News

Nanotechnology, gene therapy, omics therapies and ‘big data’

Nanotechnology, gene therapy, omics therapies and ‘big data’ were the topics discussed in the Forum on Emerging Technologies oganized on May 8 by nanotechnology, gene therapy, omics therapies and ‘big data’ were the topics discussed in the I Forum on Emerging Technologies held on May 8, organized by the CIBER Internationalization Platform, of which the CIBERER, the CIBER-BBN and the CIBERES.

The objective of this event, structured in sessions of presentations and scientific debates about the types of technologies addressed, was to promote the exchange of ideas and scientific knowledge with the aim of generating new collaborations among the CIBER research groups such as participation in transversal projects or the development of cutting-edge technologies.

NANBIOSIS was represented by Pablo Laguna (Unit 27, High Performance Computing), Laura Lechuga (Unit 4, Biodeposition and Biodetection Unit), José Luis Pedraz (Unit 10, Drug Formulation) and Rosa Villa (Unit8, Micro – Nano Technology Unit)

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Formulated Products: Enabling innovation through value chain and cross-sector collaboration

NANBIOSIS Unit 12. “Nanostructured liquid characterization unit” is co-organizing, next 28th May 2018, in Barcelona, the Workshop “Enabling Innovation through Value Chain and Cross-sector Collaboration” corresponding to the 5th Event of the Regional workshop series of the AceForm4.0 consortium (a coordination and support action (CAS) funded by the European Commission).

This event targets industrial and academic players interested in bringing formulation technologies to the next level through collaboration. The main purpose of the day is to validate the recommendations that will be presented to the European Commission (EC) as to what are the areas of research that should be prioritized in the coming framework programs in the context of formulated products. These recommendations, which been put together within the context of AceForm4.0, will be validated by participants during short discussion sessions.

During the day inspiring speakers from industry will help illustrate some of the technical challenges within specific industrial sectors or segments of the value chain while experienced representatives from academia will showcase examples from collaborative research projects in the area.

The event will be an excellent opportunity for networking with local and European players in the formulation area and to learn more about how to stay in touch by joining the EU-FIG (formulation-network.eu/members/join-the-eu-formulation-interest-group), the emerging European Formulation Interest Group.

During the event, it will be possible to:

Listen to inspiring speakers from industry who will illustrate some of the challenges (technical and others) within specific industrial sectors or segments of the value chain
Listen to experienced representatives from academia who will showcase examples from collaborative research projects in the area
Help validate the recommendations that will be presented to the European Comission (EC) as to what are the areas of research that should be prioritized in the coming framework programs in the context of formulated products
Network with local and European players in the formulation area
Learn more about how to stay in touch by joining the EU-FIG, the emerging European Formulation Interest Group

Registration (free of charge): please find the registration form here (deadline 21 May)

Venue: Abba Sants Hotel, Carrer de Numància, 32, 08029 Barcelona, Spain

Contact for questions: Isabel Mira, RISE, E-mail: info@formulation-network.eu, Mobile phone: +46 (0)768 64 60 64

Agenda

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Fabry disease awareness month, April

The Fabry International Network (FIN) association established the month of April as the “month of Fabry” to raise awareness and educate about this disease, a rare, progressive and with multi-organ involvement pathology.

Fabry Disease is one of several dozen Lysosomal Storage Disorders that interfere with the body’s ability to break down specific fatty substances. It is a rare disease and because the rate of occurrence is less than 1 in 200,000, it is considered as one of the many “Orphan” diseases. It is more common in women, but it occurs with greater severity in men.

Fabry disease is a metabolic disease that is produced by a deficiency of the ysosomal enzyme Alpha galactosidase. It is transmitted on the X chromosome. Fabry affected patients are missing alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-gal A) which results in sugars and fatty acids (Gb3) accumulating in the cells throughout the body and impairs the function of several major organs including the kidneys and heart. In 2001, enzyme replacement therapy appeared when the alpha-galactosidase protein (alpha- and beta-agalsidase) was synthesized in the laboratory using genetic engineering techniques. This treatment is injected into patients every 15 days to replenish the deficit levels of this enzyme and stop the progression of the disease.

