BattleX:

Manipulationg the Fight between Human Host Cells and intracellular Pathogens

BattleX is a on-going project within SystemsX.ch – The Swiss Initiative in Systems Biology – as one of the fourteen main Research, Technology and Development (RTD) type of projects. SystemsX.ch is currently the biggest research initiative in Switzerland, supporting 750 researchers from 250 research groups in 62 approved projects.

BattleX is a consortium of seven research groups that aim to increase the comprehensive understanding of infectious diseases and develop novel strategies for infection control; focusing on one infection model, intracellular Shigella infection of human cells. Quantitative genome/proteome-scale models are needed for the host, the pathogen and the interface. Techniques for efficient experimental perturbation of both host and pathogen as well as measurement of large scale quantitative data sets are required. This project focuses on metabolism as a subsystem of the host-pathogen interaction network.

Metabolism is highly relevant for pathogen growth and host control and in addition provides attractive targets for antimicrobials. The Functional Genomics Center Zurich (FGCZ) is responsible for the proteomics analysis of the host-pathogen interaction aiming to quantify as many and specific changes in abundance in the metabolic proteins upon various conditions of infection. With access to the latest analytical instruments and technologies, workflows for both qualitative and quantitative assays have been established and are continuously optimized. The discovery workflow is adjusted to enable the maximum number of proteins to be identified. A faster approach for obtaining approximate quantities of large subsets of proteins across several cell states have been developed. In addition, to allow for more accurate quantitative data and absolute quantification, the Single Reaction Monitoring (SRM or MRM) with stable isotope labeling is also being applied. These techniques are implemented on samples from various stages of infection, ie time-course studies, as well as on different mutants of the human HeLA cell line. Combined with all resources in the BattleX project, with increasing accuracy the aim is to identify more and more target candidates for control of Shigellosis.

Official webpage: http://www.battlex.ch/

Recent poster publications:
Preliminary Study shown at SystemsX.ch Conference

Quantitative Proteomics On Human and Shigella Proteins