National projects
Range:
New biofertilization approach based on the microbial multispecies biocatalytic aggregates
Soil quality is decreasing worldwide, due to erosion and intensive use of farmland. Crop plants are not adapted to reduced nutrient content, which is why we need to develop novel soil fertilization approaches delivering nutrients to the vicinity of the roots. In alpine oligotrophic soils mineral-weathering microbes accumulate in “hotspots” in the rhizosp...
Muscle cell secretom and bone cells interplay in osteosarcopenia (MiKOSA)
Osteosarcopenia (OSA) affects 5-37% of community-dwelling older people (≥65 years) and is diagnosed at even higher rates in people with lowenergy trauma (osteoporotic) bone fractures (7.1–96.3%). There are no diagnostic biochemical markers available and no approved pharmacological agents for treatment of sarcopenia so far. With the present project, we aim t...
Mechanisms of response to interleukin 12/23 blockers in ulcerative colitis - toward personalized medicine
(slovene) Kljub pomembnemu napredku zdravljenja ulceroznega kolitisa je 30 % pacientov neodzivnih na razpoložljiva zdravila. Ti pacienti trpijo za hudimi simptomi črevesne disfunkcije. Številni potrebujejo operativno odstranitev celotnega debelega črevesa. Ustekinumab, IL 12/23 zaviralec z odličnim varnostnim profilom, je najnovejše zdravilo za zdravlj...
Next-generation adjuvants for mucosal vaccines
Currently, our world is facing an acute shortage of mucosal vaccine adjuvants. The recent progress in our understanding of innate immunity has opened up new avenues for mucosal vaccine development. The innate immune system is comprised of APCs, in particular dendritic cells (DCs), which contain a series of innate immune receptors. Ligands of these receptors engage D...
Development of novel small molecule Toll-like receptors 7 and 8 modulators for cancer immunotherapy
Intracellular targets of the innate immune system that can be modulated by small molecule agents, which offer numerous advantages compared to large biopharmaceuticals, represent big opportunities in pharmacy and innovative possibility to reverse the immune tolerance in the treatment of cancer patients. One of the most important aforementioned targets are Toll-like r...
ProBiS-Fold approach for binding site detection for whole structural human proteome in drug discovery
The ProBiS-Fold approach, on which the ProBiS-Fold web server is based, will enable for the first-time interactions between most human protein structures not limited to the Protein Data Base structures only, prediction of selectivity and ligand binding, and observation of conserved water effects and ligand binding sequence variants. This work will provide the scient...
Dynamical model of a type II DNA topoisomerase biological nanomachine and design of catalytic inhibitors
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death. The complex nature of cancer depends on genetic predispositions and environmental influences and poses a major challenge for treatment, as the efficiency of treatment depends on the specific response of each cancer tissue to a particular drug. The exploration of novel molecules that provide an efficient means to combat c...
Evaluation of transient protein states
Despite recent advances in biophysical techniques and computational approaches for the investigation of biomolecular systems, the characterization of the dynamic equilibria of protein states remains a demanding challenge due to the elusive nature of the dynamic processes that regulate these equilibria. In particular, the sparsely populated, transient states are diff...
Safety evaluation of cannabidiols and implications for public health and consumers behaviour
Cannabidiol (CBD) belongs to naturally occurring cannabinoids, the unique group of bioactive constituents of hemp. CBD exerts a variety of pharmacological effects but does not have the psychotropic properties, which are characteristic for THC. In addition to certain clinical applications, nowadays CBD is the focus of mass marketing campaigns and the subj...