CIBER-BBN, partner of NANBIOSIS, leads the European project Smart4fabry funded by the Horizon 2020 program, which will be developed through a consortium formed by 14 partners from 5 different countries. The CIBER-BBN coordinates the project through the participation of four of its groups that coordinate four units of NANBIOSIS (U1.Protein Production Platform (PPP), U3. Synthesis of Peptides Unit, U6. Biomaterial Processing and Nanostructuring Unit and U20. In Vivo Experimental Platform.) In addition, the consortium is formed by the University of Aarhus (Denmark), Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Israel), Joanneum Research (Austria), Biopraxis Research AIE (Spain), the spin off Nanomol Technologies SL (Spain) ), BioNanoNet (Austria), Drug Development and Regulation SL (Spain), the Covance Laboratories LTD group (UK), and Leanbio SL (Spain) Smart-4-Fabry has been conceived and developed to obtain a new nanoformulation of GLA, that will improve the efficacy and toleration of the treatment with non-formulated GLA. The final benefit will be seen as a considerable reduction on the Fabry disease treatment cost and a substantial improvement in the life-quality of Fabry disease patients.

Fabry International Network, FIN was established in 2005, as a non-for-profit organization registered in The Netherlands. The primary aim of the project is to facilitate collaboration between patient organizations around the world to support those affected by Fabry disease

FIN is connected to over 45 countries around the world. Membership is free and open to any National Patient Organization in which Fabry patients are represented. The National Fabry Disease Foundation – USA, for April 2018 Fabry Disease Awareness Month, have been providing an educational or information post on their Facebook page, every day of the month in April. The NFDF also distributed their My Health Handbook kit and, so far, distributed about 700 kits to individuals with Fabry disease. Fabry Australia have a new website and they are also running a new social media campaign. Fabry Support & Informatie Groep Nederland, FSIGN, since 2005 has organized every first Saturday of April (in the Fabry Awareness Month April) to be the Fabry women’s day. Japan Fabry Disease Patients and Family Association, in awareness month JFA held an open seminar at Fukuoka University Medical hall with lectures on three major topics: Newborn Mass Screening, Current Treatments and Employment and Clinical Genomics. In Spain the Fabry patient organization are the Spanish Fabry MPS Association

The Fabry International Network will cellebrate the 6th Fabry Expert Meeting on
8th – 10th June 2018 at the Vilnius Grand Resort, Ežeraičių g. 2, Ežeraičių km., Avižienių sen., Vilniaus raj., LT-14200, Lietuva.

DRAFT Full Program

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Esther Pueyo will explain her research on the aging of the Heart in Pint of Science: The festival that brings science to pubs

The researcher of Unit 27 of NANBIOIS, High Performance Computing, will leave her laboratory and her office at the University to get on stage and take on the challenge of talking about her work to a public less used to scientific and technological language in the framework of a dissemination program of science to which Esther has joined as Pablo Laguna, Scientific Director of Unit 27 of NANBIOSIS, did last year.

Esther will perform at the Drinks and Pool Aranda bar in Zaragoza (calle Conde de Aranda, 138) to tell her work in technology applied to health. It will be on Wednesday, the 16th at 7:00 pm with the title: “Why your heart and mine do not age the same?”

Science has a lot to tell, and to do it in a way that is close to anyone who has an interest in research, Pint of Science has been created, a meeting point between researchers and people in an environment easy to have relaxed conversations.

The Pint of Science 2018 program includes 308 events (16% more than in 2017) taught by 730 scientists (almost 200 more than in the previous edition) in 105 pubs.

In an understandable and close language, women and men of science explain their work to an audience outside the scientific community, but with a growing interest in research and the latest developments in science. Proof of this is that, in 2017, 17,500 people approached the 532 talks and, many of the 750 attendees who responded to the assessment survey, said they would repeat and that the experience had been very positive.

The relaxed atmosphere of pubs, where conversation arises easily, is ideal for discussing science in relaxed terms. In this fourth edition, Pint of Science has the participation of more than a hundred bars, pubs and other entertainment venues.

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NANBIOSIS U7 Scientific Director, J Samitier and his vision on technology as a source of eternal youth

Josep Samitier, Scientific Director of U7 of NANBIOSIS, Nanotechnology Unit, has been recently featured in an article in the Jornal “El Mundo”

Following the publication of the book “The Death of Death” by Jose Luis Cordeiro and David Wood, which says that by 2045 death will optional thanks to new technologies finding a way to cure aging, the article interviewed Josep Samitier, to have a more realistic point of view.

The book ‘Death of death’ assures that in 2045 die will be something optional thanks to the new technologies will find a way to cure aging based on success examples of regenerative medicine, stem cell treatments, therapies genetics, 3D printing of organs or bioengineering, that in approximately 30 years aging will be a curable disease, that young indefinite longevity will be achieved, or, in other words, the possibility of being young indefinitely and that death will be, defect, something optional.

José Luis Cordeiro, co-author of the book goes back to 1950 to remember that it was there when it was discovered that the problem of cancer is that it is biologically immortal. They are, in the same way, germ cells or some stem cells, present in all organisms. “What we did not have before is the technology we have today, which allows us to detect the genetics of these cells, when the body dies, the germ cells, the mother and the cancer die, because the food ends, but if they are isolated and they are kept in the right environment, these cells are kept alive permanently”. So, his proposal is to investigate what determines that these are immortal cells and try to imitate the process to find the way that this affect our aging until it stops.

