Nowadays, osteoporosis due to the progressive aging of the population, is becoming one of the most frequent diseases of our time. Decreased quality of life (for example, inability to walk again after a hip fracture) and the increase in mortality it determines, justifies intensive research efforts.

IDIVAL Bone and Lipid Metabolism Group, researchers at the Biomedicine and Biotechnology Institute of Cantabria (IBBTEC) from the University of Cantabria and the Center for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases, University of Arkansas in the United States, have developed a study together about osteoporosis whose results are presented below.

It is well established that activation of Wnt/βcatenin signaling in the osteoblast lineage leads to an increase in bone mass through a dual mechanism: increased osteoblastogenesis and decreased osteoclastogenesis. However, the effect of this pathway on the osteoclast lineage has been less explored. This study aimed to examine the effects of Wnt/βcatenin signaling in mature osteoclasts by generating mice lacking βcatenin in CathepsinK-expressing cells.

They developed a mouse model with conditional deletion of bcatenin in these cells. This deletion was carried out using cre-lox technology, linking its action to the cathepsin K gene, an enzyme considered specific (or “quasi-specific”) of osteoclasts. The result was the development of an intense bone resorption, which practically determined the appearance of authentic bone windows in the cortical bone. A number of reasons led us to believe that the activation of osteoclasts involved not only the deletion of bcatenin in them, but also stimuli on these cells originating outside them. Indeed, they verified that such external stimuli were taking place, and that this happened through a decrease of the production of osteoprotegerina by cells of osteoblastic strain that at a certain moment express cathepsin K. These cells are different from the osteocytes and seem to be located in the inner layers of the periosteum.

A collateral conclusion of this study is that the use of the LINE cathepsin K-CRE to condition specific deletions in bone tissue cells should be used with caution, since it is not as specific for osteoclasts as had been believed until now.

Reference: Ruiz P, Martin-Millan M, Gonzalez-Martin MC, Almeida M, González-Macias J, Ros MA. CathepsinKCre mediated deletion of βcatenin results in dramatic loss of bone  mass by targeting both osteoclasts and osteoblastic cells. Sci Rep. 2016 Nov 2;6:36201. doi: 10.1038/srep36201. PubMed PMID: 27804995; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5090355.

Cadena Ser Cantabria

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Cadena Ser Cantabria (reportaje)

El Diario Montañés

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The third call for Interreg Europe project proposals will run from 1 March until 30 June 2017. In order to be ready, you can already check the relevance and quality of your project idea and receive individual feedback.

First, make sure to use the online self-assessment tool to check if your project idea is relevant for Interreg Europe. If you have passed the self-assessment successfully and your project idea is well advanced, you can ask for personalised feedback following two simple steps.

  1. Join the community and publish your idea on the Interreg Europe project idea database. You only need to provide basic information here, which will be made public.
  2. Request feedback and complete more detailed information about your project idea (e.g. envisaged partnership, policy instruments addressed, main activities). These details will allow us to give a proper feedback to your idea. They will not be published on the website.

Since we can only provide one feedback per project idea and user, we recommend you request it once your idea is sufficiently developed.

Due to the high popularity of the project idea feedback service during the previous calls, the service is operated subject to the following conditions:

  • Requests for feedback will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis.
  • There is no guarantee that any request for feedback will receive a reply.

When filling in the online request form, it is possible to choose if you want to receive written feedback or hear it by phone or via Skype at selected times.

We look forward to receiving your idea!

Any doubt or consult about the current Interreg Europe you can contact European Projects team of IDIVAL: Paloma Gonzalez Alvarez (innovacion4@idival.org).

Workshop CD30- Positive lymphoid malignancies will take place from the 6th to 8th of February in Santander. 

This is an educational activity, developed by the Pathology Service in the University Hospital Marques de Valdecilla and supported by a grant from TAKEDA. These workshops are designed to improve the diagnostic capacity of haematopathologists across the world, with special focus in Asia, Latinoamerica, Africa, Australia and East-Europe.

 

These sessions are the third of a series of Workshops, where they are addressing the diagnostic criteria for the recognition of CD30-positive malignancies –Hodgkin lymphoma, Gray-zone lymphoma, Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma and cutaneous CD30 positive disorders– through a combination of:

• Introductory talks.

 

• Discussion of a reference case collection, previously accessible through digital slides.

 

• Joint discussion on multiheaded microscopes of consultation cases, previously provided by the participants. 

A maximum of 20 pathologists are expected to participate in each of the Workshops. 

We invite you to participate in these workshops that will take place at University Hospital Marques de Valdecilla.

