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Uraemic toxins impair skeletal muscle regeneration by inhibiting myoblast proliferation, reducing myogenic differentiation, and promoting muscular fibrosis

Elena Alcalde‑Estévez, Patricia Sosa, Ana Asenjo‑Bueno, Patricia Plaza, Gemma Olmos, Manuel Naves‑Díaz, Diego Rodríguez‑Puyol, Susana López‑Ongil & María P. Ruiz‑Torres, are the authors of an article recently published in the Journal Scientific Reports, of Nature Research, ·mentioning the collaboration in the investigation of the ICTS “NANBIOSIS” U17 Confocal Microscopy Service of CIBER-BNN and the University of Alcalá.

Uremic toxins (UT) increase in the serum in parallel with a decrease in the glomerular filtration rate and the development of sarcopenia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

This study analyses the role of UTs in sarcopenia associated with CKD in different stages of the disease.

Immunofluorescence and senescence assays were visualised using a Leica SP5 confocal microscope (Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany), through the Unit 17 Confocal Microscopy Service of the ICTS ‘NANBIOSIS’)

Through confocal microscopy studies in C2C12 cells (myoblasts), the role of high concentrations of UT in different mechanisms involved in the biology of skeletal muscle cells was observed. It was observed that they did not induce senescence (associated with beta-galactatosidase activity), but they did decrease the proliferative capacity of myoblasts, preventing the cells from entering the mitosis phase in a step prior to the condensation of chromosomes. Also, through confocal microscopy studies, it was determined that low concentrations of UT hindered myogenic differentiation of myoblasts in culture and promoted the expression of fibrosis markers” – explains Isabel Trabado, Technical Coordinator of NANBIOSIS U17

Article of reference: Alcalde-Estévez, E., Sosa, P., Asenjo-Bueno, A. et al. Uraemic toxins impair skeletal muscle regeneration by inhibiting myoblast proliferation, reducing myogenic differentiation, and promoting muscular fibrosis. Sci Rep 11, 512 (2021). [DOI] 

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Elena Aznar Gimeno (NANBIOSIS U26) leads a CIBER-BBN transfer project.

The CIBER-BBN transfer program, with its call for transfer projects, has selected two projects for next year with the aim of promoting the transfer of scientific or technological results, derived from the research carried out by the CIBER-BBN groups, to the industrial sector.

One of these projects selected is directed by Elena Aznar Gimeno, researcher from the group led by Ramon Martínez Máñez at the IDM-Polytechnic University of Valencia, together with an external group led by Javier Pemán García, from the La Fe Health Research Institute From Valencia.

The project has been jointly financed by CIBER-BBN and a company interested in the technology and will count with the participation of NANBIOSIS Unit 26 Biomedical Applications II

The CIBER-BBN call for transfer projects, which is now in its eighth edition, has financed fourteen projects with as many companies since its creation.

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Collaboration of two NANBIOSIS units in the Valorisation Project “ADVERT”

The Project ADVERT (Advanced Extracellular Vesicles for Enzyme Replacement Therapy) is a research valorisation project recently granted by CIBER.

The project pursues to advance the development of extracellular vesicles as treatments for lysosomal diseases, specially to bring new therapies to treat FABRY disease.

The ADVERT Project will count on the active particpation of two NANBIOSIS units of CIBER-BBN:

The project will be financed with € 20,000.

The CIBER-BBN transfer program

The CIBER-BBN transfer program through its call for transfer and valorization projects has been designed to promote the transfer to the industrial sector of scientific or technological results derived from the research carried out by the CIBER-BBN groups. These transfer projects will make it possible to support the commercialization of said results, since there is a company that has shown interest in them and that provides at least, the same financing than CIBER-BBN for their achievement.

The call for valorisation projects is in its fourth edition, having already financed a total of fourteen projects.

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Participation of NANBIOSIS U25 in the Valorisation Project MR-INITIATE

The Unit 25 of the ICTS NANBIOSIS will be enrolled, through its scientific coordinator Ana Paula Candiota, in a research valorisation project recently granted by CIBER: “Noninvasive MR-based ImagiNg of Immune sysTem action during glIoblastomA TreatmEnt (MR-INITIATE)”

Such project has the aim to increase the TRL of therapy response follow-up methods in glioblastomas, using technological approaches performed at  U25 of NANBIOSIS NMR: Biomedical Applications I

The project will be financed with € 20,000.

