Molecular mechanism of regulation of the PVR protein and its interaction partners by cytomegalovirus

Completed Projects

Multiannual institutional support

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Project title: Molecular mechanism of regulation of the PVR protein and its interaction partners by cytomegalovirus

Grantor: Ministry of Science, Education and Sports

Grantor’s website: www.mzos.hr

Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Tihana Lenac Roviš

Research team:

Paola Kučan, PhD student

Hrvoje Šimić, Research Assistant

Johanna Julia Reichel,Research Assistant

Berislav Lisnić, Research Assistant

Total funding: 46.000,00 HRK

Brief description:

Multiannual institutional support represents the support to the already existing research “Activities on the role of basic immunological principles in the immune surveillance of the herpesviral infections and the development of new viral vaccines and vaccine vectors”. Within this research topic, Prof. Dr. Tihana Lenac Rovis and her team are developing a new research line dedicated to the understanding of Molecular mechanism of regulation of the PVR protein and its interaction partners by cytomegalovirus.

In the focus of the mentioned project proposal is revealing of the role of PVR (CD155) protein that is recognised by both, inhibitory and activating immune cell receptors, TIGIT, Tactile (CD96) and DNAM-1 (CD226). PVR is expressed on the majority of healthy cells, while its ligands are important receptors expressed on different and overlapping types of immune cells.

The idea behind this Multiannual institutional support is to further strengthen the expertise of the team when it comes to the mechanisms of the viral immunosubversion. This expertise is predominantly developed through the long-lasting research on the regulation of ligands for another important immune cell receptor, NKG2D. Furthermore, the intention is to develop a more independent research line that will be fully dedicated to the analyses of the viral immunosubversive mechanisms that influence PVR-TIGIT/DNAM-1 mediated immune response at the first stage.

The grant-support beneficiary and the team members have full support of the existing University of Rijeka Faculty of Medicine research team. It is expected that all new insights, products, antibodies and recombinant proteins developed within the mentioned research will support the continuation of other successful international projects that are currently ongoing at the Center for Proteomics.