These comprise a small group of passive stem cells—quiescent—that are activated when needed and have the capacity to produce any kind of intestinal cell.
Quiescent cells are relevant for tissue regeneration and for their participation in tumour development.
Researchers headed by IRB Barcelona combine genetic engineering, super-resolution microscopy and biocomputation to allow them to see in 3D the protein machinery inside living cells
Published in the journal Cell, the study unveils key functional features of an assembly of proteins that is vital for animals and plants.
With this new strategy in hand, it will be possible to study cellular protein machinery in health and in disease.
It is a disease of the liver caused by excessive fat deposits in liver cells.
It is now the most prevalent chronic liver disease in industrialised countries and is a major public health concern because it leads to serious liver conditions.
The international team achieved it by discovering the rules behind a type of protein structures that are essential for the interaction between proteins and small molecules
IRB Barcelona researcher, Enrique Marcos, is the first author of the study published today in Science
Researchers at IRB Barcelona identify a fundamental role of the JAK/STAT signalling pathway in the development and growth regulation of limbs in Drosophila.
Published in Nature Communications, the study paves the way to research into the function of this pathway in vertebrate development and its possible involvement in human congenital diseases.
A bioinformatics analysis of pairing 64 drugs used to treat breast cancer allows researchers at IRB Barcelona to identify 10 previously untested combinations with potential to tackle resistance to breast cancer treatment.
In spite of the many drugs available to treat breast cancer, resistance continues to be a problem.
Compound IPR19, a drug to stop the progression and reverse the cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia.
A study at IRB Barcelona has identified the cells responsible for initiating and promoting metastasis in several types of human tumours.
Their results show that the protein CD36, which absorbs fat from the cell membrane, is an essential factor that determines whether tumour cells become metastatic.
In the absence of CD36, the human tumours analysed did not develop metastasis. In addition, the inhibition of this protein also dramatically reduced the size of existing metastases.
Mice given a high-fat diet developed the most aggressive metastases. The study reports that the metastatic process is enhanced by fat intake.
IRB Barcelona will co-develop antibodies against CD36 with the potential to treat patients.
A study at IRB Barcelona sheds light on the dynamics of protein aggregates that behave like “droplets of oil in water” and that are described as membraneless cytoplasmic organelles.
These organelles regulate protein activity during cell division.
This is the first study at the Institute to address the so-called liquid-like droplets, which are attracting the attention of researchers worldwide.
Researchers working with flies at IRB Barcelona describe that the concentration of some small intracellular organelles determines the branching capacity of tracheal cells.
Tracheal cells are analogous to the cells that form blood vessels in the human body. The inhibition or stimulation of new blood vessels has implications in cancer and in tissue regeneration.
