Ceu Figueiredo, PhD, is a Group Leader at i3S/Ipatimup and an Associate Professor at the Department of Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto. Her research has been dedicated to studying the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori infection, namely the epidemiology and clinical relevance of H. pylori virulence factors, and the interaction between bacterial virulence factors and human genetic susceptibility to gastric carcinoma. She is investigating the role of H. pylori virulence factors in the outcome of the infection, using clinical specimens and patient cohorts; and the role of H. pylori in epithelial cell responses and underlying signaling pathways relevant to gastric carcinoma development, using in vitro models and validation in clinical specimens. More recently, she has been studying the human gastric microbiota using next-generation sequencing of samples from the stomach of patients with different lesions. As of May 2024, she has published over 130 peer-reviewed papers and 10 book chapters, and has two international patents. She has an h-index of 47 and her work has been cited more than 7.950 times. She has coordinated and participated in several major research projects, including national projects funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), Agency for Innovation, Ministry of Health, and Gulbenkian Foundation, and in international projects funded by the European Commission (FP6, H2020, and Horizon Europe), ERA-NET Pathogenomics, and the Worldwide Cancer Research.
Selected Publications
Gastric microbial community profiling reveals a dysbiotic cancer-associated microbiota. Gut67(2):226-236, 2018. [Journal: Article] [CI: 482] [IF: 17,9]
DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-314205 SCOPUS: 85043251326
Marques M.S., Costa A.C., Osório H., Pinto M.L., Relvas S., Dinis-Ribeiro M., Carneiro F., Leite M., Figueiredo C.
Helicobacter pylori PqqE is a new virulence factor that cleaves junctional adhesion molecule A and disrupts gastric epithelial integrity. Gut Microbes13(1):1-21, 2021. [Journal: Article] [CI: 15] [IF: 9,4]
DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2021.1921928 SCOPUS: 85105768485
Pereira-Marques J., Hout A., Ferreira R.M., Weber M., Pinto-Ribeiro I., Van Doorn L.J., Knetsch C.W., Figueiredo C.
Impact of host DNA and sequencing depth on the taxonomic resolution of whole metagenome sequencing for microbiome analysis. Frontiers in Microbiology10(JUN):, 2019. [Journal: Article] [CI: 120] [IF: 4,2]
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01277 SCOPUS: 85069196942
Santos R.S., Figueiredo C., Azevedo N.F., Braeckmans K., De Smedt S.C.
Nanomaterials and molecular transporters to overcome the bacterial envelope barrier: Towards advanced delivery of antibiotics. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews136-137:28-48, 2018. [Journal: Review] [CI: 106] [IF: 15,5]
DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2017.12.010 SCOPUS: 85041129800
Marques M.S., Melo J., Cavadas B., Mendes N., Pereira L., Carneiro F., Figueiredo C., Leite M.
Afadin downregulation by helicobacter pyloriInduces epithelial to mesenchymal transition in gastric cells. Frontiers in Microbiology9(NOV):, 2018. [Journal: Article] [CI: 24] [IF: 4,3]
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02712 SCOPUS: 85056637997
Tegtmeyer N., Wessler S., Necchi V., Rohde M., Harrer A., Rau T.T., Asche C.I., Boehm M., Loessner H., Figueiredo C., Naumann M., Palmisano R., Solcia E., Ricci V., Backert S.
Helicobacter pylori Employs a Unique Basolateral Type IV Secretion Mechanism for CagA Delivery. Cell Host and Microbe22(4):552-560.e5, 2017. [Journal: Article] [CI: 124] [IF: 17,9]
DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2017.09.005 SCOPUS: 85032499302
Figueiredo C., Constanza Camargo M., Leite M., Fuentes-Pananá E.M., Rabkin C.S., Machado J.C.
Pathogenesis of gastric cancer: Genetics and molecular classification. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology400:277-304, 2017. [Book Series: Book Chapter] [CI: 103] [IF: 5,8]
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-50520-6_12 SCOPUS: 85010908079
Santos R.S., Dakwar G.R., Zagato E., Brans T., Figueiredo C., Raemdonck K., Azevedo N.F., De Smedt S.C., Braeckmans K.
Intracellular delivery of oligonucleotides in Helicobacter pylori by fusogenic liposomes in the presence of gastric mucus. Biomaterials138:1-12, 2017. [Journal: Article] [CI: 30] [IF: 8,8]
DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.05.029 SCOPUS: 85019640517
Ferreira R.M., Pinto-Ribeiro I., Wen X., Marcos-Pinto R., Dinis-Ribeiro M., Carneiro F., Figueiredo C.
Helicobacter pylori cagA promoter region sequences influence CagA expression and interleukin 8 secretion. Journal of Infectious Diseases213(4):669-673, 2016. [Journal: Article] [CI: 42] [IF: 6,3]
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiv467 SCOPUS: 84960172758
Costa A.M., Ferreira R.M., Pinto-Ribeiro I., Sougleri I.S., Oliveira M.J., Carreto L., Santos M.A., Sgouras D.N., Carneiro F., Leite M., Figueiredo C.
