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Laboratory of GTPases and Neurosignalling

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RESEARCH

Neurodegenerative diseases include a group of pathologies of unknown etiology which usually exhibit very varied symptoms; a common feature to all of them is the progress of the disease which reflects the gradual disintegration of the nervous system. The outcome is the same in all cases: loss of neurons due to cell death. They are classified according to the clinical manifestations arising in each case, and so those that essentially show a dementia syndrome are distinct, the clearest example being Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recently, we have described that (1-42) ß Amyloid peptide (Aß) involves the GTPase Rac1 in neuronal death and moreover we have also described that this GTPase Rac1 activates to glycogen phosphorylase (PYG) and regulates glycogenolysis in lymphocytes. Based on this, we hypothesize that a deregulated activity of Rac1 due to Aß could generate abnormal processes at cytoskeleton level or generating reactive oxygen species which would lead to a lost of neuronal adhesion capacity, oxidative stress, etc. which would result in neuronal death.

PROGRAMME

APPROACHES

We work on:

  • Examining whether Aß peptide signals to PYG through Rac1 and leads to glycogenolysis in neurons.
  • Characterizing the Rac1 effector moleculaes which trigger neuronal death induced by Aß peptide. Role of oxidative stressand PYG in this process.

The knowledge generated from the previous objectives will be useful to tacked in vitro therapeutic strategies that will allow using organic molecules or permeable peptides to block at molecular level the death program induced by the Aß peptide.

FUNDING

The group received funding from: Fundación Gangoiti, Fundación Ikerbasque, ISCIII (PI15/00207)

Latest publications

  1. Microglia as hunters or gatherers of brain synapses

    Pereira-Iglesias, Marta; Maldonado-Teixido, Joel; Melero, Alejandro; Piriz, Joaquin; Galea, Elena; Ransohoff, Richard M.; Sierra, Amanda
    Nature Neuroscience (Dec, 2024) DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01818-w
  2. The importance of muscle glycogen phosphorylase in glial cells function

    Llavero, Francisco; Zugaza, José L.
    Biochemical Society Transactions (Apr, 2024) DOI: 10.1042/BST20231058
  3. Amyloid β1–42 Oligomers Induce Galectin–1S8 O–GlcNAcylation Leading to Microglia Migration

    Arrazola Sastre, Alazne; Luque Montoro, Miriam; Llavero, Francisco; Zugaza, José L.
    Cells (Jul, 2023) DOI: 10.3390/cells12141876
  4. P-Rex1 is a novel substrate of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Malin associated with Lafora disease

    Kumarasinghe, L.; Garcia-Gimeno, M. A.; Ramirez, J.; Mayor, U.; Zugaza, J. L.; Sanz, P.
    Neurobiology of Disease (Feb, 2023) DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.105998
  5. Recombinant Integrin β1 Signal Peptide Blocks Gliosis Induced by Aβ Oligomers

    Ortiz-Sanz, Carolina; Llavero, Francisco; Zuazo-Ibarra, Jone; Balantzategi, Uxue; Quintela-López, Tania; Wyssenbach, Ane; Capetillo-Zarate, Estibaliz; Matute, Carlos; Alberdi, Elena; Zugaza, José L.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences (May, 2022) DOI: 10.3390/ijms23105747
  6. Identification of Potential Muscle Biomarkers in McArdle Disease: Insights from Muscle Proteome Analysis

    García-Consuegra, Inés; Asensio-Peña, Sara; Garrido-Moraga, Rocío; Pinós, Tomàs; Domínguez-González, Cristina; Santalla, Alfredo; Nogales-Gadea, Gisela; Serrano-Lorenzo, Pablo; Andreu, Antoni L.; Arenas, Joaquín; Zugaza, José L.; Lucia, Alejandro; Martín, Miguel A.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Apr, 2022) DOI: 10.3390/ijms23094650
  7. The tyrosine phosphatase hPTPRβ controls the early signals and dopaminergic cells viability via the P2X7 receptor

    Llavero Bernal, F.L.; Luque Montoro, M.L.; Arrazola Sastre, A.A.; Lacerda, H.M.; Zugaza, J.L.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Nov, 2021) DOI: 10.3390/ijms222312936
  8. (Editorial) Cell Signaling in Neurodegeneration

    Zugaza, José L.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Aug, 2021) DOI: 10.3390/ijms22168978
  9. (Review) Small gtpases of the rab and arf families: Key regulators of intracellular trafficking in neurodegeneration

    Sastre, A.A.; Montoro, M.L.; Lacerda, H.M.; Llavero, F.; Zugaza, J.L.
    International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Apr, 2021) DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094425