Several researchers from the Institute of Plant Biochemistry and Photosynthesis (IBVF) and the Institute of Chemical Research (IIQ) participate in the European Multidisciplinary Research and Transfer Network on Autophagy TRANSAUTOPHAGY, made up of 163 European research groups and 11 international companies.
Autophagy is an essential mechanism for maintaining the conditions of the internal environment in cells; through autophagy the cell controls the balance of nutrients, and expels damaged or excess elements, deficient proteins, and even invading microorganisms.
In the field of health, several examples demonstrate the great importance of this mechanism as a therapeutic target against diseases (cancer, lupus erythematosus, or neurodegeneration), and as a key factor to counteract tissue aging. In the biotechnology field, the modulation of autophagy has proven essential for the optimization of agricultural production and the obtaining of alternative energy sources from microalgae.
The network will serve as a platform to promote the exchange of knowledge between companies, researchers from various disciplines (nanoscientists, bioinformaticians, physicists, chemists, biologists and doctors) and other related agents. The consortium will promote collaborative scientific work among all its members and will promote innovation as a tool for creative problem solving. Its dual objective is the generation of multidisciplinary knowledge on autophagy and its application in the fields of biomedicine and biotechnology.
The network also plans to disseminate and transfer the results to society, with actions that will include recommendations for healthy aging and disease prevention, or the use of new therapies and nanodevices capable of selectively modulating autophagy.
Specifically, the participants attached to the IBVF are the researchers José Luis Crespo González, head of the Cell Signaling in Chlamydomonas group; Aurelio Serrano Delgado, head of the Phosphate Bioenergetics group; and Cecilia Gotor Martínez, from the Cysteine Metabolism and Signaling group. The IIQ-affiliated researcher is José Manuel García Fernández, head of the Bioorganic and Supramolecular Carbohydrate Chemistry group.
More information in: http://www.cost.eu/COST_Actions/COST-Association/CA15138
