08/02/2021 - Campus Can Ruti, Research

Blocking the spread of HIV or favouring the spread of the tuberculosis bacteria, the flip side of the Siglec-1 protein's absence

In 2016, the Retrovirology and Clinical Studies group at IrsiCaixa discovered how the absence of the Siglec-1 protein, involved in modulating the immune system, blocks the spread of HIV throughout the body. Now, a study led by the same research group and the Experimental Tuberculosis Unit of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) has shown that, on the other hand, this same deficiency favours the dissemination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the tuberculosis-causing agent. 

04/11/2020 - Research

The first projects on SARS-CoV-2 in lab-designed mini human organs gets underway

The Centre for Comparative Medicine and Bioimage of Catalonia (CMCiB), of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), will be the second centre in Catalonia to work on the SARS-CoV-2 virus obtained directly from patients. Until now most work has taken place with artificial viruses that can only infect once. Research staff of IrsiCaixa and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) have started to work on the virus in the CMCiB to study the infection of organoids; mini organs designed in the laboratory to simulate human lungs and brains. Organoids are already being used in research and their use in studies into COVID-19 will provide better understanding of infection by SARS-CoV-2 and the capacity of different drugs to eliminate it from these tissues.

05/06/2020 - Research, Success Stories

Virtual lungs to understand the dynamics of tuberculosis lesions within the lungs

The study focusses on understanding the mechanisms that keep the infection latent without the infected person developing the disease. 90% of people infected never develop the active disease, understanding this mechanism so that we can identify them is key to eradicating tuberculosis. The research has been carried out in virtual lungs, developed by computational modelling techniques. These are the first results to be published by the 3Rs Programme at the Centre for Comparative Medicine and Bioimage (CMCiB) which aims to minimize the use of animals in pre-clinical research.

22/05/2020 - Research

Spain currently has 124,300 active cases of COVID-19 according to the mathematical model developed by the UPC and IGTP

Madrid, Catalonia, Castile and León and Castile la Mancha are the autonomous regions with the highest accumulated numbers of active cases, in contrast, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Murcia and Asturias have the lowest numbers of active cases. The data forms part of the study of the evolution of the pandemic based on mathematical models being carried out by the multi-disciplinary team of researchers of the UPC and IGTP.

06/05/2020 - Campus Can Ruti, Innovation, Research

The IGTP coordinates a clinical trial to reduce the number of infections by SARS-CoV-2

The clinical trial will test whether the food supplement Manremyc® protects against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and starts this May. The Pharmaceutical company Reig Jofre is the sponsor of the trial. It is coordinated from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute together with the IDIAP Jordi Gol Foundation. The trial will last three months and results are expected in October 2020.

30/04/2020 - Campus Can Ruti, Research

Analysis of the first sample of replies to the citizens’ questionnaire on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

The study has collected close to 62,000 replies to the questionnaire in only 15 days so far. The researchers have carried out the analysis of the results for this initial period. The questionnaire is still available in four languages (and soon in five) and will continue to collect information during the coming phases of the pandemic.

04/04/2020 - Research

IGTP researchers study the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on people through a citizen survey

Researchers of the Experimental Tuberculosis Unit at the IGTP have launched a questionnaire to ask the public how they are being affected by the pandemic. The project, led by Dr Cristina Vilaplana, will collect replies from the public using a standard questionnaire to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on people, including healthcare workers including effects on health, emotional wellbeing and family finances.

19/03/2020 - Projects, Research

Researchers at the UPC and the IGTP use mathematical models to evaluate the evolution of the COVID-19 epidemic and the effectiveness of the control measures

A team of researchers from the Computational Biology and Complex Systems research group (BIOCOM-SC) of the UPC and the Centre for Comparative Medicine and Bioimage (CMCiB) of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) with the support of "la Caixa" Foundation, have developed a mathematical model to follow up the epidemic of COVID-19. The report that they have produced for the Strategy Office of the European Union is updated every day and includes predictions for Catalonia, Spain and the European Union. The model also serves to analyze the efficiency of the measures being established by different countries

14/02/2020 - Research

The EU awards 16 million euros to Can Ruti for two Projects on infectious diseases coordinated by IrsiCaixa and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute

The European Union has granted 10 projects in all of Europe in the area "prevention, treatment and cure of infectious diseases" in the last call for the Horizon 2020 Programme. The only two to come to Spain have been awarded to institutions on Can Ruti Campus (Badalona). One of the studies will investigate the role of the intestinal microbiome in cases of HIV infection and the other the potential of anti-inflammatories as adjuvant therapy for tuberculosis.

09/01/2020 - Research

TB has shaped human society since the Stone Age

A new study by a multidisciplinary team from the CMCiB-IGTP and the UPC uses mathematical modelling to provide tantalising insights into how the origin of tuberculosis has affected population growth and female resistance to infection. The study published in Scientific Reports, provides mechanisms by which TB infection has helped to shape human society as we know it.