Programme

Workshop CD30- Positive lymphoid malignancies

Workshop CD30- Positive lymphoid malignancies will take place from the 6th to 8th of February in Santander.  This is an educational activity, developed by the Pathology Service in the University Hospital Marques de Valdecilla and supported by a grant from TAKEDA. These workshops are designed to improve the diagnostic capacity of haematopathologists across the world, […]

Researchers belonging to the Valdecilla Hospital and the University of Cantabria, of the IDIVAL Group Cytokines and growth factors in pathological tissue plasticity phenomena have collaborated in a study published last Monday in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine in which it is shown that the pharmacological inhibition of The NOS2 protein not only prevents pathological dilatation of the thoracic aorta in Marfan syndrome and other similar diseases, but is even capable of reversing it. The study was led by Dr. Miguel Campanero of the Alberto Sols Institute of Biomedical Research (CSIC) and Juan Miguel Redondo of the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC).


Researchers have discovered that the inhibition in mice of an arterial wall protein, inducible nitric oxide synthase or NOS2, is capable of reversing aortic disease in Marfan syndrome – characterized by aortic, skeletal and ocular abnormalities – and In other forms of aneurysm. The results of the study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, suggest an important role of NOS2 protein inhibitors for the treatment of thoracic aortic aneurysms. Therefore, researchers have already contacted the pharmaceutical industry to determine the efficacy of these drugs in clinical trials with Marfan patients, underscoring the translational nature of the research.

An aneurysm is an abnormal dilatation or widening of a portion of an artery due to a pathological weakness of the vessel wall that may progress to rupture. It is an indolent pathology, which for a long period of time causes minimal or no, but also virulent, symptomatology, since it can suddenly experience catastrophic, often fatal complications. These characteristics make it essential to have an early and accurate diagnosis, a rigorous follow-up and a treatment with surgery at the right time.

Because the risk of aortic rupture increases with the degree of dilation of the artery, current pharmacological treatments for these diseases, including Marfan syndrome, seek to reduce mechanical stress on the aortic wall by decreasing the energy of cardiac contraction and Blood pressure. However, these drugs do not prevent the structural deterioration of the aortic wall, so they are not very effective in preventing their rupture. Surgical treatment is the only really effective, but it is not harmless, so it is indicated when the risk of aortic rupture is greater than that of surgery. Moreover, it does not improve or stop the intrinsic problem of the aortic wall, which is progressive and is not confined to a specific anatomical segment. Therefore, it is essential to identify the mechanisms responsible for the degeneration of the aortic wall and to discover new pharmacological targets to favorably modify the natural evolution of these diseases.

Therapeutic targets

In the published work the researchers have analyzed the molecular mechanisms involved in the formation and progression of thoracic aortic aneurysm. In this way, they identified two possible therapeutic targets: the metalloproteinase ADAMTS1 and the nitric oxide synthase NOS2. The results demonstrate that Adamts1-deficient mice develop a disease similar to Marfan's syndrome and, more importantly, genetic or pharmacological inactivation of NOS2 prevents and reverses aortopathy in ADAMTS1-deficient mice and in mice with Marfan syndrome experimental.

Dr. Nistal, leader of the IDIVAL group who has collaborated on the project, explains: “This work represents a significant advance in our understanding of the underlying molecular pathology in Marfan disease and other related diseases, and opens up new and hopeful pathways The finding of regression of aortic dilatation in elderly animals and aggressive models of Marfan seems to me to be particularly relevant, because it provides us with pharmacological tools with an etiopathogenic basis that may allow to effectively address the treatment, not only of the More aggressive neonatal forms of the disease, but of patients of any age. For our group it has been a privilege to collaborate in a project of high scientific level and with a perspective of translational research”.

Application in humans will still require time

Dr. Hurlé, a researcher at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Cantabria and coauthor, warns: “We must be cautious when transferring the conclusions obtained in experimental animal models to human disease. However, the efficacy of NOS2-specific inhibitory drugs in reversing aortic dilatation in mice models encourages clinical trials for both the treatment of Marfan syndrome and other similar aortic diseases”.

Referencia: Oller J, Méndez-Barbero N, Ruiz EJ, Villahoz S, Renard M, Canelas LI, Briones  AM, Alberca R, Lozano-Vidal N, Hurlé MA, Milewicz D, Evangelista A, Salaices M, Nistal JF, Jiménez-Borreguero LJ, De Backer J, Campanero MR, Redondo JM. Nitric oxide mediates aortic disease in mice deficient in the metalloprotease Adamts1 and in a mouse model of Marfan syndrome. Nat Med. 2017 Jan 9. doi: 10.1038/nm.4266. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 28067899.

