Fine-tuning TMBIM ion channel activity to control hallmarks of cancer

PI Nuno Saraiva

CBIOS Team members

Daniel dos Santos
From 2021 to 2022

Description

The members of the human  TMBIM protein family are highly conserved intracellular ion channels that affect cancer progression-related cell processes. The correlation between the expression levels of these proteins and cancer patient survival rates demonstrates the significance of these proteins in cancer progression. Despite representing appealing targets for anti-cancer progression therapy, there are no TMBIM pharmacological modulators identified. This project aims at generating in silico models of the human sequences for these proteins and to construct various systems comprising the human TMBIM (hTMBIM) channel pore embedded in a lipid bilayer to perform molecular dynamics studies. This approach will allow later the discovery of active molecules by performing high throughput screens of commercially available molecules able to modulate the ion conductivity of TMBIM. This project aims at providing fundamental information regarding the gating mechanism controlling the ion flow through TMBIM channels, and to discover the first putative pharmacological modulators of these proteins.

Funding entity

Reference: CPCA/ A1/410638/2021