Mechanistic and Therapeutic Approaches in Neurodegenerative Disorders
This programme focuses on understanding of the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases from different angles to integrate this knowledge in designing effective pharmacological and molecular therapies. Research interests include investigating neurodegenerative diseases from the mouse behaviour (motor, cognitive and psychiatric) to the cellular and molecular level. In addition of finding new therapeutic targets we are also interested in identifying biomarkers of the disease progression. To this end, we collaborate with clinicians to obtain blood, fibroblasts and cerebrospinal fluid from patients.
Principal Investigators
Veronica Brito
Assistant Professor
Silvia Gines
Associate Professor
Cristina Malagelada
Associate Professor
Eulalia Marti
Associate Professor
Esther Perez Navarro
Associate Professor
Hugo Peluffo
Assistant Professor
Technologies & Methods
- Behavioural tests to assess cognitive, motor dysfunction and depression-like phenotype.
- Western Blot, Immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, proteomics/phosphoproteomics, intracerebral viral injections, extracellular vesicles isolation techniques, primary neuronal and glial cultures from mice and rats
- RT-qPCR, non-radioactive northern blot
- Transcriptomics, bioinformatic and biostatistical pipelines for RNA seq analysis, in vitro functional screening
- Analysis of dendritic spine density and morphology (Golgi staining and gene-gun dyolistic labelling)
- Confocal microscopy
- SUnSET method to analyze protein synthesis
- Fluorescence-activated nuclear suspension imaging (FANSI)
- Fluorescence-activated cellular suspension imaging (FACSI)
Research Team
Ana Gamez
Postdoctoral Researcher
Genis Campoy
Early Stage Researcher
Marina Herrero
Early Stage Researcher
Nadia Di Franco
Postdoctoral Researcher
Almudena Chicote
Early Stage Researcher
Pol Garcia-Segura
Early Stage Researcher
Alba Pereda
Early Stage Researcher
Laura Cervera
Postdoctoral Researcher
Carla Castells Esteve
Technician
Maria Bergé Gardeñes
Early Stage Researcher
Active Projects
Selectiva vulnerabilidad estriatal en la enfermedad de Huntington: ¿Un problema en la mitofagia transcelular?
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2021-123732OB-I00. Silvia Gines.
Investigación y desarrollo de una nueva terapia para el tratamiento de la enfermedad de Huntington
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). CPP2022-009575. Esther Perez Navarro.
Estudio de la función transneuronal de la proteína RTP801/REDD1 en la neuroinflamación en la enfermedad de Alzheimer
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2020-119236RB-I00. Cristina Malagelada.
Fragmentos de los tRNAs como mediadores de los procesos neurodegenerativos: implicaciones en la enfermedad de Huntington
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2020-113953RB-I00. Eulalia Marti.
Epidemiología y Salud Pública
Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo. CB06/02/0058. Eulalia Marti.
Contribution of tRNA fragments in the ETiopathogenesis of Huntington’s Disease (tR-GET HD)
Unió Europea. 101066416. Eulalia Marti.
Descifrando el papel de la metilación m6A del ARN como un nuevo nivel de regulación de la expresión génica en la patología de la enfermedad de Huntington
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2020-116474RB-I00. Veronica Brito.
Gliotransmissors i receptors de cannabinoides en l’origen dels dèficits cognitius i de plasticitat sinàptica en la malaltia de Huntington
Fundació La Marató de TV3. 30/C/2020. Silvia Gines.
La enfermedad de Huntington como una laminopatía: interacción entre el cerebro y la periferia
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades. PID2019-106447RB-I00. Esther Perez Navarro.
Mecanismes Moleculars i aproximacions terapèutiques en patologies cerebrals
Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca (AGAUR). 2021 SGR 01086. Esther Perez Navarro.
Ajut per a la intensificació de les activitats de transferència per al curs 2022-23. Modalitat A
Universitat de Barcelona. Josep Maria.
Editing the M6A Mark in mHTT RNA: Exploring a new therapeutic strategy in HD
Hereditary Disease Foundation. 1260317. Veronica Brito.
A pilot study of a novel molecular assay to quantify DNA repair synthesis in the HTT exon 1 as readout of somatic instability in Huntington´s Disease
European Huntington Disease Network. Seed fund 1296. Veronica Brito.
