Research

Area 5

Cell proliferation and signaling.

Team leader

  • Oriol Bachs
    (Facultat de Medicina)

Strategic objectives

The general goal of the group is the analysis of the mechanisms involved in cell cycle progression and signaling in health and disease.

Main lines of research

  1. Cell proliferation and Cancer: The objective of this line of research is the analysis of the mechanisms involved in cell cycle regulation and its alterations during tumorigenesis:
    • Role of the CKI p27(Kip1) on the regulation of transcription, splicing and translation of genes involved in tumorigenesis
    • Cell cycle regulation by protein acetylation
    • Role of calmodulin in nuclear functions
    • Cell cycle: signal transduction and checkpoints: The main topics in this research line are the analysis of: the regulation of the functionality of K-Ras by Calmodulin-binding and by phosphorylation; the regulation of p21CIP1 localization and the relevance of its binding to calmodulin and its phosphorylation; and, the DNA replication checkpoint in not transformed versus transformed cell lines.
    • Signaling and regulation of the cell cycle: In eukaryotic organisms, the response to stress insults is through the activation of the MAP kinases pathway, Progression through the cell cycle is dependent on external stimuli and failure to correctly integrate the induced signals can lead to accumulation of genetic damage contributing to cancer development. Understanding how signaling networks and the cellular responses are regulated is one of the most crucial objectives in biomedical research.The aim of this research focuses on identifying the molecular mechanisms by which cell cycle is regulated by stress-activated protein kinases.
    • Endocytosis, membrane trafficking and signaling: This line of research include the following activities:
      • Study of endocytosis and membrane trafficking in polarized cells, such as hepatocytes and in non-polarized cells
      • Study the role of calmodulin in the regulation of trafficking and signalling of EGFR
      • Study the role of Annexin A6 in the transport of caveolin, the formation of caveolae, homeostasis of cholesterol and signaling of Ras/MAPK.
    • Lipid trafficking and storage: The aim of our project is to characterize in health and disease, the cellular processes regulated or deregulated by the accumulation of lipids within cells. With an special attention to the cellular cost of accumulation of cholesterol in the organelles and the role of the caveolin protein in the regulation of these mechanisms.