BBSRC and NIGMSM
A team of researchers from Imperial College London's Division of Molecular Biosciences
received a grant of over US $4 million to support a research facility for understanding
how sugars are involved in cell to cell communication.
The research
The team at Imperial College is led by BBSRC Professorial Fellow Anne Dell FRS.
The team studies the molecular structures of sugars that are attached to the surfaces
of much larger molecules such as proteins. The make-up and configuration of these
sugar chains has a critical role in many biological systems, including the ability
of protective white blood cells to home-in on sites of infection. Also, because
of their importance in cell-to-cell communication, any changes or 'errors' in these
chains can lead to serious auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and
multiple sclerosis.
The collaboration
The grant forms part of a US $40.7 million award which has been given to the
Consortium for Functional Glycomics (CFG) - led from the Scripps Research Institute
in California - of which the Imperial team is a part. The consortium provides resources
to more than 300 participating scientists worldwide who are engaged in research
aimed at understanding how the sugary layer on the outside of cells enables cell
to cell communication. Professor Dell's team provides one of seven scientific 'cores':
the Analytical Glycotechnology Core, which is the only one based outside the USA.
The five-year grant, provided by the American National Institute of General Medical
Science (NIGMS) is the second such "glue" grant that the consortium has received.
The first, awarded in 2001, was a five-year grant of US $34 million which enabled
the establishment of basic infrastructure and databases to support research efforts
around the globe aimed at understanding the mechanisms through which carbohydrate-binding
proteins mediate cell function. The new grant is focusing on exploitation of the
CFG's unique resources to accelerate international research efforts in this critically
important field.
Quotation:
Professor Anne Dell said, "The new grant of £4 million means that the UK will
remain at the forefront of international effort in this growing field of research.
It will enable us to continue to develop and apply our analytical methods, and to
generate new information for bio-medical research around the world."
Contact:
Professor
Anne Dell
Links:
Imperial College news release