Detalle de: Cells2Spine: Spatial Transcriptomics and Cell Communication Models applied to tissue regeneration and treatment in Spinal Cord Injury with Precision Nanomedicine

In this project, we use spatial transcriptomics data to understand the process of tissue regeneration after spinal cord injury, using a rat model. We aim to identify biomarkers of recovery to develop precision drugs to stimulate target pathways. This is a Prometeo project in collaboration with Dr. Victoria Moreno, Dr. Maria Jesús Vicent, from the Príncipe Felipe Research Center, Dr. Sonia Tarazona, from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, and Dr. Javier Buceta, from the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (CSIC, Valencia). The project includes high-precision microscopy and exosome analysis. Three PhD students and one postdoc participate in the projects.

The Cells2Spine consortium integrates the Genomics of Gene Expression Laboratory, led by Dr. Ana Conesa and the BiostatOmics Group led by Dr. Sonia Tarazona who are world-renowned experts in transcriptomics data analysis and systems biology. The computational expertise is complemented by the team of Dr. Javier Buceta, expert in the mathematical modeling of tissue biology. Dr. Victoria Moreno’s lab will contribute with fundamental neuroscience knowledge and animal experimentation. Finally, capacity for new drug design and generation of smart pharmacological approaches by means of precision nanomedicine is provided by Dr. Maria J. Vicent, a world-leader in the field of Nanomedicine, specifically in Polymer Therapeutics.

In the Cells2Spine project we will use the cAMP rat model available at the Moreno lab together with cutting-edge technologies for transcriptional profiling of whole tissues to gain new insights into the biology of SCI healing and to develop novel strategies for therapeutic intervention.

These approaches will be applied in the Cells2Spine Project to infer regulatory networks operating during spinal cord tissue regeneration. One of the developed methods is MORE, an algorithm to infer regulatory networks from multi-omic assays that will be adapted to other types of transcriptomics data such as scRNA-seq or ST. These adaptations will be investigated in the Cells2Spine project to model the gradient of spatial regulatory relationships and identify significant biomarkers for drug targeting.

The procedures for mathematical modelling of tissue biology developed at the Buceta lab will be applied in the context of the Cells2Spine project to model the cascade of cellular and molecular events that underlie effective tissue regeneration after SCI.

Find out more: https://cells2spine.es

Coordinator: Ana Conesa