Dr. Angel Raya, Principal Investigator of the CIBER-BBN in the Center of Regenerafiva medicine of Barcelona clarifies that “the diseases that affect us in relation with aging are diseases in which the symptom is produced by the failure of one of the parts of the system, the idea is that if we recover the function of that part in a functioning system, the patient will not have that disease, but that does not mean that he will have more life”.

According to Josep Samitier, “there are fundamental problems associated with aging, such as the loss of muscle mass, the loss of certain capacities …, the human being has cells that are born, develop, die and they are replaced by others, but as we gain years, the replacement stops occurring, understanding. Well this, that does not happen and is maintainance is much more complicated”. In short, the experts consulted affirm that the human body is not reduced to the parts or organs that make it up, and that fixing its mechanical failures will not result in lengthen life indefinitely. “A house made of billets can crumble, but the materials that constituted it, the iron and silicon atoms that form the sand and the iron beams will remain there even if the house disappears,” continues Samitier, “In the same way, we are made up of water, carbohydrates, fats …, the atoms of these substances endure and are quite immortal, but we have to think about the organization of this system, and what we see is that it is something difficult to maintain in a functional way for many years. Advances in bioengineering will help us to live longer and with better quality of life, we will solve some issues and we will have options to fix hearts after heart attacks and things like that, but the problem is not that one thing fails, it is that several fail”.

Article

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CCMIJU, partner of NANBIOSIS and the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina sign a scientific cooperation agreement

The Real Academia Nacional de Medicina and the Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, located in Cáceres, have signed a cooperative agreement in the field of training and cooperative R&D projects.

Last 24^th April, Professor Joaquín Poch Broto, President of the Real Academia Nacional de Medicina (RANM) and Mr. Luis Casas Luengo, the CCMIJU’s Managing Director, met at Madrid to sign a cooperative agreement.

This event, held at the Yellow Room of the Academia, counted on Prof. Vicente Calatayud (Academic Member), Prof. Luis Pablo Rodríguez (General Secretary), Dr. Francisco Miguel Sánchez Margallo (CCMIJU’s Scientific Director), and its founder, Prof. Usón Gargallo (Honorary President).

On one hand, this agreement focuses on training, mobility, stays, grants… and on the other hand, on didactic activities, carrying out postgrad courses and seminars. It includes the cooperation in R&D projects, specifically in all related to the development of new materials, tools, equipment and new systems in the health field.

The signing considers the cooperation with other companies and research institutes to promote and improve the training of the physicians.

The RANM promotes and carries out activities to develop medicine and spreads its results for the application to society. On 13^th March, Academy agreed to support CCMIJU’s candidacy to Princesa de Asturias Awards, in International Category.

The CCMIJU is devoted to research, training and innovation. From 2014 it is one of the 29 existing Singular Scientific Technological Infrastructure (ICTS) in Spain.

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How to validate your favourite antibodies?

Are you interested in learning how to validate your favourite antibodies?

Do not miss the opportunity to attend the 4^th EuroMAbNet Antibody Validation Workshop!

The Antibody Validation Workshop brings together highly specialized scientists in monoclonal antibody (mAbs) technology with PhD students and young scientists who are using antibodies in their research projects. The workshop will provide a set of criteria and recommendations that will help you to select the most effective mAbs from those available in the market and provide the strategic guidance needed to perform any essential antibody validation. This includes verifying antibody specificity, selectivity, sensitivity and reproducibility.

Nuria Pascual, Scientific Coordinator of NANBIOSIS U2, Custom Antibody Service (CAbS), is member of EUROMABNET and member of organizing committee of the antibody validation workshop

Click here to see the program of the, 4^th EuroMAbNet Antibody Validation Workshop, 1st of July 2018, University of Ghent’s Congress Center, Ghent , Belgium. The 4th EuroMAbNet Antibody Validation Workshop will be held as a satellite event within the Core Technologies for Life Sciences (CTLS) meeting 2018.

Register here before the 20^th of June

Registration fee: 80€ (Coffee breaks and lunches are included in the registration)

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The EVO-NANO project will allow testing the behavior of nanoparticles within a tumor

The CIBER-BBN-CIBBIM group, led by Dr. Simó Schwartz, coordinating NANBIOSIS U20. In Vivo Experimental Platform has been granted a FET Innovation project (Future and Emerging Technologies) within the Horizon 2020 program. The EVO-NANO project aims to develop a virtual simulator, called NanoDoc, which will allow testing the behavior of nanoparticles within a tumor and with other nanoparticles.

