About
Our laboratory focuses on the role of the immune system in respiratory health and disease, specifically focusing in alveolar regeneration after an acute or chronic injury.
Of particular interest are the function, supply and production of leukocytes into the lung after disease, and the signals that regulate their mobilization after a damage such as an infection, an acute damage or fibrosis.
We use interdisciplinary approaches to study the crosstalk between leukocytes and lung resident cells such as alveolar type II cells, resident alveolar and interstitial macrophages and fibroblasts.
We use disease mouse models to mechanistically dissect innate and adaptive immune cell functions in fibrosis and inflammation as we believe that immune cells are the critical determinant of the correct tissue regeneration or the impaired reparation.
In more detail, our team seeks to understand how molecular & cellular signaling through cannabinoid receptors and their lipidic ligands- endogenous cannabinoids- affect fibrosis progress.
Our work has been funded by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), the Agency for Management of University and Research Grants of Generalitat de Catalunya (AGAUR) and the Catalan Society of Pneumology (SOCAP).
Research Publications
See publications Raquel Guillamat Prats
Group Members
IGTP
Raquel Guillamat Prats(ELIMINAR), Group Leader
Paula Goncalves Romeu(ELIMINAR)
HUGTiP
Karina Portillo Carroz(ELIMINAR)
Collaborating researchers
We collaborate with several clinicians in our hospital:
- Dr. Carlos Martinez Rivera in VIRASMA Project
- Dr. Toni Marín, Dr. Irene Aldás and Dr. Marina Galdeano in VIRUC project
And we have national and international collaborations:
- Dr. Antonio Artigas in acute respiratory disease syndrome (ARDS) projects
- Prof. Sabine Steffens in cannabinoid system regulation in cardiovascular diseases
- Prof. Donato Santovito in the study of non-coding RNAs in lung diseases
Research lines
Role of cannabinoid system in pulmonary fibrosis
PI: Raquel Guillamat Prats
The overall objective of this project is to broaden and deepen our understanding of endocannabinoid signaling in pulmonary fibrosis. We will study in detail how classical cannabinoid receptor 1 and 2 (CB1 And CB2), and the endocannabinoid ligands contribute to the pathophysiology of pulmonary fibrosis.
G-protein couple receptor 55 (GPR55) in neutrophil activation during acute lung injury
PI: Raquel Guillamat Prats
GPR55 has been described by our group that plays a key role in regulating adaptive immune response. This receptor is also highly expressed in neutrophils, that are crucial cells during the first stages of acute lung injury. Our hypothesis is that impaired GPR55 signalling affects neutrophil function enhancing their radical oxygen species production and triggering NETosis.
The pivotal role of macrophages in lung cancer and pulmonary fibrosis
PI: Paloma Millan/Raquel Guillamat Prats
Pulmonary fibrosis is a risk factor for lung cancer (LC) development. A significant number of patients with pulmonary fibrosis display risk factors also associated with LC. Many multiple mutual genetic, molecular, and cellular processes appear to connect both diseases. We will focus on studying the macrophages phenotype present in the lung during fibrosis, their similarities with tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) and how they amplify the response during LC promoting tumor growth. We expect to learn a specific transcriptomic fingerprint in macrophages that is associated with a more severe tumour progression.
Role of diet as master of regulating of immune system and its impact in respiratory diseases
PI: Raquel Guillamat Prats
Our daily-diet impacts our immune system and vulnerability to disease. Diet-associate obesity is associated with metabolic, cardiovascular diseases and other non-communicable diseases such as many respiratory diseases. We hypothesize that unbalanced daily nutrition triggers myeloid cell production, promoting overstimulation of the immune system, leading to an overwhelmed response in front of respiratory diseases. We propose for this project an omics-driven approach combined with phenotypic and functional assays to enlighten the links between daily-diet, hematopoiesis, myeloid cell maturation, immune system homeostasis & systemic inflammation and its impact in lung pathologies.
Current Research Projects
Endocannabinoid system as novel therapeutic target in pulmonary fibrosis
Principal Investigator: Raquel Guillamat Prats
Code: CP20/00133
Start date: 01/03/2021
End date (approximate): 28/02/2026
El sistema cannabinoide com a nova diana terapèutica per la fibrosi pulmonar
Principal Investigator: Raquel Guillamat Prats
Start date: 01/04/2022
End date: 30/03/2024
Contact
Raquel Guillamat Prats
(+34) 93 554 30 50