New target for the pharmacologic treatment of aortic aneurysms

Researchers belonging to the Valdecilla Hospital and the University of Cantabria, of the IDIVAL Group Cytokines and growth factors in pathological tissue plasticity phenomena have collaborated in a study published last Monday in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine in which it is shown that the pharmacological inhibition of The NOS2 protein not only prevents pathological dilatation […]

The fourth session of the Programme Valdecilla Progress Reports will take place on the 18th of January. The conference will be given by Beatriz Abascal Bolado, Pneumology Specialist at the University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, post-MIR contract Wenceslao López Albo with a stay at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota.
 

The session will be about Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and is briefly summarized below:

COPD is a prevalent disease with a high burden to the patient and also to the health system. To categorize these patients could help clinicians in their practice. There are different studies about important aspects of this categorization that provide information. This presentation will deal about this studies and the future of the categorization and treatment, based on new approach to comorbidities, risk of hospitalization, psychological aspect of the disease and pulmonary rehabilitation.

This programme of seminars is given by young researchers on the field of IDIVAL’s clinic and laboratories. The speakers will explain the scientific advances of their current research projects. With the idea of debating and networking, the main goal of these meetings, all the predoctoral contracts, Post-MIR Valdecilla López Albo researchers, Río Hortega and Inn-Val grants are invited to attend to the sessions as part of their training.

The meeting will take place in lecture room 2-3, pavilion 16 of the HUMV (the lecture room has a capacity of 30 people).

Researchers who attend 80% of the meetings throughout the academic year will receive a certificate of assistance.


The fourth session of Progress Reports on the 18th January

The fourth session of the Programme Valdecilla Progress Reports will take place on the 18th of January. The conference will be given by Beatriz Abascal Bolado, Pneumology Specialist at the University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla, post-MIR contract Wenceslao López Albo with a stay at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota.   The session will be […]

Progress Reports´ seminars began in October 2016 with the aim of bringing young researches from the clinical field and IDIVAL's laboratories to present scientific advances in their current research projects. These sessions are intended to encourage discussion and networking among the researchers and doctors and to add value to the work being carried out.

Researchers in the field of medicine from Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital and from the University of Cantabria participated in the last quarter of 2016, including Ana Lara Pelayo from the Division of Neurology, Ana Villar of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology of the UC Paula Iruzubieta Coz from the Division of Digestive. IDIVAL would like to thank the speakers who participated and those who will participate in this year 2017 for sharing their knowledge and concerns with other professionals of the sector.


In this first quarter of 2017, Progress Reports counts on the participation of professionals from the specialities of Pneumology, Urology, Pathological Anatomy and Genetic Epidemiology and Arterioeslerosis.

The sessions confirmed for this first quarter of 2017 are as follows:


18/01/2017         Update in COPD research

Dra. Beatriz Abascal Bolado. Specialist in Pneumology at Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital. Ex-contrat Post-MIR Wenceslao López Albo.

8/02/2017         IDIVAL Funding

Dr. Galo Peralta Fernández. Management Director of IDIVAL. (This session will be on the 3rd floor of IDIVAL).

22/02/2017         New trends and future directions on reconstructive urologic surgery

Dr. Félix Campos Juanatey.  Specialist in Pneumology at  Marques de Valdecilla University Hospital. Ex-contrat Post-MIR Wenceslao López Albo.

08/03/2017         Molecular Basis for targeted therapy in T-cell lymphomas

Dr. Rufino Móndejar García. Rio Hortega Contract at Idival’s Anatomical Pathology research group.

22/03/2017         Cardiovascular risk in spondyloarthropaties

Dra. Fernanda Genre. Sara Borrel Contract at Genetic  Epidemiology and atherosclerosis group of IDIVAL.


Sessions take place in pavilion 16, 1st floor, of the Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla at 2.30pm and will last about 30 minutes.

All the professionals of the sector are invited to participate and to share their experiences related to the topics discussed in the sessions.

For any questions regarding Progress Reports sessions, please contact us at gesval1@idival.org

PROGRESS REPORTS 2017 SESSIONS BY NOVICE RESEARCHERS

Progress Reports´ seminars began in October 2016 with the aim of bringing young researches from the clinical field and IDIVAL's laboratories to present scientific advances in their current research projects. These sessions are intended to encourage discussion and networking among the researchers and doctors and to add value to the work being carried out. Researchers […]

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