It is a multidisciplinary project that will develop a consortium of European research centers with the aim of creating a platform available to everyone and at the forefront of Nanomedicine that facilitates the rapid development and testing of new treatments against cancer. “It will become an evolutive platform capable of autonomously offering innovative, efficient and adapted solutions that can also be transferred to other complex biomedical challenges,” explains Dr. Schwartz Jr.

Until now, it is unknown how the behavior of nanoparticles when they are injected in large volume and come into contact, for example, with the bloodstream. It is not known whether the fruit of the interactions between them and with the media will have a better or worse therapeutic efficacy. In the same way, its distribution in a tumoral environment is not known, if they affect more to one type of cells than to others, their behavior before cancer stem cells, etc.

“This simulator will help to understand how nanoparticles interact with each other and in a biological environment when they are injected, in a large volume, in a tumor or in any part of the body,” Dr. Schwartz Jr. adds. Nanoparticles that have an optimal behavior that will later be studied and validated in biological models in vitro and in vivo in breast and colon cancer stem cells.

In addition, the project has an industry partner, Pro Chimia Surfaces, which will promote a translation strategy that enables the arrival of new patients’ nanomedicaments.

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Conference on Nanotoxicity, next May 24, Parc Scientific of Barcelona

NANBIOSIS is organizing a Conference on Nanotoxicity in collaboration with Nanomed Spain and Materplat, next May 24 in the Parc Scientific of Barcelona, to debate about the efect of nanotoxicity of nanoparticles and nanotechnologies in health.

The increase of potential risks to health has created the new discipline of nanotoxicity, that is, the study of the toxicity produced by the effect of nanoparticles and nanomaterials. The objective of this day is to learn more about the lines that are being followed by researchers in the area of nanotoxicity, the progress of different projects in this field, as well as existing tools to know and reduce the toxicity of nanoparticles and nanomaterials.

Nanotechnology intervenes in the design, production and use of structures and objects that have at least one of its dimensions in the scale of 100 nanometers or less. This science is allowing the achievement of advances in various areas with great repercussions for society.

However, manufactured nanoparticles can have properties and effects very different from those of the same materials in conventional sizes, which may pose new risks to the health of man and other species. Some nanoparticles, which are used as a vehicle for drugs to reach the desired cells in greater quantities, to reduce the side effects of the drug in other organs or both, have the same dimensions as certain biological molecules and can interact with them.

The increase of potential risks to health has created a new discipline, nanotoxicity, that is, the study of the toxicity produced by the effect of nanoparticles and nanomaterials. The objective of this day is to learn more about the lines that are being followed in research in the area of nanotoxicity, the progress of different projects in this field, as well as existing tools to know and reduce the toxicity of nanoparticles and nanomaterials.

The event will count with the presentations of Jesús Izco, Executive Director of NANBIOSIS, Ibane Abasolo, Scientific Coordinator of NANBIOSIS U20 In Vivo Experimental Platform and Francisco Balas,Scientists of NANBIOSIS U09 Synthesis of Nanoparticles Unit

The assistance is free but it is necessary to register.

For further information, agenda and registration click here

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Gene therapy in pseudohypoparathyroidism

In 1942, Albright and colleagues described the first hormone resistance syndrome, which they called pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) (1), patients had a specific phenotype consisting of short stature, central obesity, round face, short neck and brachydactyly, which is what that today we know like Albright Hereditary Osteodystrophy (AHO, Albright Hereditary Osteodystrophy).

Nanobiocel research group, coordinator of NANBIOSIS U10. Drug Formulation, is working on the project “Gene therapy in pseudohypoparathyroidism: experimental development based on CRISPR / CAS9 and non-viral vectors“. The objective of the project is to design and validate the ex vivo gene therapy protocol for the correction of known mutations in the GNAS gene, causing pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) type 1A and pseudoPHP, through the following operational objectives: (1) Validation of the model lymphoblasts (immortalized or not) for the application of gene therapy; (2) CRISPR / Cas trial design and vehicularization in non-viral vectors; (3) Identification and characterization of off-target insertions (if any) and (4) Confirmation through functional studies of the correct functioning of the protein obtained from the modified gene.

The project will be carried out by the following research groups: BioAraba of Molecular Epigenetics in rare diseases, led by Dr. Guiomar Pérez de Nanclares, in the OSI Araba – Txagorritxu, the group Nanobiocel, led by Jose Luis Pedraz at UPV/EHU, this group is part of CIBER-BBN and ICTS NANBIOSIS and the group of Professor Cesar Martin, Biofisika Institute (UPV/EHU, CSIC).

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