Neuropharmacology and Pain
The research conducted in our group is mainly focused on seeking new pharmacological strategies to reach an effective management of neurological, neuropsychiatric and pain diseases. Our aim consists of providing a deep mechanistic understanding of neurotransmitter receptors functioning which may help to design combined therapies or oligomer-tailored drugs in the near future. In addition, our interests include the development and implementation of novel biotechnological methodologies (e.g. fluorescence based biosensors, photopharmacology, etc.) that may eventually evolve into new tools for both the study and diagnostic of diseases. Finally, our main goal is the translation of our results from the bench to the bedside and to clinical practice. Accordingly, to translate basic scientific findings into therapeutic interventions for patients we are also involved in clinical pharmacology studies, specially pharmacoepidemiological studies and clinical trials.
Principal Investigators
Ester Aso
Associate Professor
Jordi Bonaventura
Ramon y Cajal Researcher (Assistant Professor)
Francisco Ciruela
Full Professor
Victor Fernandez-Dueñas
Associate Professor
Africa Flores
Assistant Professor
Technologies & Methods
- Molecular and in cell studies: Drug design, GPCR structure-activity relationship, BRET, FRET, TR-FRET, biosensors, real-time single cell FRET, NanoBRET, fluorescent ligands, photopharmacology, primary neuronal cultures and brain slices, electrophysiology
- In animal studies: Pharmacological and genetic animal models for neurological diseases and pain (i.e., Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, schizophrenia, and pain). Knock-out animals for GPCRs
- In human studies: Peripheral and central biomarkers for neurological diseases, epidemiological studies
Research Team
Maria Laura Cuffi
Associate Professor
Pilar Hereu
Lecturer
Kristoffer Sahlholm
Postdoctoral Researcher
Josep Argerich
Postdoctoral Researcher
Laura Gomez-Acero
Early Stage Researcher
Nuria Sanchez
Early Stage Researcher
Laura Isabel Sarasola
Early Stage Researcher
Salut Sanchez
Technician
Arianna Rizzo
Early Stage Researcher
Montse Flores García
Early Stage Researcher
Amelie Essman
Early Stage Researcher
Maria Zelai Garçon Poca
Early Stage Researcher
Glòria Salort
Postdoctoral Researcher
Alejandro Martín
Postdoctoral Researcher
Marc López Cano
Technician
Paula Alvarez Montonya
Early Stage Researcher
Thiago Carnaval
Early Stage Researcher
Active Projects
Dinámica de los agregados macromoleculares de heteroreceptores de dopamina-adenosina en esquizofrenia y trastornos neurodegenerativos
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2020-118511RB-I00. Francisco Ciruela.
DESCIFRANDO LAS ACCIONES FARMACOLOGICAS DE LA KETAMINA EN LOS RECEPTORES DE OPIOIDES
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN). PID2020-117989RA-I00. Jordi Bonaventura.
Selected publications
Bonaventura, J., Gomez, J. L., Carlton, M. L., Lam, S., Sanchez-Soto, M., Morris, P. J., Moaddel, R., Kang, H. J., Zanos, P., Gould, T. D., Thomas, C. J., Sibley, D. R., Zarate, C. A., & Michaelides, M. (2022). Target deconvolution studies of (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine: an elusive search. Molecular Psychiatry, 27(10), 4144–4156. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-022-01673-w
Ciruela, F., & Jacobson, K. A. (2022). Optical Control of Adenosine A3 Receptor Signaling: Towards a Multimodal Phototherapy in Psoriasis? Frontiers in Immunology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2022.904762
Fernández-Dueñas, V., Bonaventura, J., Aso, E., Luján, R., Ferré, S., & Ciruela, F. (2022). Overcoming the Challenges of Detecting GPCR Oligomerization in the Brain. Current Neuropharmacology, 20(6), 1035–1045. https://doi.org/10.2174/1570159X19666211104145727
Ferré, S., Belcher, A. M., Bonaventura, J., Quiroz, C., Sánchez-Soto, M., Casadó-Anguera, V., Cai, N.-S., Moreno, E., Boateng, C. A., Keck, T. M., Florán, B., Earley, C. J., Ciruela, F., Casadó, V., Rubinstein, M., & Volkow, N. D. (2022). Functional and pharmacological role of the dopamine D4 receptor and its polymorphic variants. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.1014678
