When Lydia Alvarez-Erviti started her postdoctoral studies at the University of Oxford, UK, in 2008, her goal was to develop gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. She had identified her target — α-synuclein, a protein that accumulates in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease — and designed a short interfering RNA (siRNA) to reduce the […]
Read MoreVascular calcification (VC), an unpredictable pathophysiological process and critical event in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), is the leading cause of morbi-mortality and disability in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients worldwide. Currently, no diagnostic method is available for identifying patients at risk of VC development; the pathology is detected when the process is irreversible. Extracellular […]
Read MorePlasmodium vivax is the most widely distributed human malaria parasite, mostly outside sub-Saharan Africa, and responsible for millions of clinical cases yearly, including severe disease and death. The mechanisms by which P. vivax causes disease are not well understood. Recent evidence suggests that, similar to what has been observed with the more lethal P. falciparum, red blood cells infected […]
Read MoreMembrane-bound proteases play a key role in biology by degrading matrix proteins or shedding adhesion receptors. MT1-MMP metalloproteinase is critical during cancer invasion, angiogenesis, and development. MT1-MMP activity is strictly regulated by internalization, recycling, autoprocessing but also through its incorporation into tetraspanin-enriched microdomains (TEMs), into invadopodia, or by its secretion on extracellular vesicles (EVs). We […]
Read MoreRemyelination is a key aspect in multiple sclerosis pathology and a special effort is being made to promote it. However, there is still no available treatment to regenerate myelin and several strategies are being scrutinized. Myelination is naturally performed by oligodendrocytes and microRNAs have been postulated as a promising tool to induce oligodendrocyte precursor cell […]
Read MoreTwo members of GEIVEX board: Dr Falcón-Pérez and Dr Borrás, have participated in the discussion that lead to the joint statement of ISEV and ISCT on the use of EVs on COVID-19. STATEMENT: The International Society for Cellular and Gene Therapies (ISCT) and the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) recognize the potential of extracellular […]
Read MoreThe group of Isabel Guerrero at CBM-SO, has recently described how Hedgehog (Hh) signal molecules, which play a fundamental role in development, adult stem cell maintenance and cancer, can signal at a distance via a graded distribution across Drosophila epithelia that is mediated by filopodia-like structures called cytonemes. Hh reception by Patched (Ptc) happens at […]
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