A5038522127- Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
- Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer
- Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine
- Medical Imaging and Analysis
- Electrospun Nanofibers in Biomedical Applications
- Helicobacter pylori-related gastroenterology studies
- Surgical Sutures and Adhesives
- Cancer-related gene regulation
- Cell Adhesion Molecules Research
- Anesthesia and Pain Management
- Plant Toxicity and Pharmacological Properties
- Hippo pathway signaling and YAP/TAZ
- Heat shock proteins research
- Fibroblast Growth Factor Research
- Connective tissue disorders research
- Spinal Cord Injury Research
- Spinal Hematomas and Complications
- Alkaline Phosphatase Research Studies
- Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling in cancer
- Mechanisms of cancer metastasis
- Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Disease
- Cancer Mechanisms and Therapy
- Genetic and Clinical Aspects of Sex Determination and Chromosomal Abnormalities
Universidade do Porto
2014-2025
i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto
2015-2025
Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Mangement
2022-2024
Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo
2009-2015
Google (United States)
2015
IPO Porto
2015
Hadassah Medical Center
2012
Universidad Pablo de Olavide
2009-2011
Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is often the cause of low back pain. Degeneration occurs with age and accompanied by extracellular matrix (ECM) depletion, culminating in nucleus pulpous (NP) extrusion IVD destruction. The changes that occur have been under investigation. However, a thorough study ECM profiling needed, to better understand development age-associated degeneration. As so, iTRAQ LC-MS/MS analysis foetus, young old bovine NPs, was performed define NP matrisome. enrichment...
Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is characterized by significant biochemical and histomorphological alterations, such as loss of extracellular matrix (ECM) integrity, abnormal synthesis ECM main components, resultant from altered anabolic/catabolic cell activities death. Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cell (MSC) migration towards degenerated IVD may represent a viable strategy to promote tissue repair/regeneration. Here, human MSCs (hMSCs) were seeded on top cartilaginous endplates (CEP)...
<h3>Background</h3> Gastric cancer (GC) is a highly prevalent disease, being the fourth most common and second leading cause of cancer-associated deaths worldwide. Although many genes have been implicated in its development, cases remain genetically unexplained. Hence, there an urgent need to find new disease-related genes. <h3>Methods</h3> A transgenic <i>Drosophila</i> model was used screen for novel putatively involved GC. The authors evaluated expression interesting candidates GC cell...
Genome editing technologies, particularly CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), have broadened the possibilities of genetic research and molecular biology by enabling precise modifications genome, offering novel therapeutic potential for various disorders. Herein, we present an overview traditional genome techniques delve deeper into toolbox, with particular attention given to epigenetic transcriptional regulation. In context intervertebral disc (IVD), offers...
Epithelial-cadherin (Ecad) deregulation affects cell-cell adhesion and results in increased invasiveness of distinct human carcinomas. In gastric cancer, loss Ecad expression is a common event associated with disease aggressiveness poor prognosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying invasive process to dysfunction are far from understood. We hypothesized that cell-matrix interactions could play an important role during this process. Thus, we focussed on LM-332, which major matrix...
Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been increasingly used in clinical trials for low-back pain (LBP) and intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration with promising results. Their action mechanisms are not fully understood, but they reduce IVD pro-inflammatory markers a pro-inflammatory/degenerative microenvironment. In this study the therapeutic potential of MSC secretome, as an alternative cell-free approach treating degenerated IVDs, was examined. Human bone marrow-derived secretome...
Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration and herniation is a leading cause of disability globally large unmet clinical need. No efficient non-surgical therapy available, there an urgency for minimally invasive therapies capable restoring tissue function. IVD spontaneous hernia regression following conservative treatment clinically relevant phenomenon that has been linked to inflammatory response. This study establishes the central role macrophages in provides first preclinical demonstration...
E-cadherin (Ecad) is a well-known invasion suppressor and its loss of expression common in invasive carcinomas. Germline Ecad mutations are the only known genetic cause hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC), demonstrating causative role impairment cancer. HDGC-associated missense can lead to folding defects premature proteasome-dependent endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD), but molecular determinants for this fate were unidentified. Using Drosophila-based screen, we found...
Wnt molecules act as mitogenic signals during the development of multiple organs, and aberrant activity their pathway is often associated with cancer. Therefore, production Wnts signaling must be tightly regulated. We have investigated mechanisms this regulation in Drosophila hinge, a domain within wing imaginal disc that depends on fly Wnt1 ortholog wingless (wg) for its proliferation. Our results uncover new feedback loop wg which spatially restricted activation Sox gene SoxF (Sox15) by...
Abstract Aging is one of the major etiological factors driving intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration, main cause low back pain. The nucleus pulposus (NP) includes a heterogeneous cell population, which still poorly characterized. Here, we aimed to uncover alterations in NP cells with aging. For that, bovine coccygeal discs from young (12 months) and old (10–16 years old) animals were dissected primary isolated. Gene expression proteomics fresh performed. labelled propidium iodide analysed...
Abstract Intervertebral Disc (IVD) degeneration has been associated with a chronic inflammatory response, but knowledge on the contribution of distinct IVD cells, namely CD44, to progression remains elusive. Here, bovine nucleus pulposus (NP) CD44 cells were sorted and compared by gene expression proteomics negative counterpart. NP then stimulated IL-1b (10 ng/ml) dynamics protein was analyzed upon pro-inflammatory treatment. The results emphasize that multidimensional functional role in...
Mutations in the <i>CDH1</i> gene, which encodes cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin, are associated with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer humans. Although most of mutations found truncating, leading to non-functional some missense. These missense E-cadherin mutants result full-length proteins which, when assayed culture, still retain biological activity. In order understand molecular causes malfunction forms patients, we developed a <i>Drosophila</i> model, where effects expressing mutant...
With the lack of effective treatments for low back pain, use extracellular matrix (ECM)-based biomaterials have emerged with undeniable promise IVD regeneration. Decellularized scaffolds can recreate an ideal microenvironment inducing tissue remodeling and repair. In particular, fetal tissues a superior regenerative capacity given their ECM composition. line this, we unraveled age-associated alterations nucleus pulposus (NP) matrisome. Thus, aim present work was to evaluate impact donor age...
Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is characterized by tissue loss of function and major structural changes, which can lead to Low Back Pain. Current treatments fail tackle the disc's hindered degenerative alterations. Our goal promote IVD regeneration, through recapitulation a fetal-like microenvironment based on tailored cell-derived matrix (CDM), rich in two fetal exclusive collagens – COLXII COLXIV. We hypothesize that this engineered CDM will have pro-regenerative potential allow...
Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is the most frequent cause of Low Back Pain (LBP) affecting nearly 80% population [1]. Current treatments fail to restore a functional IVD or provide long-term solution, so, there an urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. We have defined extracellular matrix (ECM) profile, showing that pro-regenerative molecules Collagen type XII and XIV, are uniquely expressed during fetal stages [2]. Now we propose first injectable biomaterial regenerate IVD....