SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH PROJECT

The goal of our laboratory is to develop new chemical technologies for functional imaging of specific molecular processes happening in the brain.
Chemical Biology combines the approaches of chemistry, biology and related disciplines to understand and manipulate biological systems with molecular precision. Through the application of chemical techniques we can study and modulate biological systems to study the underlying biology or create new functions.
Brain function can be studied and manipulated by controlling the chemistry of the brain. Neurons have receptors that are sensitive to specific neurotransmitters, such as glutamate, which is the main neurotransmitter in the brain and is involved in important brain functions. Imbalances in the levels of glutamate have been associated with important neurological disorders. From a chemical approach, we pretend to develop and validate new contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging that allow visualization of glutamatergic function in vivo.

PUBLICATIONS

Hsieh, V.; Okada, S.; Wei, H.; García-Álvarez, I.; Barandov, A.; Alvarado, S.R.; Ohlendorf, R.; Fan, J.; Ortega, A.; Jasanoff, A. Neurotransmitter-Responsive Nanosensors for T2 Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Journal of American Chemical Society, 2019, 141, 15751-15754.

Avia, M.; Rojas, J.M.; Miorin, L.; Pascual, E.; Van Rijn, P.A.; Martín, V.; García‐Sastre, A.; Sevilla, N. Virus‐induced autophagic degradation of STAT2 as a mechanism for interferon signaling blockade. EMBO Rep 2019, e48766, doi: 10.15252/embr.201948766.

Groult, H.; Garcia-Alvarez, I.; Romero-Ramírez, L.; Nieto-Sampedro, M.; Herranz, F.; Fernandez-Mayoralas, A.; Ruiz-Cabello, J. Micellar Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Coated with Anti-Tumor Glycosides. Nanomaterials 2018, 8, 567, doi:10.3390/nano8080567.

Punzon, E.; Garcia-Alvarado, F.; Maroto, M.; Fernandez-Mendivil, C.; Michalska, P.; Garcia-Alvarez, I.; Alberto Arranz-Tagarro, J.; Buendia, I.; Lopez, M. G.; Leon, R.; Gandia, L.; Fernandez-Mayoralas, A.; Garcia, A. G. Novel sulfoglycolipid IG20 causes neuroprotection by activating the phase II antioxidant response in rat hippocampal slices. Neuropharmacology 2017, 116, 110-121.

Pintado-Sierra, M.; Garcia-Alvarez, I.; Bribian, A.; Medina-Rodriguez, E. M.; Lebron-Aguilar, R.; Garrido, L.; de Castro, F.; Fernandez-Mayoralas, A.; Quintanilla-Lopez, J. A comprehensive profiling of sulfatides in myelin from mouse brain using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution accurate tandem mass spectrometry. Anal. Chim. Acta 2017, 951, 89-98.

Yañez-Ñeco C.V., Rodríguez-Colinas B., Amaya-Delgado L., Ballesteros A.O., Gschaedler A., Plou F.J., Arrizon J.Galactooligosaccharide production from Pantoea anthophilastrains isolated from “tejuino”, a Mexican traditional fermented beverage. Catalysts, 2017, 7, 1-11.

Nieto-Domínguez M., de Eugenio L.I., York-Durán M.J., Rodriguez-Colinas B, Plou F.J., Chenoll E., Pardo E., Codoñer F., Martínez M.J. .Prebiotic effect of xylooligosaccharides produced from birchwood xylan by a novel fungal GH11 xylanase. Food Chemistry. 2017, 232, 105-113.

Pascual E, Mata CP, Carrascosa JL, Castón JR. Assembly/disassembly of a complex icosahedral virus to incorporate heterologous nucleic acids. J Phys Condens Matter. 2017, 29, 494001.

Rojas JM, Avia M, Pascual E, Sevilla N, Martín V. Vaccination with recombinant adenovirus expressing peste des petits ruminants virus-F or -H proteins elicits T cell responses to epitopes that arises during PPRV infection. Vet Res. 2017, 21, 79.

Rodriguez-Colinas, B.; Fernandez-Arrojo, L.; Santos-Moriano, P.; Ballesteros, A.O.; Plou, F.J. Continuous Packed Bed Reactor with Immobilized β-Galactosidase for Production of Galactooligosaccharides (GOS). Catalysts 2016, 6, 189.

