Project R-14705

INSITE - A new combined experimental and theoretical framework for studying liquid protein condensates and its application to discover new targets for misfolded protein diseases (Research)

Membrane-less organelles (MLOs) are Nature's way of exploiting physical phase transitions to locally concentrate biomolecules in cells without using lipid envelopes. MLOs have a plethora of natural functions, but conversely also have a critical relation with misfolded protein diseases. In this ambitious project, we uniquely hypothesize that misfolded protein states provide a critical gateway to aggregation. To investigate this hypothesis, we develop an innovative fluorescence microscopy framework. We study the misfolding mechanism of biocondensates. In close synergy with the experiments, we ambitiously set up a novel theoretical framework that simulates MLOs. Our research team with complementary and essential expertise will significantly advance the fundamental understanding of biological phase separation and provide a first-of-its-kind strategy for targeting misfolded protein diseases.

01 January 2024 - 31 December 2027