Description
Our laboratory is very interested in understanding how lysosomes and autophagy play a role in physiological aging. We have shown that in the aged retina there is a decrease in the cells' ability to induce autophagy and that this correlates with night vision loss and the death of light-sensitive cells, the photoreceptors. We have shown that this phenotype is very similar to that observed in the retina of autophagy-deficient animals and is also observed during retinal aging in humans.
On the other hand, our studies show that autophagy deficient animals have a phenotype of accelerated aging being more susceptible to age-associated diseases, such as glaucoma. Our research focuses on understanding what are the alterations both at the cell and tissue level that accelerate this susceptibility. Our aim is to search for new therapeutic targets that can be used for these and other age-associated diseases.
Selected Publications
Mitophagy curtails cytosolic mtDNA-dependent activation of cGAS/STING inflammation during aging. Jiménez-Loygorri JI, Villarejo-Zori B, Viedma-Poyatos Á, Zapata-Muñoz J, Benítez-Fernández R, Frutos-Lisón MD, Tomás-Barberán FA, Espín JC, Area-Gómez E, Gomez-Duran A, Boya P. Nat Commun. 2024 Jan 27;15(1):830.
Age related Retinal Ganglion Cell susceptibility in context of autophagy deficiency. Bell K, Rosignol I, Sierra-Filardi E, Rodríguez-Muela N, Schmelter C, Cecconi F, Grus F, Boya P. Cell Death and Discovery, 2020 Apr 17;6:21.
Lysosome-dependent cell death and deregulated autophagy induced by amine-modified polystyrene nanoparticles. Wang F, Salvati A, Boya P. Open Biol. 2018 Apr;8(4).
Altered Blood Gene Expression of Tumor-Related Genes (PRKCB, BECN1, and CDKN2A) in Alzheimer's Disease. Antonell A, Lladó A, Sánchez-Valle R, Sanfeliu C, Casserras T, Rami L, Muñoz-García C, Dangla-Valls A, Balasa M, Boya P, Kalko SG, Molinuevo JL. Mol Neurobiol. 2016; 53:5902-5911
Lysosomal membrane permeabilization and autophagy blockade contribute to photoreceptor cell death in a mouse model of retinitis pigmentosa. Rodríguez-Muela N, Hernández-Pinto AM, Serrano-Puebla A, García-Ledo L, Latorre SH, de la Rosa EJ, Boya P. Cell Death Differ. 2015; 22:476-87
Pathogenic lysosomal depletion in Parkinson's disease. Dehay B, Bové J, Rodríguez-Muela N, Perier C, Recasens A, Boya P*, Vila M*. J Neurosci. 2010;30:12535-44.
High sphingomyelin levels induce lysosomal damage and autophagy dysfunction in Niemann Pick disease type A. Gabandé-Rodríguez E, Boya P, Labrador V, Dotti CG, Ledesma MD. Cell Death Differ. 2014; 21:864-75.
Balance between autophagic pathways preserves retinal homeostasis. Rodríguez-Muela N, Koga H, García-Ledo LM, de la Vila P, de la Rosa E, Cuervo AM, Boya P. Aging Cell. 2013;12:478-88.
Reviews
Serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase 1, a new therapeutic target for autophagy modulation in chronic diseases. Maestro I, Boya P, Martinez A. Expert Opin Ther Targets. 2020 Feb 18:1-13.
Lysosomal membrane permeabilization and cell death. Wang F, Gómez-Sintes R, Boya P.Traffic. 2018;19:918-931.
Lysosomal cell death mechanisms in aging. Gómez-Sintes R, Ledesma MD, Boya P. Ageing Res Rev. 2016; 32:150-168
Autophagy in the eye: Development, degeneration, and aging. Boya P, Esteban-Martínez L, Serrano-Puebla A, Gómez-Sintes R, Villarejo-Zori B. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2016; 55:206-245.
Group