Martín, V., Pascual, E., Avia, M.; Rangel, R,de Molina, A., Alejo, A., Sevilla, N. A Recombinant Adenovirus Expressing Ovine Interferon Tau Prevents Influenza Virus-InducedLethality in Mice. J. Virol. 2016, 90, 3783-3788.

Crespo-Castrillo, A.; Punzon, E.; de Pascual, R.; Maroto, M.; Fernando Padin, J.; Garcia-Alvarez, I.; Nanclares, C.; Ruiz-Pascual, L.; Gandia, L.; Fernandez-Mayoralas, A.; Garcia, A. G. Novel synthetic sulfoglycolipid IG20 facilitates exocytosis in chromaffin cells through the regulation of sodium channels. J Neurochem 2015, 135, 880-896.

Garcia-Alvarez, I.; Fernandez-Mayoralas, A.; Moreno-Lillo, S.; Sanchez-Sierra, M.; Nieto-Sampedro, M.; Doncel-Perez, E. Inhibition of glial proliferation, promotion of axonal growth and myelin production by synthetic glycolipid: A new approach for spinal cord injury treatment. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience 2015, 33, 895-910.

Romero-Ramirez, L.; Garcia-Alvarez, I.; Casas, J.; Asuncion Barreda-Manso, M.; Yanguas-Casas, N.; Nieto-Sampedro, M.; Fernandez-Mayoralas, A. New oleyl glycoside as anti-cancer agent that targets on neutral sphingomyelinase. Biochemical Pharmacology 2015, 97, 158-172.

Sanchez-Sierra, M.; Garcia-Alvarez, I.; Fernandez-Mayoralas, A.; Moreno-Lillo, S.; Barroso Garcia, G.; Moral Darde, V.; Doncel-Perez, E. Mass Spectrometry in Pharmacokinetic Studies of a Synthetic Compound for Spinal Cord Injury Treatment BioMed Research International 2015,169234.

Santos-Moriano, P.; Fernandez-Arrojo, L.; Rodriguez-Colinas, B.; Ballesteros, A.O.; Plou, F.J. Enzymatic synthesis of fructooligosaccharides that stimulate the gut microbiota. Anales de la Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia 2015, 81, 48-62.

Fernandez-Arrojo, L.; Santos-Moriano, P.; Rodriguez-Colinas, B.; Ballesteros, A.O.; Plou, F.J. Micro-scale procedure for enzyme immobilization screening and operational stability assays. Biotechnol Lett  2015, 37, 1593-1600.

Plou, F.J.; Rodriguez-Colinas, B.; Fernandez-Arrojo, L.; Ballesteros, A.O. Low-lactose prebiotic enriched milk. “Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics; bioactive foods in health promotion” 2015. Ed. Elsevier.

Martín, V., Pascual, E., Avia, M, Peña L., Valcarcel F., Sevilla N. Protective Efficacy in Sheep of Adenovirus-Vectored Vaccines against Bluetongue Virus Is Associated with Specific T Cell Responses. PLoS One 2015,10, e0143273.

Crespo-Castrillo, A.; Punzon-Fernandez, E.; de Pascual, R.; Maroto, M.; Ruiz-Pascual, L.; Calvo-Gallardo, E.; Fernandez-Mayoralas, A.; Garcia-Alvarez, I.; Garcia, A. G. IG20, a new glycolipid, increases the membrane excitability and exocytosis in chromaffin cells. Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology 2014, 115, 44-44.

Rodriguez-Colinas, B.; Fernandez-Arrojo, L.; Ballesteros, A.O.; Plou, F. J. Galacto-oligosaccharides formation during enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose: towards a prebiotic‑enriched milk. Food Chemistry 2014, 145, 388-394.

Pascual, E., Mata, C.P., Gómez-Blanco, J., Moreno, N., Bárcena, J., Blanco, E., Rodríguez, J. F., Rodríguez-Fresden, A., Nieto, A., Carrascosa, J.L., Castón, J.R. Structural basis for development of avian virus capsids to display influenza virus proteins for induction of protective immunity. J. Virol. 2014, 89, 2563-74.

Hernando-Pérez M, Pascual E, Aznar M, Ionel A, Castón JR, Luque A, Carrascosa JL, Reguera D, de Pablo PJ. The interplay between between mechanics and stability of viral protein cages. Nanoscale 2014, 6, 2702-9.