Diseccionando el papel de M6A como guardian epignético de la inestabilidad somatica en la enfermedad de Huntington
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). CNS2023-144738. Veronica Brito.
Selected publications
Espina, M., Di Franco, N., Brañas-Navarro, M., Navarro, I. R., Brito, V., Lopez-Molina, L., Costas-Insua, C., Guzmán, M., & Ginés, S. (2023). The GRP78-PERK axis contributes to memory and synaptic impairments in Huntington’s disease R6/1 mice. Neurobiology of Disease, 184, 106225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106225
Evans, F., Alí-Ruiz, D., Rego, N., Negro-Demontel, M. L., Lago, N., Cawen, F. A., Pannunzio, B., Sanchez-Molina, P., Reyes, L., Paolino, A., Rodríguez-Duarte, J., Pérez-Torrado, V., Chicote-González, A., Quijano, C., Marmisolle, I., Mulet, A. P., Schlapp, G., Meikle, M. N., Bresque, M., … Peluffo, H. (2023). CD300f immune receptor contributes to healthy aging by regulating inflammaging, metabolism, and cognitive decline. Cell Reports, 42(10), 113269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113269
Garcia‐Forn, M., Castany‐Pladevall, C., Golbano, A., Pérez‐Pérez, J., Brito, V., Kulisevsky, J., & Pérez‐Navarro, E. (2023). Lamin B1 and nuclear morphology in peripheral cells as new potential biomarkers to follow treatment response in Huntington’s disease. Clinical and Translational Medicine, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/ctm2.1154
Garcia‐Segura, P., & Malagelada, C. (2023). STAT3 and REDD1: an unconventional story of gene repression. The FEBS Journal, 290(7), 1735–1739. https://doi.org/10.1111/febs.16727
Rodríguez-Urgellés, E., Casas-Torremocha, D., Sancho-Balsells, A., Ballasch, I., García-García, E., Miquel-Rio, L., Manasanch, A., del Castillo, I., Chen, W., Pupak, A., Brito, V., Tornero, D., Rodríguez, M. J., Bortolozzi, A., Sanchez-Vives, M. V., Giralt, A., & Alberch, J. (2023). Thalamic Foxp2 regulates output connectivity and sensory-motor impairments in a model of Huntington’s Disease. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 80(12), 367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-023-05015-z
Sancho-Balsells, A., Borràs-Pernas, S., Brito, V., Alberch, J., Girault, J.-A., & Giralt, A. (2023). Cognitive and Emotional Symptoms Induced by Chronic Stress Are Regulated by EGR1 in a Subpopulation of Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(4), 3833. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043833
Solaguren-Beascoa, M., Gámez-Valero, A., Escaramís, G., Herrero-Lorenzo, M., Ortiz, A. M., Minguet, C., Gonzalo, R., Bravo, M. I., Costa, M., & Martí, E. (2023a). Phospho-RNA-Seq Highlights Specific Small RNA Profiles in Plasma Extracellular Vesicles. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(14), 11653. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241411653
Solaguren-Beascoa, M., Gámez-Valero, A., Escaramís, G., Herrero-Lorenzo, M., Ortiz, A. M., Minguet, C., Gonzalo, R., Bravo, M. I., Costa, M., & Martí, E. (2023b). Phospho-RNA-Seq Highlights Specific Small RNA Profiles in Plasma Extracellular Vesicles. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(14), 11653. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241411653
Solana‐Balaguer, J., Campoy‐Campos, G., Martín‐Flores, N., Pérez‐Sisqués, L., Sitjà‐Roqueta, L., Kucukerden, M., Gámez‐Valero, A., Coll‐Manzano, A., Martí, E., Pérez‐Navarro, E., Alberch, J., Soriano, J., Masana, M., & Malagelada, C. (2023). Neuron‐derived extracellular vesicles contain synaptic proteins, promote spine formation, activate TrkB‐mediated signalling and preserve neuronal complexity. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, 12(9). https://doi.org/10.1002/jev2.12355
Solana‐Balaguer, J., Martín‐Flores, N., Garcia‐Segura, P., Campoy‐Campos, G., Pérez‐Sisqués, L., Chicote‐González, A., Fernández‐Irigoyen, J., Santamaría, E., Pérez‐Navarro, E., Alberch, J., & Malagelada, C. (2023). RTP801 mediates transneuronal toxicity in culture via extracellular vesicles. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles, 12(11). https://doi.org/10.1002/jev2.12378