CAPSTONE

CAPSTONE (Controlling Antigen ProceSsing in auTOimmune diseases and caNcEr - Excellence Training Network) is a consortium coordinated by Pr Deprez-Poulain, from the University of Lille, aiming at applying to MSCA-ITN (ETN) call. This transnational network of academic and industrial partners and patient associations providing multidisciplinary and multisectorial training to 15 Early-Stage Researchers in the field of antigen processing and presentation and in the development of novel pharmacological tools for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases and their industrial applications. Cutting-edge research during the last few years has identified the biochemical pathway of intracellular antigen processing as a promising target for modulating the human immune response. Recent results by the consortium, suggest that pharmacological modulation of the activity of a group of intracellular aminopeptidases that generate antigenic peptides has important applications in cancer immunotherapy and in the control of inflammatory disease and autoimmunity. This project fits in an extended network of high-technology companies and leading academic research institutes which will study this specific biochemical pathway and will design and characterize new compounds for treatment. CAPSTONE brings together a multidisciplinary group of world-class researchers coming from 11 different countries in medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, X-Ray crystallography, screening technologies, cellular biology, oncology, autoimmunity, metabolism, bioanalysis, mass spectrometry imaging, formulation, systems biology, that will work together to expose ESRs to key R&D stages, from basic research to pre-clinical development. This project has already been submitted to MSCA-ITN-2017 with a very encouraging score. The ANR-MRSEI grant will allow this transnational consortium to consolidate and fine-tune its proposal to fully succeed in a coming MSCA-ITN call.