity provides the opportunity to secure funding for establishing a research team and conducting innovative research with potential applications in Poland.
The selection of projects for funding was carried out through a competition with three stages: a formal evaluation followed by a two-stage substantive evaluation by experts in each field. A total of 29 projects qualified for the second stage of substantive evaluation.
Funding for a single project can reach up to PLN 4 million. With this funding, new research teams composed of young scientists, doctoral students, and students selected through an open competition will be established, and necessary equipment for project implementation can be purchased. The awarded projects span various scientific fields and focus on innovative research with application potential.
What is the project of prof. Łukasz Opaliński of the UWr Faculty of Biotechnology about?
Rozregulowane białka chorobotwórcze POI (ang. Protein of Interest) stanowią czynniki wywołujące wiele chorób u ludzi i stanowią cele molekularne dla interwencji terapeutycznych. Tradycyjnie do hamowania chorobotwórczych POI stosuje się niskocząsteczkowe inhibitory enzymów lub blokery kanałów jonowych, które stanowią większość obecnie stosowanych leków. Pomimo niewątpliwego sukcesu opracowanych konwencjonalnie leków, podejście to okazało się skuteczne jedynie dla około 10% białek chorobotwórczych, a większość chorobotwórczych POI (np. czynniki transkrypcyjne, białka budulcowe) jest obecnie poza naszym zasięgiem.
Disregulated pathogenic proteins of interest (POIs) are the causative agents of many human diseases and serve as molecular targets for therapeutic interventions. Traditionally, low-molecular-weight enzyme inhibitors or ion channel blockers have been used to inhibit pathogenic POIs, which make up the majority of current medicines. Despite the undeniable success of conventionally developed medicines, this approach has proven effective for only about 10% of pathogenic proteins, and most pathogenic POIs (e.g., transcription factors, structural proteins) are currently beyond our reach.
The goal of the PROT-TOWING project is to develop an innovative technology that enables the targeted inactivation of pathogenic proteins within the cell, including molecular targets that are currently inaccessible to conventional therapeutic approaches. This may pave the way for the future development of therapeutic strategies for diseases that are, to date, incurable.
The project will be carried out in collaboration with the domestic economic partner, Captor Therapeutics S.A., and the international scientific partner, prof. Ida van der Klei’s team from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Prepared by: Katarzyna Górowicz-Maćkiewicz
Translated by Zuzanna Sobkowiak (student of English Studies at the University of Wrocław) as part of the translation practice.
Added by: S.F.
Date of publication: 07.05.2025