Helicobacter pylori activates matrix metalloproteinase 10 in gastric epithelial cells via EGFR and ERK-mediated pathways. Journal of Infectious Diseases213(11):1767-1776, 2016. [Journal: Article] [CI: 46] [IF: 6,3]
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiw031 SCOPUS: 84978646526
Durães C., Muñoz X., Bonet C., García N., Venceslá A., Carneiro F., Peleteiro B., Lunet N., Barros H., Lindkvist B., Boutron-Ruault M.C., Bueno-De-Mesquita H.B., Rizzato C., Trichopoulou A., Weiderpass E., Naccarati A., Travis R.C., Tjønneland A., Gurrea A.B., Johansson M., Riboli E., Figueiredo C., González C.A., Capellà G., MacHado J.C., Sala N.
Genetic variants in the IL1A gene region contribute to intestinal-type gastric carcinoma susceptibility in European populations. International Journal of Cancer135(6):1343-1355, 2014. [Journal: Article] [CI: 12] [IF: 5,1]
DOI: 10.1002/ijc.28776 SCOPUS: 84904044227
Machado A.M.D., Figueiredo C., Seruca R., Rasmussen L.J.
Helicobacter pylori infection generates genetic instability in gastric cells. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Reviews on Cancer1806(1):58-65, 2010. [Journal: Review] [CI: 81] [IF: 9,9]
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2010.01.007 SCOPUS: 77953718630
Ferreira R.M., Figueiredo C., Bonet C., Pardo M.L., Liso J.M.R., Alonso P., Sala N., Capella G., Sanz-Anquela J.M., González C.A.
Helicobacter pylori vacA intermediate region genotyping and progression of gastric preneoplastic lesions. American Journal of Gastroenterology107(1):145-146, 2012. [Journal: Letter] [CI: 13] [IF: 7,6]
DOI: 10.1038/ajg.2011.389 SCOPUS: 84855428342
Ferreira R.M., Machado J.C., Letley D., Atherton J.C., Pardo M.L., Gonzalez C.A., Carneiro F., Figueiredo C.
A novel method for genotyping the Helicobacter pylori vacA intermediate region directly in gastric biopsy specimens. Journal of Clinical Microbiology50(12):3983-3989, 2012. [Journal: Article] [CI: 43] [IF: 4,1]
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.02087-12 SCOPUS: 84869213164
González C.A., Figueiredo C., Lic C.B., Ferreira R.M., Pardo M.L., Ruiz Liso J.M., Alonso P., Sala N., Capella G., Sanz-Anquela J.M.
Helicobacter pylori cagA and vacA genotypes as predictors of progression of gastric preneoplastic lesions: A long-term follow-up in a high-risk area in Spain. American Journal of Gastroenterology106(5):867-874, 2011. [Journal: Article] [CI: 119] [IF: 7,3]
DOI: 10.1038/ajg.2011.1 SCOPUS: 79955601017
Machado A.M.D., Figueiredo C., Touati E., Máximo V., Sousa S., Michel V., Carneiro F., Nielsen F.C., Seruca R., Rasmussen L.J.
Helicobacter pylori infection induces genetic instability of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in gastric cells. Clinical Cancer Research15(9):2995-3002, 2009. [Journal: Article] [CI: 124] [IF: 6,7]
DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-08-2686 SCOPUS: 65649154690
Oliveira M.J., Costa A.M., Costa A.C., Ferreira R.M., Sampaio P., Machado J.C., Seruca R., Mareei M., Figueiredo C.
CagA associates with c-met, E-cadherin, and p120catenin in a multiproteic complex that suppresses helicobacter pylori-induced cell-invasive phenotype. Journal of Infectious Diseases200(5):745-755, 2009. [Journal: Article] [CI: 85] [IF: 5,9]
DOI: 10.1086/604727 SCOPUS: 67649120160
Machado J.C., Figueiredo C., Canedo P., Pharoah P., Carvalho R., Nabais S., Castro Alves C., Campos M.L., Van Doorn L.J., Caldas C., Seruca R., Carneiro F., Sobrinho-Simões M.
A proinflammatory genetic profile increases the risk for chronic atrophic gastritis and gastric carcinoma. Gastroenterology125(2):364-371, 2003. [Journal: Article] [CI: 449] [IF: 12,7]
DOI: 10.1016/S0016-5085(03)00899-0 SCOPUS: 0042667008
Oliveira M.J., Costa A.C., Costa A.M., Henriques L., Suriano G., Atherton J.C., Machado J.C., Carneiro F., Seruca R., Mareel M., Leroy A., Figueiredo C.
Helicobacter pylori induces gastric epithelial cell invasion in a c-Met and type IV secretion system-dependent manner. Journal of Biological Chemistry281(46):34888-34896, 2006. [Journal: Article] [CI: 89] [IF: 5,8]
DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M607067200 SCOPUS: 33845953709
Figueiredo C., Machado J.C., Pharoah P., Seruca R., Sousa S., Carvalho R., Capelinha A.F., Quint W., Caldas C., van Doorn L.J., Carneiro F., Sobrinho-Simões M.
Helicobacter pylori and interleukin 1 genotyping: An opportunity to identify high-risk individuals for gastric carcinoma. Journal of the National Cancer Institute94(22):1680-1687, 2002. [Journal: Article] [CI: 582] [IF: 14,5]
DOI: 10.1093/jnci/94.22.1680 SCOPUS: 0037146297