Enfermedades Sistémicas

El grupo de Enfermedades Sistémicas desarrolla una investigación traslacional basada en una serie de al menos 300 pacientes con lupus eritomatoso sistémico (LES), síndrome antifosfolipídico (SAF), esclerosis sistémica, vasculitis, dermatomiitis, síndrome de Sjörin o síndromes autoinflamatorios con el fin de conocer mejor su patogenia (tanto a nivel de regulación inmunológica como genética), estudiar su expresión clínica y biológica (mediante la detección de nuevos marcadores que ayuden a caracterizar cada una de las enfermedades autoinmunes propias), estudiar la morbimortalidad (a través de estudios epidemiológicos) y el análisis de la respuesta de los pacientes hacia los medicamentos. Con estos objetivos en mente, buscamos mejorar el diagnóstico, seguimiento clínico y la prognosis de nuestros pacientes.

Líneas de investigación

Sumoylation in TTR Amyloidosis. Effect of Tafamidis in patients affected with TTR-Amyloidosis

Protein misfolding and aggregation are common features in many degenerative amyloid disorders. In each case, a specific amyloidogenic protein misfolds and follows a toxic aggregation pathway leading to a defined clinical outcome. Many factors that may trigger protein misfolding and aggregation have been implied in the development of these pathologies, such as abnormal proteolysis, point mutations and post-translational modifications. So far, though, no one has studied the SUMOylation status of TTR. In this project we are evaluating the role that SUMOylation plays in TTR amyloidosis in the different subtypes of patients with this disease. Furthermore, we are also studying the effect that the drug of choice, tafamidis, might have on the sumoylation process.

IP: -

Systemic Autoimmune diseases

SLE, Systemic sclerosis, vasculitis, dermatomyositis, Sjogren Syndrome, antiphospholipid síndrome and autoinflammatory síndromes.

1.-Epigenetic and Genetic studies in Autoimmune systemic diseases

2.-Development of new diagnostic criteria for the autoimmune systemic diseases.

3.-Identification of new diagnostic diseases biomarkers and for assessing disease activity.

4- Evaluation of new immunosuppressive drugs, biological therapies and antifibrotic agents in these conditons.

5.-Epidemiologic and Morbi-mortality studies

IP: -

Urinary biomarkers detection in lupus nephritis.

Our main goal in this project is to try to avoid the repeated renal biopsies needed for establishing both the diagnosis and the following up of patients who suffer with lupus nephritis. By using just urine from the patients, we want to find out whether there is one/some biomarker/s (MCP-1, TWEAK, NGAL, APRIL, RANTES,...) that allow us to establish particular diagnosis and prognosis criteria equally effective or even more accurate than those obtained with the renal biopsy.

IP: José Ordi Ros