CARDIOMICS
The molecular output of the human genome is composed by a myriad of functional and regulatory molecules. Among them, the non-coding RNAs a wide family of molecular regulators produced by the transcription of specific genomic loci which are not devoted to produce proteins. In non-proliferative organs as the heart, non-coding RNAs are essential players to ensure the correct organ homeostasis and function. The role of non-coding RNAs in the patho-physiology of cardiovascular diseases is starting to be unraveled, however there is still a long road to pave before they could be used as therapeutic targets.
The Cardiomics laboratory is applying a multi-disciplinary approach using structural biology, biochemistry, genetics and bioinformatics to unravel the role of non-coding RNAs in cardiovascular diseases. More specifically, the Cardiomics laboratory is currently investigating the use of circulating miRNAs as biomarkers of cardiac diseases including infarction and atrial fibrillation, the physiological role of miRNAs in rare diseases such as Fabry’s disease, and the involvement of non-coding RNAs as regulators of heart misfunction.
RESEARCH TEAM
Enguita, J. Francisco, PhD
GROUP LEADER
Francisco Enguita was born in Zaragoza, Spain. He obtained his Degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Granada in 1991, where he also completed a Master’s Degree in Microbial Biotechnology in 1992. He then pursued his PhD in Microbial Genetics at the University of Salamanca, Spain.
Since 2006, he has been a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, where he currently holds the position of Assistant Professor. In 2018, he established the Cardiomics Research Group at the Cardiovascular Centre of the University of Lisbon (CCUL).
Email: fenguita@medicina.ulisboa.pt
Costa, C. Marina, PhD
Researcher
Marina C. Costa graduated in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal, in 1999. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, in 2007. Her doctoral research focused on the impact of genetic mutations on sulpha drug metabolic targets and their role in the development of sulpha drug resistance, using an opportunistic infection model.
In 2010, she began her postdoctoral research at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, under the supervision of Prof. Francisco Enguita, where she studied the molecular and cellular mechanisms of microRNA biology and its potential as a disease biomarker.
She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at CCUL – Cardiovascular Centre of the University of Lisbon.
Gabriel, F.G. André, MSc
André Gabriel holds a BSc in Genetics and Biotechnology from the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (2014) and a MSc in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Aveiro (2016). During his Master’s studies, he conducted research in Luísa Romão’s laboratory at the Human Genetics Department of the Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon. His work focused on the development of novel and more efficient therapies for PTC-associated genetic diseases, particularly beta-thalassemia.
Email: dregabriel@hotmail.com
COLLABORATORS
Prof. Ewa L. Stepien, Institute of Physics, Department of Medical Physics, Jagellonian University, Krakow, Poland
Dr. Vladimir Benes, Genecore facility, EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany
Prof. Ignacio Gimenez, Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
Prof. Adelino Leite Moreira, Department of Surgery and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Prof. Inês Pires, Department of Surgery and Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Prof. Henrique Girão, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
FUNDED PROJECTS
PTDC/MED-GEN/29389/2017 (Portugal), 2018-2020: Unraveling the role of circular RNAs in the establishment of permanent atrial fibrillation (Principal Investigator). Budget: 229,115 Euro.
PTDC/BIA-CEL/31230/2017 (Portugal), 2018-2020: Molecular Mechanisms that maintain Mitochondrial Homeostasis in Brain (Co-Principal investigator). Budget: 239,998 Euro.
PTDC/BBB-NAN/1578/2014 (Portugal), 2016-2018: Peptides for blood-brain barrier transmigration and drug delivery – novel therapies for the central nervous system (Team member). Budget: 190,090 Euro.
PTDC/BEX-BCM/3592/2014 (Portugal), 2016-2018: Dissection of microRNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation of T cell differentiation (Team member). Budget: 172,334 Euro.
PTDC/DTP-EPI/6127/2014 (Portugal), 2016-2018: Role of microRNAs on the left ventricle reverse- remodeling after aortic valve replacement in patients with aortic valve stenosis (Co-Principal Investigator). Budget: 178,000 Euro
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Stępień E.L., Durak-Kozica M., Kamińska A., Targosz-Korecka M., Libera M., Tylko G., Opalińska A., Kapusta M., Solnica B., Georgescu A., Costa M.C., Czyżewska-Buczyńska A., Witkiewicz W., Małecki M., Enguita F.J. Circulating ectosomes: Determination of angiogenic microRNAs in Type 2 diabetes. Theranostics 2018, 8(14): 3874-3890. DOI: 10.7150/thno.23334.
Stępień E., Costa M.C., Kurc S., Drożdż A., Cortez-Dias N., Enguita F.J. The circulating non-coding RNA landscape for biomarker research: lessons and prospects from cardiovascular diseases. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2018, 39(7): 1085-1099. DOI: 10.1038/aps.2018.35.
Stepien E.L., Costa M.C., Enguita F.J. miRNAtools: advanced training using the miRNA web of knowledge. Non-coding RNA 2018, 4(1), 5. DOI:10.3390/ncrna4010005.
Cortez-Dias N., Costa M.C., Carrilho-Ferreira P., Silva D., Jorge C., Calisto C., Pessoa T., Robalo Martins S., de Sousa J.C., da Silva P.C., Fiúza M., Diogo A.N., Pinto F.J., Enguita F.J. Circulating miR-122-5p/mir-133b ratio is a specific early prognostic biomarker in acute myocardial infarction. Circ J. 2016, 80(10): 2183-2191. DOI: 10.1253/circj.CJ-16-0568.
Cortez-Dias N., Costa M.C., de Sousa J., Fiúza M., Gallego J., Nobre A., Pinto F.J., Enguita F.J. Expanding the functional role of miRNAs in the establishment of permanent atrial fibrillation. Int J Cardiol. 2016, 222: 340-341. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.07.296.