Identification and characterization of new phosphatases from the MAPK / ERK pathway

• Grant number: 18/10440-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2018
• End date: April 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Damário Gomes
• Grantee: Nichelle Antunes Vieira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 12/20148-0 - Development of new ligands/drugs with selective agonism action (biased agonism) for receptors of the renin-angiotensin and kallikrein-kinin systems: new properties and new biotechnological applications, AP.TEM

Abstract

Phosphatases, respectively, are of great importance for several cellular events. Among the types of protein kinases and protein phosphatases, the mitogen-activated protein kinases and the serine, threonine and tyrosine phosphatases regulating this pathway, stand out for the ability to regulate different cellular responses, such as proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. It knows that the regulation of the phosphorylation process is of paramount importance for cellular homeostasis, being the imbalance between the rates of phosphorylation and dephosphorylation, can induce the emergence of several diseases. With this in view, the identification and molecular characterization of new phosphatases in the MAPK / ERK pathway becomes of great relevance. Thus, this project will aid in the understanding of the biological role of 13 new pathway regulators of MAPKs, which were previously identified by high-throughput scraping for phosphatases using RNAi libraries. In this way, the general objectives of this project are: To identify and characterize possible new regulators of the MAPK / ERK signaling pathway through biochemical and molecular biology techniques. The aim is to understand the role that each phosphatase plays over MAPK / ERK, thus contributing to the identification of new biomarkers that may be used in the future as targets for the development of various drugs.