AstraZeneca awards i3S researchers

Beatriz Carreiro Garcia, finalist of the Master's Degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) and whose research work is being developed at i3S, was recently awarded the Innovate Poster Award in the Basic Research category by the AstraZeneca Foundation in recognition of the work presented at the iMed conference® 11.0 in Lisbon.

The Innovate Poster Award is a research grant worth 1000 Euros which aims to help the winner continue their research project. The work, "Anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 protein expression and localization is regulated by alternative 3'UTRs", was developed as part of a project coordinated by researchers Isabel Pereira-Castro and Alexandra Moreira from the i3S Gene Regulation group.

The work focuses on the study of the Mcl-1 protein, which has an anti-apoptotic function that prevents the cell from being recognized as a "damaged cell". This protein is known to be overexpressed in different types of cancer and is associated with drug resistance mechanisms used in anticancer therapies. "We found that the MCL1 gene gives rise to two mRNAs that only differ in length in their non-coding 3’ region, expressing the same anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1", explains the researcher. "Our work focused on understanding the influence of these two mRNAs on normal cell function".

The research group which Beatriz Carreiro Garcia belongs to found that "both mRNAs contribute to the anti-apoptotic function of the Mcl-1 protein, but play different roles in regulating protein expression and subcellular localization and therefore may have a differential impact on cell apoptosis. Given that clinical trials based on inhibition of Mcl-1 protein already exist, the study of gene regulatory mechanisms will allow a better understanding of its function".

Winning this award, said the young i3S researcher, "was a very gratifying surprise. I would like to thank the AstraZeneca Foundation for their recognition and my mentors for giving me the opportunity to participate in the competition and for all their support".