Two projects led by researchers from the CIB Margarita Salas have been selected in the CAIXARESEARCH Call for Health Research 2021

Convinced that cutting-edge and transformative research and innovation require great support in order to be carried out, the ”la Caixa” Foundation announces the 30 projects selected in the CaixaResearch Call for Health Research 2021. Two of these projects, chosen in the area of Neurosciences, are led by researchers from the Margarita Salas Center for Biological Research (CIB-CSIC), Dolores Pérez-Sala, and Ana Martínez and focus on the understanding of Alexander's disease and the development of therapeutic strategies for ALS, respectively.

The CaixaResearch Call, carried out in partnership with the Fundação para a Ciência ea Tecnologia (FCT), of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal, wants to promote research on projects from centers in Spain and Portugal in collaboration with other international ones, identifying and promoting the most promising initiatives, of greater scientific excellence and of greater potential value and social impact, both in basic research and in clinical, translational and innovation.

The project "From GFAP mutations in astrocytes to neurodegeneration: exploring a lipid-protein oxidation pathway" led by Dolores Pérez-Sala and funded with 1 million euros, focuses on the study of Alexander's disease, a rare disease of genetic origin, that progressively destroys the white matter of the brain and neurons, causing severe neurological disorders leading to death.

This disorder is due to mutations in the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) present in astrocytes, a type of glial cells that are essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system. The project investigates how GFAP mutations in astrocytes cause irreversible damage not only to these cells but also to neurons. This knowledge will also help to understand the mechanisms of other more common neurodegenerative diseases.

Dolores Pérez-Sala coordinates this project, developed in consortium with the Brain Center, University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands), the University of Copenhagen (Denmark), the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), and the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Lleida.

The project "Targeting TDP-43 with protein kinase inhibitors: an effective and measurable therapy for ALS" led by Ana Martínez and co-financed by the Foundations "la Caixa" and Luzón with 500,000 euros, focuses on the study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal disease for which effective treatments are urgently needed.

The pathological accumulation of the TDP-43 protein is associated with the appearance of this and other neurodegenerative diseases. The development of drugs that allow the recovery of the TDP-43 protein function in the motor neurons of ALS patients is a novel therapeutic approach. The project focuses on the investigation of certain kinase inhibitors that could result in promising personalized therapies to treat ALS and other conditions by regulating the physiological balance of TDP-43.

The project led by Ana Martínez, is developed in a consortium with the Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal) and the Faculty of Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid.

This year's call received 644 proposals, evaluated by a team of more than 540 international experts. The principal investigators of the 70 shortlisted proposals were interviewed by 5 expert committees that chose the 30 best, highlighting the high quality and relevance of the projects in their field of research. The CaixaResearch Call for Health Research 2021 supports excellent projects in the fields of oncology (9 projects), neurosciences (9 projects), cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (6 projects), and infectious diseases (6 projects).

More information:

Fundación ”la Caixa” Press Release (in Spanish): link.

CSIC Press Release (in Spanish): link.

Information on the resolution of the CaixaResearch Call for Health Research 2021 (in Spanish): link.