How tumor cells hijack healthy cells to promote metastasis Blog Post

A team of researchers led by Xavier Trepat –ICREA research professor at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) based at PCB– has identified a mechanism by which cancer cells manage to escape the tumor to promote metastasis. The study, which was published today and will be on the cover of the prestigious journal Nature Cell Biology (doi:10.1038/ncb3478), and has been supported by the Obra Social “la Caixa”, revealed that tumor cells can reprogramme their healthy neighbours, dragging them out of the tumor and into other tissues.

 

IBEC will coordinate a € 3.5M EU project to train experts in advanced microscopy Blog Post

IBEC‘s Nanoscale Bioelectrical Characterization group at PCB has been awarded 3.6 million euros to coordinate the SPM2.0 project in the framework of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (MSCA-ITN-ETN). The ten consortium members of the SPM2.0 European Training Network – located in Spain, France, Austria, the UK and Italy – will be able to provide researchers with state-of-the-art multidisciplinary scientific training in the field of Scanning Probe Microscopes (SPM), covering basic science to industrial applications, which should enable them to generate new scientific knowledge.

 

The fly reveals a new signal involved in limb growth Blog Post

Researchers from IRB Barcelona at the Barcelona Science Park identify a fundamental role of the JAK/STAT signalling pathway in the development and growth regulation of limbs in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. 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.

 

Tumour cells are dependent on fat to start metastasis Blog Post

A study headed by Salvador Aznar Benitah, ICREA researcher at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) in the Barcelona Science Park, and published today in Nature, identifies metastasis-initiating cells through a specific marker, namely the protein CD36. 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. IRB Barcelona will co-develop antibodies against CD36 with the potential to treat patients.

 

New computational method to create drugs more efficiently Blog Post

Researchers of the University of Barcelona proposes in a study published in the scientific journal Nature Chemistry, a new way of facing the discovery of molecules with biological activity. Since it is based on a different principle, this method complements conventional tools and allows going forward in the path of rational drug design. ICREA researcher Xavier Barril, from the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB) –located at PCB– has led this project, which has the participation of professor Francesc Xavier Luque and PhD student Sergio Ruiz Carmona, members of the same Faculty. 

 

Structural biologists endorse the potential of their field to extract quality information from big data Blog Post

From the massive data obtained from genomic analysis down to the most intricate details of individual proteins. This is precisely what will be addressed by invited speakers in the next Barcelona Biomed Conference, to be held from today 28 to 30 November at the Institut d’Estudis Catalans. Entitled From genomes to structures: looking at big data with an atomic perspective” and organised by IRB Barcelona, based at PCB, and the BBVA Foundation, this event is the 29th in this series of think-tank gatherings.

 

Towards a better understanding of the puzzling “droplets” in the cell cytoplasm Blog Post

A study at IRB Barcelona, located at PCB, 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.

 

Omega-3 fatty acids stimulate brown adipose tissue metabolism Blog Post

Omega-3 fatty acids are able to stimulate the activation of brown and beige adipose tissues, a discovery that would promote the development of new therapies for obesity and other metabolism diseases, according to a research study published in the journal Nature Communications under the supervision of Professor Francesc Villarroya, from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine and member of the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB) –located at PCB– and the Biomedical Research Center Red-Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN) of the Institute of Health Carlos III.