22/07/2020 - Research

Advance for researchers from the IGTP and ISGLobal seeking biomarkers for Chagas disease

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) that circulate in the blood of Chagas disease patients are a valuable tool to identify potential markers of therapeutic response, according to a study led by researchers at the ISGlobal, an institution supported by "la Caixa",  and the IGTP. With this strategy, the research team identified for the first time a series of proteins, including one from the parasite, that could serve to assess the response to existing or new treatments

02/06/2020 - Research

Extracellular vesicles play an important role in the pathology of ‘Plasmodium vivax’ malaria

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a role in the pathogenesis of malaria vivax, according to a study led by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa", and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP). The study was carried out at the Can Ruti Campus with the participation of the Genomics Facility of the IGTP, the Nephrology Service of the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital and researchers from the AIDS Research Institute, IrsiCaixa. The findings, published in Nature Communications, indicate that EVs from P. vivax patients communicate with spleen fibroblasts promoting the adhesion of parasite-infected red blood cells. These data provide important insights into the pathology of vivax malaria. 

19/05/2020 - Research

The malaria parasite ‘P. vivax’ can remain in the spleen upon expression of certain proteins

The malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax can adhere to human spleen cells through the expression of so-called variant proteins. These are the conclusions of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa" and the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP). The results, published in PNAS, suggest that this could represent an additional challenge to eliminating the disease.

31/10/2018 - Campus Can Ruti, Institutional, Projects

The "la Marató de TV3" funds 36 biomedical projects for research into infectious diseases

The funds collected in the 2017 edition of "La Marathon de TV3" and "Catalunya Ràdio" fundraiser will pay for 36 top-ranked biomedical research projects on infectious diseases with the aim of creating new tools for diagnostics and prevention and more efficient treatments to provide more years of quality life for patients.  The 55 researchers who will carry out the research received their certificates today in an event that took place on Tuesday in the Catalan and Balearic Island Academy of Medical Sciences and Health.  Two of these projects will be carried out at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) on the Can Ruti Campus.

20/09/2018 - Research

A new approach towards developing a vaccine against vivax malaria

A novel study indicates promising avenues in an innovative approach for developing a vaccine against Plasmodium vivax, the most prevalent human malaria parasite outside sub-Saharan Africa. The study indicates the possibility of using small vesicles (or exosomes) secreted by immature red blood cells as a vaccine platform against malaria. The paper was published in the journal Scientific Reports.

06/08/2018 - Campus Can Ruti, Institutional

The IGTP provides a great opportunity to school students studying science

This summer 11 students, from Badalona, Barcelona and Mollet are carrying out the practical part of their research projects for Baccalaureate through the IGTP Summer Programme in conjunction with the Organizers of the Badalona Scientific Workshops for schools

26/06/2018 - Research

In search of biomarkers to detect patients with latent Plasmodium vivax infections

A study reveals the presence of proteins from hypnozoites, the latent phase of the parasite, in circulating extracellular vesicles. Proteins derived from the latent liver stage of Plasmodium vivax can be detected in small extracellular vesicles that circulate in blood, according to a study led by Hernando del Portillo, ICREA Research Professor at the IGTP and ISGlobal.  The results pave the way for identifying patients with asymptomatic infections, an essential requirement to stop parasite transmission.