ABOUT

How cells integrate and process information to elicit physiological responses remains one of the most challenging and pressing topics in biological research. The adaptation of cells to their environment depends on their capacity to adequately respond to internal and external cues, involving thousands of mechanical, chemical and electrical stimuli that trigger signal transduction and cytoskeletal pathways. Some of those stimuli are originated by the extracellular environment, in which proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are essential components. Cell-ECM contact is largely mediated by integrins, a major group of ubiquitous cell-adhesion receptors for the proteins of the ECM, which control key downstream molecules, including the RhoGTPases that are master regulators of actin cytoskeleton dynamics. These molecules are well positioned to control the striking cellular morphological changes associated with both: myelination - the process by which axons are invested with myelin, a lipid-rich biological membrane, which forms multilamellar, spirally wrapped sheets around axons; and with the acquisition of the microglia proinflammatory phenotype.

The Glial Cell Biology (GCB)  investigates how integrin and downstream RhoGTPase signaling regulate glial function in the nervous system. Particularly we have been focusing on myelinating glia, i.e., Schwann cell (SC) and oligodendrocyte (OL) development, myelination and remyelination, respectively in the peripheral and central nervous system; and on microglia function in health and disease.

RESEARCH

Over the last years, using a combination of conditional transgenic approaches in mice together with appropriate cell culture systems, omics and advanced microscopy methodologies, we have identified essential roles for integrin and RhoGTPase signaling and associated molecules, in the regulation of different stages of SC and OL development and (re)myelination. We have also found essential roles for some of those molecules in the regulation of microglia homeostasis and in the acquisition of microglia reactive phenotypes.  We will also investigate whether and how these pathways are involved in glia disfunction and neuroinflammation in selected neurological disorders, including Alzheimer´s disease.  Finally, on a more translational note in the context of several awarded EU project grants and prizes, we are working on the development and clinical application of ultrasensitive biosensing technologies to evaluate inflammatory risk in selected inflammatory disorders. This work under the supervision of Inês Pinto  has been mainly conducted in a purpose-built lab at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto to nurture interactions with more clinically orientated colleagues.