Tag: mice

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Therapeutic virus-like particle- based vaccines against cervical cancer

PRBB Communications

Cervical cancer represents the second most frequent gynecological malignancy in the world. It is caused by a persistent virus infection by the high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) but no cervical cancer vaccine has been marketed to date. In a paper published in PLoS, Juan Martin Caballero, director of the PRBB animal facility, together with colleagues from a pharmaceutical company have generated a virus-like particle (VLP)-based vaccine to treat this cancer and have tested it in humanized transgenic mice. The researchers took a long C-terminal fragment of the HPV-16 E7 protein – one of the two viral proteins necessary for induction and maintenance of malignant transformation – … Continue reading Therapeutic virus-like particle- based vaccines against cervical cancer

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Understanding cannabis

PRBB Communications

Cannabis has a long history of use as medicine, with historical evidence dating back more than 4000 years.  The potential therapeutic benefits of cannabinoid compounds are huge, but this substance can also have negative effects. A recent paper by Andrés Ozaita and colleagues at the Neurophar laboratory of Rafael Maldonado (CEXS-UPF) has given new insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie cannabinoid-mediated effects. Using mice as a model system, the authors had previously shown that blocking the mTOR pathway prevented the amnesic-like effects of THC (a synthetic form of cannabinoid). In the present study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, they have gone further, … Continue reading Understanding cannabis

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Down syndrome hippocampal defects improved in a mouse model

PRBB Communications

In a recent work published in Neurobiology of disease, the research groups lead by Mara Dierssen at the CRG and Cristina Fillat, now at the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) have joined efforts to find a potential therapeutic target for Down Syndrome (mice). Down Syndrome (DS), caused by the trisomy of human chromosome 21 (HSA21), is the most common chromosome abnormality in humans. It is typically associated with a delay in cognitive ability, with an average IQ of around 50 in young adults compared with 100 in adults without the condition, as well as with physical growth and a particular set of facial characteristics. The Ts65Dn mouse is a genetic model … Continue reading Down syndrome hippocampal defects improved in a mouse model

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Coffee can be good for your brain

PRBB Communications

Several studies have suggested that daily caffeine administration can protect against brain injury in some cases, for example in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, as well as in ischemic and traumatic brain injury, or allergic encephalitis. Olga Valverde’s group at the CEXS-UPF decided to check if it could also have a positive effect on MDMA-induced neuroinflammation. The recreational drug MDMA, or ecstasy, induces astrocytic and microglial activation in mice striatum, which leads to inflammation and neurotoxicity. They injected caffeine (10, 20, or 30 mg/kg, i.p) for 21 consecutive days into mice, and then on day … Continue reading Coffee can be good for your brain