About the VHIR
Here at the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) we promote biomedical research, innovation and teaching. Over 1,800 people are seeking to understand diseases today so the treatment can be improved tomorrow.
Research
We are working to understand diseases, to find out how they operate and to create better treatments for patients. Get to know about our groups and their lines of research.
People
People are the centre of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR). This is why we are bound by the principles of freedom of research, gender equality and professional attitudes that HRS4R promotes.
Clinical trials
Our work is not just basic or translational; we are leaders in clinical research. Enter and find about the clinical trials we are conducting and why we are a world reference in this field.
Progress
Our aim is to make the research carried out at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) a driving force for transformation. How? By identifying new channels and solutions for the promotion of people's health and well-being.
Core facilities
We offer specialist support for researchers, internal and external alike, ranging from specific services to preparing complete projects. All this, from a perspective of quality and speed of response.
News
We offer you a gateway for staying up to date on everything going on at the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), from the latest news to future solidarity activities and initiatives that we are organising.
Speaker: Cristina Mir Pérez, Biomedical Research in Cancer Stem Cells - Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR)
Introduction: Drug resistance is the principal limiting factor to achieving good survival rates in patients with cancer. The identification of potential biomarkers for diagnosis and prognostic prediction, as well as the design of new molecular-targeted treatments, will be essential to improving head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patient outcomes. Aim: The sensitization of resistant cells and cancer stem cells (CSCs) by inhibiting crucial proteins involved in cancer resistance. Methods: To characterize the mechanisms that govern chemoresistance, we performed a comparative proteomic study analyzing HNSCC cells: CCL-138 (parental), CCL-138-R (cisplatin-resistant), and CSCs. Syntenin-1 (SDCBP) was upregulated in CCL-138-R cells and CSCs over parental cells. Results: On the one hand, SDCBP depletion sensitized biopsy-derived and established HNSCC cell lines to cisplatin (CDDP) and reduced CSC markers, being Src activation the main SDCBP downstream target. In mice, SDCBP-depleted cells formed tumors with decreased mitosis, Ki-67 positivity, and metastasis over controls. Moreover, the fusocellular pattern of JHU029-R cell-derived tumors reverted to a more epithelial morphology upon SDCBP silencing. Importantly, SDCBP expression was associated with Src activation, poor differentiated tumor grade, advanced tumor stage, and shorter survival rates in a series of 382 HNSCC patients. On the other hand, through a virtual screening, sixteen new SDCBP ligands have been identified as candidates for HNSCC therapy. Conclusions: Our results reveal that genetic and pharmacological targeting of SDCBP could be a potential therapeutic strategy to effectively eliminate CSCs and CDDP resistant tumors.
CV: After the Biomedicine bachelor degree in the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Cristina Mir studied the Translational Biomedical Research Master degree in the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (UAB-VHIR). Currently, she is enrolled in the medicine and translational research PhD programme of the University of Barcelona (UB), with the thesis title "Study of resistance to drugs in Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)", developed in the Biomedical Research in Cancer Stem Cells group and directed by Dr. Lleonart.
Host: Dr. Matilde Lleonart Pajarin, Biomedical Research in Cancer Stem Cells - Vall d'Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR)
Register here: https://valldhebron.typeform.com/to/FUG67Sdw
