Newsletter iMM

This month at iMM we share very important news: the creation of the GIMM Foundation. For this reason, we will no longer be writing to you in this newsletter, but we would like to invite you?to keep up with our findings in this new chapter by subscribing to our new newsletter. In addition to these exciting news, we're also sharing some very interesting work that has shed light on the mechanisms associated with the development of Alzheimer's and the University of Lisbon Scientific Prizes awarded to iMM researchers.

In this edition we have some very important news - the creation of a new institution, the GIMM Foundation (Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine), a visionary merger between two renowned institutions in Portugal: Instituto de Medicina Molecular , which you know well, and the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia , in Oeiras.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the University of Lisbon, the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon, the University Hospital of Santa Maria, the “la Caixa” Foundation and ARICA decided to create a unique research institute in the areas of life sciences and biomedical sciences, promoting the union of these two prestigious institutions. With this merger, the founders have a very ambitious goal - to create a renowned scientific research institute looking forward to generate multi- and transdisciplinary knowledge to answer fundamental questions of biology and human health in the rapidly evolving environment that we live in. These goals will be met while developing solutions to improve care and promote equity in health, both locally and globally.

We would like you to continue following our work by following the GIMM LinkedIn page.

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New study sheds light on Alzheimer’s onset mechanisms

A new study published in the journal?Brain?by researchers from the University and Hospital of Lille in collaboration with Luísa Lopes Lab from iMM made further progress in understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by memory disorders, executive function deficits, and disorientation in time and space. It results from the slow degeneration of neurons, beginning in the hippocampus and then spreading to the rest of the brain. Previous studies from Luísa Lopes Lab had already shown that the expression of certain receptors, called A2A, was increased in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease at the hippocampus level. However, the impact of the deregulation of these receptors on the development of the disease and associated cognitive disorders remained unknown until now.

The researchers successfully replicated an early increase in the expression of A2A adenosine receptors, as observed in the brains of patients, in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease that develops amyloid plaques. The goal was to evaluate the consequences of this increase on the disease and to describe the mechanisms involved. Using a proteomic and transcriptomic analysis coupled to quantitative immunofluorescence, the data revealed that neuronal impairment of the receptor promoted both neuronal- and non-neuronal autonomous alterations i.e. enhanced neuroinflammatory response but also loss of excitatory synapses and impaired neuronal mitochondrial function, presumably accounting for the detrimental effect on memory. The researchers further showed that dysfunction of microglial cells, partly responsible for the cerebral inflammation observed in the disease, could be involved in synapse loss in response to an increase in A2A receptors.

This study sheds light on the mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s development and high?ights the potential of A2A receptors as a therapeutic target to mitigate the cognitive impairments associated with this disease.

Researchers recognized by the Scientific Awards from the University of Lisbon

In the 2024 edition of the University of Lisbon Scientific Awards?the researcher Nuno Morais was recognized with the Biomedical Sciences Award, and Luísa Figueiredo and Ana Catarina Fonseca were recognized with honorable mentions.??

The aim of these awards is to reward scientific research and encourage the practice of publishing in high-quality international journals.