Pura Muñoz-Cánoves

Group website

 

Research Outline

Our research aims to understand the mechanisms regulating stem cell homeostasis and regenerative functions: how stem cells maintain quiescence, are activated, proliferate and differentiate, and finally self-renew, and how they interact with the external inflammatory environment. Research has been especially focused on stem cells of skeletal muscle. In particular, we want to shed light on: 1) the age-associated muscle decline and wasting (sarcopenia) and loss of stem-cell regenerative functions with aging; and 2) the physiopathology of muscular dystrophies, with a specific interest in the contribution of inflammation and fibrosis to dystrophy progression. These studies are relevant to regenerative medicine.

 

Research Lines

  • Skeletal muscle regenerative decline with aging: causes and potential reversal.
    • Analysis of autophagy in aging muscle stem cells and relationship with defective regeneration.
    • Analysis of signaling pathways driving aging of muscle stem cells.
    • Analysis of the impact of age-associated circadian alterations on stem cell functions.
  • Inflammation and fibrosis in muscle regeneration: implications for Duchenne muscular dystrophy progression. 
    • Genetic demonstration of the role of inflammation in regenerating and dystrophic muscle.
    • Genetic tracing analysis to demonstrate the cellular origin of myofibroblasts (i.e. fibrosis) in fibrosis progression in dystrophic muscle.
 

Team during 2017-18

  • Other PIs: Antonio L. Serrano, Eusebio Perdiguero
  • Postdocs: Jessica Segalés, Joan Isern, Konstantin Slobodnyuk, Arun Kumar,  William Roman    
  • PhD students: Victoria Moiseeva, Antonio Martínez García, Pedro Maseres Javaloy,  Mireia Vaca Dempere, Xiaotong Hong
  • Master students: Vanessa Polo, Alejandro Cardona Monzonís, Alejandra Rodríguez, Miguel González Martin, Tomas Christian Simm
  • Technicians: Laura Ortet, Merce Jardí, Vera Lukesova, Begoña Ampudia, Eduardo Álvarez, Ana Maria Martin de Ana, Johanna Gerez, Marta Masso, Aida Navarro
  • Project manager: Marina Raya.
  • Research visits: 

    - Francescopaolo Iavarone, PhD Student, Università degli studi della Campania  "Adriano Buzzati Traverso", Italy, 9/10/17-7/1/18

    - Thomson, David , Associate Professor, Brigham Young University, Department of Physiology & Developmental Biology, Provo, UT USA, 07/06/17 -23/12/17

     

 

Selected publications 2017-18

  • Chang NC, Sincennes MC, Chevalier FP, Brun CE, Lacaria M, Segalés J, Muñoz-Cánoves P, Ming H, Rudnicki MA (2018) The Dystrophin Glycoprotein Complex Regulates the Epigenetic Activation of Muscle Stem Cell Commitment. Cell Stem Cell. 5:755-768.
  • Solanas G, Peixoto FO, Perdiguero E, Jardí M, Ruiz-Bonilla V, Datta D, Symeonidi A, Castellanos A, Welz PS, Caballero JM, Sassone-Corsi P, Muñoz-Cánoves P*, Benitah SA* (2017) Aged Stem Cells Reprogram Their Daily Rhythmic Functions to Adapt to Stress. Cell 170:678-692 (* co-corresponding).
  • Testoni G, Duran J, García-Rocha M, Vilaplana F, Serrano AL, Sebastián D, López-Soldado I, Sullivan MA, Slebe F, Vilaseca M, Muñoz-Cánoves P, Guinovart JJ (2017)  Lack of Glycogenin Causes Glycogen Accumulation and Muscle Function Impairment. Cell Metab. 26:256-266.
  • García-Prat L, Sousa-Victor P, Muñoz-Cánoves P (2017) Proteostatic and Metabolic Control of Stemness. Cell Stem Cell 20:593-608 (Review).

 

Other relevant information 2017-18

Editorial Boards, Editorial Activities

2010-Pres: Editorial Board of The FEBS Journal” (Special Features Editor)

2010-Pres: Editorial Board and Founding Member of Skeletal Muscle (Biomed Central Journal)

2014-Pres: Advisory Board Member of Oncotarget and Gerotarget: Section in Aging

2016-Pres: Advisory Board Member of Journal of Immunology and Regenerative Medicine

2014-Pres: Faculty Member F1000Prime: Musculoskeletal & Pharmacology Section

2011-Pres: Elected Member of the European Federation for Systematic Stem Cell Biology (EuroStemCell)

2017-Pres: Editorial Board of the Journal of Immunology and Regenerative Medicine

2017-Pres: Member of the Scientific Council of Fundación GADEA por la Ciencia (GADEA Foundation for Science)

    

Manager of Scientific Evaluating Panels (Study Sections)

2019-Pres: President of the Fundamental Myology Commission of Association Française pour les Myopathies (AFM)

2018-Pres: Member of the Jury of The New York Academy of Sciences and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Prize

2018-Pres: Member of Banc Sabadell Prize on Biomedicine

2018-Pres: Member of Scientific Advisory Committee of CABIMER, Seville

2018-Pres: Member of Scientific Advisory Committee of IDIBAPS, Barcelona

2016-2018: Member of Scientific Advisory Committee of the Leibniz Institute on Aging, Germany

2016-Pres: Member of Scientific Advisory Committee of the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB), Barcelona

2012-2018: Vice-President of Fundamental Myology Commission of Association Française pour les Myopathies (AFM).  

2004-Pres: Member of the Ethical Committee for Clinical Evaluation of Human Stem Cell Therapies (CEIC) of the Center for Regenerative Medicine (Catalan Government)

 

Transfer activities

Prospera Biotech

 

Awards

ERC (European Research Council) Advanced Grant (2017).

Spanish Selection of Science (Selección Española de la Ciencia) (2018).

Elected Member of the Academia Europaea (2018).

Narcís Monturiol Prize from Catalan Government to the Scientific and Technologic Career (2018).