Functional proteomics aspires to draw a complete map of protein dynamics, interactions and posttranslational modifications that take place in the cell. Our goals within the CNB Functional Proteomics Group is to develop and apply state of the art tools to monitor proteins involved in molecular interactions and pathways relevant to pathologies in a variety of tissues, cell types and organisms upon various experimental treatments/conditions.

The aim of our group is both to discover how members of the p38MAPK family regulate cellular function in physiological conditions and in response to environmental stresses, infection and proinflammatory cytokines, and to understand how they become deregulated in several human disease situations such as oncogenic transformation and inflammation.

Chemokines and their receptors are proteins involved in homeostasis of the immune system and inflammatory responses that are also involved in growth control, tumor progression and metastasis. The chemokine receptor CCR9, which directs the differentiation of T cells and their migration to the intestine, is overexpressed in certain tumors. Our group is investigating whether CCR9 could be considered as a new target for anti-tumor therapy. We are analyzing whether CCR9-specific monoclonal antibodies, generated in our laboratory, inhibit the growth of human tumors in xenogeneic animal models.

The relevance of the study of c-Myc lies in the broad spectrum of human cancers in which deregulation of this gene plays a prominent role. It is estimated that expression of this gene is altered gene in 40-50% of human cancers. This large spectrum probably reflects the large number and critical nature of the biological processes that appear to be regulated by c-Myc. The role of c-Myc in cell differentiation is poorly understood. C-Myc downregulation is usually associated with termination of differentiation in several cell types.

Our research is focused on two main areas, understanding the roles of natural killer (NK) cells in response to virus infections, and study of NK cell function in patients suffering primary immunodeficiencies (whose major clinical problems are virus infections).

Javier DeFelipe’s laboratory has an extensive experience in the analysis on the microorganization of the cerebral cortex using various techniques (intracellular injections, histochemical and immunocytochemical techniques for light and electron microscopy, 3D reconstruction methods). In 1991, he began studies of normal human cerebral cortex and epileptic patients. In parallel, since 2006, he progressed on the study of Alzheimer's disease. In 2009, he started the participation in the Blue Brain project.

The goal of our laboratory is to understand the normal and pathological function of microcircuits of the hippocampal and para-hippocampal regions. In particular, we are interested in the mechanisms underlying diverse forms of neuronal activity, from immature population bursting to hippocampal rhythms and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). We use a combination of electrophysiological, morphological and computational approaches.

The research of our group is focused on studying the cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms involved in three fundamental processes: 1) the differentiation and maturation of human neurons and astrocytes obtained from iPSCs derived from healthy subjects; 2) the alterations of these events that could result in neurodevelopmental disorders, and that could also underlie early steps in the etiology of Parkinson¿s disease (PD) and Alzheimer¿s disease (AD); and 3) the neurodegenerative processes in PD and AD, and the search for new mechanisms and molecular targets in iPSC-derived neurons and gli

The group of NEUROPHARMACOLOGY at the Cajal institute was formally constituted in the 90’s. Actually, we investigate the regulation of synaptic tonus and its influence on pain perception, drug dependence and mood diseases such as schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder.

Study of neurodegenerative diseases physiopathology and search for therapeutic strategies.