The CIBER-BBN transfer program

The CIBER-BBN transfer program through its call for transfer and valorization projects has been designed to promote the transfer to the industrial sector of scientific or technological results derived from the research carried out by the CIBER-BBN groups. These transfer projects will make it possible to support the commercialization of said results, since there is a company that has shown interest in them and that provides at least, the same financing than CIBER-BBN for their achievement.

The call for valorization projects is in its fourth edition, having already financed a total of fourteen projects.

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Launching the Preliminary Market Consultation Webinar of the TREMIRS Project: Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgical Systems

Cáceres, April 15th, 2021

The CCMIJU, as a beneficiary of the Innovative Public Procurement Program of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, through the project “Minimally Invasive Robotic Surgery Systems” (TREMIRS), will invest € 7,345,300 in the development of innovative solutions in surgical robotics to improve services provided to the patient, the surgeon’s ergonomics and offer greater benefits to the surgical team, thus achieving an increase in the quality of healthcare.

This ambitious challenge, 80% co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the Programa Operativo Plurirregional de España (POPE) 2014-2020 and by the Consejería de Economía, Ciencia y Agenda Digital de la Junta de Extremadura, will last three years and will develop two innovative solutions in the field of surgical robotics, one focused on laparoscopic robotic surgery and the other on microsurgical robotics.

The first solution will facilitate new surgical approaches, provide improvements in surgeon ergonomics, advances in surgical assistance systems, and new portable training tools. The second will implement robotic micro-instruments for soft tissue manipulation and for performing microsurgical techniques such as anastomosis, suturing and ligation on small anatomical structures such as blood vessels, nerves and lymphatic ducts.

The development of both platforms will provide the National Health System and the Extremadura Health Service new equipment that is not currently available on the market and that will improve the quality of patient services and surgical results.

The project is currently in the preliminary market consultation phase as a prior action to the Innovative Public Procurement procedure for the aforementioned solutions. The purpose of this consultation is to obtain information about innovative solutions that respond to the challenges of the project through technologies that exceed the benefits of the existing ones. The results of this consultation will allow us to define the technical and functional specifications of the solutions to be achieved with a subsequent public procurement process.

You can find more information about the project and the preliminary market consultation at the free webinar on April 21, 2021 at 10:00 am.

Registration: https://www.ayming.es/insights-y-noticias/eventos/jornada-presentacion-consulta-preliminar-mercado-proyecto-tremirs-sistemas-cirugia-robotica-minima-invasion/

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New organ-on-chip models provide new information for targeted treatments in personalised medicine

Xavi Illa, Gemma Gabriel, Mar Alvarez and Rosa Villa, researchers of NANBIOSIS ICTS U8 Micro– Nano Technology Unit (from CIBER-BBN and the IMB-CNM-CSIC). are co-authors of two reviews that summarise the latest efforts in organ-on-chip technologies to emulate in vitro microfluidic systems. These devices are an opportunity to evolve the fields of biofabrication and sensing technology.

Organ-on-chip (OOC) technology has been an efficient tool in modern research to substitute laboratory mice and simulate tissue and organ-level physiology and function. In particular, these in vitro devices have been extensively applied to model the intestine, enhancing the research community’s knowledge about intestinal physiology and pathophysiology in order to develop targeted therapies for a more precise and personalised treatment of intestinal diseases.

Now, a review published in Biosensors & Bioelectronics signed by researchers of NANBIOSIS ICTS U8 Micro– Nano Technology Unit, collects information about the intestine models and highlights the necessity to integrate sensors into these in vitro models to shine light on the pathological mechanisms of intestinal disorders at their early stage. The detection of a disease at its early state would allow more efficient treatments and a better prognosis, reducing costs and enhancing the quality of life of the patients.

Last years’ research has had a significant impact in these complex microfluidic systems, though there is still a long way to go to increase biosensors capacity in their operations.

“The potential of the OOC technology is enormous. OOC technology may provide a true precision medicine, allowing the use of the patients’ own cells for performing drugs screening before treating the patient“, -explains Mar Álvarez– “To that end, we believe that the integration of sensors into this platforms is mandatory to understand and evaluate the functioning of the organ in real time, providing information that may be used for in-situ decision making”.

Hydrogel microfluidic platforms to improve the predictive capacities of the in vitro models

Another review article published by theese researchers in Applied Materials & Interfaces tackles the progress made in tissue barrier models, as they have a crucial role in regulating organ homeostasis. Current microfluidic systems do not properly mimic cells’ interaction, so recent developments have included biomaterials, such as hydrogels, to emulate these boundaries between tissues and external environment. A hydrogel acts as a microenvironment of the cell and it permits cell culture.