Gambino, G., Giglia, G., Gallo, D., Scordino, M., Giardina, C., Zuccarini, M., Di Iorio, P., Giuliani, P., Ciruela, F., Ferraro, G., Mudò, G., Sardo, P., & Di Liberto, V. (2022). Guanosine modulates K+ membrane currents in SH-SY5Y cells: involvement of adenosine receptors. Pflügers Archiv – European Journal of Physiology, 474(11), 1133–1145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00424-022-02741-4
Garozzo, R., Zuccarini, M., Giuliani, P., Di Liberto, V., Mudò, G., Caciagli, F., Ciccarelli, R., Ciruela, F., Di Iorio, P., & Condorelli, D. F. (2022). Guanine inhibits the growth of human glioma and melanoma cell lines by interacting with GPR23. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2022.970891
Herraiz-Martínez, A., Tarifa, C., Jiménez-Sábado, V., Llach, A., Godoy-Marín, H., Colino-Lage, H., Nolla-Colomer, C., Casabella-Ramon, S., Izquierdo-Castro, P., Benítez, I., Benítez, R., Roselló-Díez, E., Rodríguez-Font, E., Viñolas, X., Ciruela, F., Cinca, J., & Hove-Madsen, L. (2022). Influence of sex on intracellular calcium homoeostasis in patients with atrial fibrillation. Cardiovascular Research, 118(4), 1033–1045. https://doi.org/10.1093/cvr/cvab127
Isorna, M., Pascual, F., Aso, E., & Arias, F. (2022). Impacto de la legalización del consumo recreativo del cannabis. Adicciones. https://doi.org/10.20882/adicciones.1694
Levinstein, M. R., Carlton, M. L., Di Ianni, T., Ventriglia, E. N., Rizzo, A., Gomez, J. L., Budinich, R. C., Shaham, Y., Airan, R. D., Zarate, C. A., Bonaventura, J., & Michaelides, M. (2023). Mu Opioid Receptor Activation Mediates (S)-ketamine Reinforcement in Rats: Implications for Abuse Liability. Biological Psychiatry, 93(12), 1118–1126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.12.019
Martín-Belmonte, A., Aguado, C., Alfaro-Ruiz, R., Moreno-Martínez, A. E., de la Ossa, L., Aso, E., Gómez-Acero, L., Shigemoto, R., Fukazawa, Y., Ciruela, F., & Luján, R. (2022). Nanoscale alterations in GABAB receptors and GIRK channel organization on the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 14(1), 136. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-022-01078-5
Parameswaran, J., Goicoechea, L., Planas-Serra, L., Pastor, A., Ruiz, M., Calingasan, N. Y., Guilera, C., Aso, E., Boada, J., Pamplona, R., Portero-Otín, M., de la Torre, R., Ferrer, I., Casasnovas, C., Pujol, A., & Fourcade, S. (2022). Activating cannabinoid receptor 2 preserves axonal health through GSK-3β/NRF2 axis in adrenoleukodystrophy. Acta Neuropathologica, 144(2), 241–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-022-02451-2
Prieto-Díaz, R., González-Gómez, M., Fojo-Carballo, H., Azuaje, J., El Maatougui, A., Majellaro, M., Loza, M. I., Brea, J., Fernández-Dueñas, V., Paleo, M. R., Díaz-Holguín, A., Garcia-Pinel, B., Mallo-Abreu, A., Estévez, J. C., Andújar-Arias, A., García-Mera, X., Gomez-Tourino, I., Ciruela, F., Salas, C. O., … Sotelo, E. (2023). Exploring the Effect of Halogenation in a Series of Potent and Selective A 2B Adenosine Receptor Antagonists. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 66(1), 890–912. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01768
Romero-Fernandez, W., Taura, J. J., Crans, R. A. J., Lopez-Cano, M., Fores-Pons, R., Narváez, M., Carlsson, J., Ciruela, F., Fuxe, K., & Borroto-Escuela, D. O. (2022). The mGlu5 Receptor Protomer-Mediated Dopamine D2 Receptor Trans-Inhibition Is Dependent on the Adenosine A2A Receptor Protomer: Implications for Parkinson’s Disease. Molecular Neurobiology, 59(10), 5955–5969. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-022-02946-9
Sarasola, L. I., del Torrent, C. L., Pérez-Arévalo, A., Argerich, J., Casajuana-Martín, N., Chevigné, A., Fernández-Dueñas, V., Ferré, S., Pardo, L., & Ciruela, F. (2022). The ADORA1 mutation linked to early-onset Parkinson’s disease alters adenosine A1-A2A receptor heteromer formation and function. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 156, 113896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2022.113896
Skopál, A., Kéki, T., Tóth, P. Á., Csóka, B., Koscsó, B., Németh, Z. H., Antonioli, L., Ivessa, A., Ciruela, F., Virág, L., Haskó, G., & Kókai, E. (2022). Cathepsin D interacts with adenosine A2A receptors in mouse macrophages to modulate cell surface localization and inflammatory signaling. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 298(5), 101888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2022.101888