by admin | Nov 2, 2023
Our group is dedicated to translational research focusing on three key areas of interest. First, we investigated prognostic and predictive factors related to targeted and immune therapies. Our goal is to identify biomarkers that will help predict which patients will respond best to these therapies, allowing us to offer more personalized treatment options and improve patient outcomes.
Second, we are generating patient-derived models that are relevant for preclinical research. Finally, we are conducting preclinical and clinical evaluations of novel therapeutic strategies. We are particularly interested in developing molecular therapies targeting altered signaling pathways in pancreatic and biliary tract cancers. Our group has made significant contributions in this field, pioneering early phase clinical trials to advance anticancer strategies against cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract and associated translational studies.
by admin | Nov 2, 2023
Our group studies the role of large-scale chromosomal changes known as copy number alterations (CNA) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We combine state-of-the-art genomic engineering strategies with in vivo models of PDAC to uncover the mechanisms by which NACs enable cancer cells to spread and resist therapies.
We are particularly interested in the role of these alterations in immune surveillance, tumor heterogeneity and cancer genome evolution. Our long-term goal is to understand the complex biology of CNAs to identify new therapeutic strategies that target PDAC cells with these chromosomal aberrations.
by admin | Nov 2, 2023
The Cancer Biochemistry group is a multidisciplinary group that brings together basic and clinical cancer research, with extensive experience in glycobiology and cancer.
The group’s research focuses on the field of cancer diagnosis and therapy. Specifically, work is being done to find molecular markers that allow cancer to be diagnosed at earlier stages, where current therapies are more effective, and that can also be used to improve prognosis and tumor monitoring; and in the study of glycoenzymes involved in adhesion, migration and metastasis processes, in order to be able to influence their effects:
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- Tumor markers: Abnormal glycosylation of serum proteins as possible tumor markers of carcinomas. Currently focused on pancreatic and prostatic carcinomas, specifically on the abnormal glycosylation of serum glycoproteins overexpressed or neo-expressed in pancreatic cancer, and of PSA (prostate-specific antigen). Extensible to other glycoproteins (Targeted glycoproteomics).
- Molecular mechanisms responsible for glycosylation changes in tumors and targeted therapy against specific glycosyltransferases. Expression studies of glycosyltransferases responsible for the biosynthesis of tumor-associated glycosyl antigens, determination of their involvement in different stages of tumor progression, of the factors that regulate their expression, and analysis of the effects of inhibition of these glycosyltransferases in cellular and animal models.
by admin | Nov 2, 2023
The IN-1 Immunology research group is multidisciplinary (Medicine, Biology, Biochemistry, Pharmacy) and is an expert in basic and applied Immunology, considered a competitive reference by the Xunta de Galicia. It began in 1996 with the incorporation of Dra. África González-Fernández at the University of Vigo, creating the first and only area of Immunology in Galician universities.
Since then they have been developing projects and collaborating with various researchers at national and international level in several lines: generation of monoclonal antibodies and immunotherapy, pancreatic cancer, nanomedicine and toxicity of nanomaterials, nanovaccines, as well as theoretical immunology. In pancreatic cancer they have led projects to find an effective therapy through various routes: vaccine against KRAs, use of epigenetic inhibitor drugs in combination with chemotherapy and inhibition of activation pathways such as the YAP and FOS pathways, to reduce tumor stroma. He has developed 3D models (spheroids and organoids) of cell lines and biopsies of cancer patients, in collaboration with the biobank of the Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital in Vigo.
Dr. Africa González Fernández. Professor of Immunology (University of Vigo) and member of the RAFG. She is a Doctor in Medicine and Surgery (Univ. Alcalá de Henares, Madrid), Specialist in Immunology (via MIR, Clínica Puerta de Hierro (Madrid). She was Director of the Biomedical Research Center (CINBIO) (2009 -2019) and President of the Spanish Society of Immunology (2016-2020). He coordinates area 2 of the Instituto de Investigación sanitaria Galicia sur (IIS-GS), accredited by the ISC-III. She is co-promoter of the spin-off company NanoImmunoTech. She has received awards for her scientific and professional career and is the author of several informative books such as IMMUNO POWER: Know and strengthen your defenses.
by admin | Nov 2, 2023
The behavior of a cell type is not the same if this cell is isolated as if the same cell type is in contact with another cell type. Traditionally, cell biology has been limited to the study of a single cell type under different conditions. Recently, however, cellular communication is beginning to attract attention for its influence on cell biology.
The Tumor-Estroma Communication group aims to decipher the complicated connections between cancer cells and the stroma contained in tumors. This stroma may be composed of cells or extracellular matrix proteins. Most of our work has focused on this particularity, we have described how tumor cells alter the membrane composition of macrophages, inducing dysregulation in signaling pathways that transduce inflammatory signaling and ultimately lead to immunosuppression. We have also contributed to demonstrate how tumor cells induce endothelial cell senescence, making the endothelium more permeable and enhancing metastasis. Ultimately, our research focuses on how tumor cells and stroma interact with each other, and how this interaction may influence tumor development.
On the other hand, the group focuses on other aspects that contribute to the low overall survival characteristic of pancreatic cancer, such as cachexia. Cachexia is one of the main causes of mortality in cancer patients and is characterized by remodeling of white adipose tissue, which leads to altered lipid storage, apoptosis, inflammation and, ultimately, fibrosis of this tissue. Tissue wasting occurs in response to factors secreted by the cancer. Our group is studying the role of adipose tissue inflammation in the development of cachexia.