“The hydrogel mimics the real cell microenvironment, providing the mechanical cues needed to reproduce the proper organ physiology and function“, Mar Álvarez adds.

Recent developments in the fields of biofabrication show that hydrogels are able to mimic and change the tissue properties and dynamics, thus enabling an in vivo recreation for its reparation.

Articles of reference

Marrero D, Pujol-Vila F, Vera D, Gabriel G, Illa X,  Elizalde-Torrent A, Alvarez M, Villa R, Gut-on-a-chip: Mimicking and monitoring the human intestine. Biosensors and Bioelectronics. Volume 181, 1 June 2021, 113156. DOI https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c21573

Vera D, García-Díaz M, Torras N, Alvarez M, Villa R, Martínez E. Engineering Tissue Barrier Models on Hydrogel Microfluidic Platforms, CS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2021, 13, 12, 13920–13933 DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2021.113156

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Toxicity evaluation on non-target organisms with the collaboration of NANBIOSIS U17 Confocal microscopy

Sara Jiménez-Jiménez, Georgiana Amariei, Karina Boltes, María Ángeles García and María Luisa Marina have recently published an article in the Journal of Chromatography A, ·mentioning the collaboration in the investigation of the ICTS “NANBIOSIS” U17 Confocal Microscopy Service of CIBER-BNN and the University of Alcalá.

The echocytotoxicity of racemic panthenol and dexpanthenol at different concentrations and exposure times in Spirodela polyrhiza has been studied using NANBIOSIS U17 Confocal Microscopy Service

“Panthenol (racemic mixture) and its isomer dexpanthenol have been classified as toxic for the aquatic environment by the European Regulation (EC 1272/2008). These studies are based on the natural emission (autofluorescence) of chlorophyll in different parts of the aquatic plant Spirodela polyrhiza (root, shoot and leaf). The estimation of the IC50 for each one of the compounds concludes different behavior of the compounds in the different parts of the plant, showing a higher toxicity for the racemic mixture panthenol”, explains Isabel Trabado, Technical Coordinator of NANBIOSIS U17

Article of reference:

Sara Jiménez-Jiménez, Georgiana Amariei, Karina Boltes, María Ángeles García and María Luisa Marina. Enantiomeric separation of panthenol by Capillary Electrophoresis. Analysis of commercial formulations and toxicity evaluation on non-target organisms. Journal of Chromatography A 1639 (2021) 461919. [DOI]

Financial support:

Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (research project PID2019-104913GB-I00). Dirección General de Universidades e Investigación de la Comunidad de Madrid (Spain), REMTAVARES (project S2018/EMT-4341). University of Alcalá for research projects CCG19/CC-068 and CCG19/IA-050, and for G.A.’s post-doctoral contract. Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for S.J.J.’s FPU pre-doctoral contract.

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U16-E06. 3D Optical Surface Metrology System Leica DCM8 -Optical Profilometer- OUTSTANDING

FICTS-1420-14-09 3. Optical profilometer

3D Optical Surface Metrology System Leica DCM8

This equipment allows measuring the roughness of a multitude of samples by means of a non-destructive optical method. Based on the operation of a confocal microscope, it allows the creation of high-resolution 3D images in a fast and automatic way as well as obtaining color images thanks to the use of three LEDs: Red, Green and Blue. In addition, this system also works as an interferometer that allows to measure the roughness with greater precision of mirror polished samples.

Profilometry_EN-1Download

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U16-E05. DROP SHAPE ANALYZER – DSA100E (Remote) OUTSTANDING

FICTS-1420-14-09 4. Goniometer

DROP SHAPE ANALYZER – DSA100E

The system measures the contact angle between a liquid and a solid. Offers the possibility of measuring static, advancing and receding contact angle, as well as contact angle hysteresis by a tilting table. Also, measurement of surface tension and liquid-liquid interfacial tension using the Pendant Drop method can be obtained. Thanks to tempering and humidity chambers, this equipment can realistically reproduce individual process conditions, by making measurements under controlled humidity and temperature from 5 to 90 °C.


Goniometer_EN-1Download

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A GLOBAL VISION OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC by CSIC

A report from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) collects in open access the results of a year of research on SARS-CoV-2. The book ‘A global vision of the COVID-19 pandemic’ shows the responses and solutions obtained by the 300 research teams of the CSIC Global Health Platform. The Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC) has participated in the preparation of the chapter ‘Actions in containment and diagnosis’:

Visit CSIC website to read the full news.

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