Domingo F. Baber
Group Leader
Research summary
The overall objective of the group is to develop new nanoparticle-based nanomedicines that allow efficient, specific targeting of drugs, biomolecules or cell types to the desired site of action in anti-tumour and immunosuppressive therapies.
Publications
Mulens-Arias V, Rojas JM, Sanz-Ortega L, Portilla Y, Pérez-Yagüe S, Barber DF Polyethylenimine-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles impair in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis. Nanomedicine 2019;Oct;21:102063. doi: 10.1016/j.nano.2019.102063.
Sanz-Ortega L, Portilla Y, Pérez-Yagüe S, Barber DF. Magnetic targeting of adoptively transferred tumour-specific nanoparticle-loaded CD8+ T cells does not improve their tumour infiltration in a mouse model of cancer but promotes the retention of these cells in tumour-draining lymph nodes. J Nanobiotechnology. 2019 Aug 6;17(1):87. doi: 10.1186/s12951-019-0520-0.
Del Sol-Fernández S, Portilla-Tundidor Y, Gutiérrez L, Odio OF, Reguera E, Barber DF, Morales MP. Flower-like Mn-Doped Magnetic Nanoparticles Functionalized with αvβ3-Integrin-Ligand to Efficiently Induce Intracellular Heat after Alternating Magnetic Field Exposition, Triggering Glioma Cell Death. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2019 Jul 31;11(30):26648-26663. doi: 10.1021/acsami.9b08318
Sanz-Ortega L, Rojas JM, Marcos A, Portilla Y, Stein JV, Barber DF T cells loaded with magnetic nanoparticles are retained in peripheral lymph nodes by the application of a magnetic field J Nanobiotechnology 2019 Jan 22;17(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s12951-019-0440-z.
Mejías R, Hernández Flores P, Talelli M, Tajada-Herráiz JL, Brollo MEF, Portilla Y, Morales MP, Barber DFCell-Promoted Nanoparticle Aggregation Decreases Nanoparticle-Induced Hyperthermia under an Alternating Magnetic Field Independently of Nanoparticle Coating, Core Size, and Subcellular Localization. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2019 Jan 9;11(1):340-355. doi: 10.1021/acsami.8b18451
Besides its physiological functions –identifying and eliminating harmful pathogens without harming the tissues and organs themselves— the immune system can be manipulated specifically for therapeutic purposes by active immunization, immunotherapy or immunomodulation. We refer to immunosuppressive immunotherapy when the objective is to reduce or suppress the body’s immune response, as in the case of autoimmune diseases, and immunostimulatory immunotherapy when the objective is to elicit or amplify the natural immune response, as in the case of antitumor immunotherapy. Immunosuppressors or immunostimulants, including biomolecules and drugs, are already used to prevent and to treat numerous diseases. Their use is generally limited, however, due to the systemic toxicity they can produce. Traditional cancer treatments can likewise generate numerous side effects due to their systemic toxicity.
Our group considers that the use of nanoparticle-based nanomedicines in immunosuppressive or anti-tumour therapies will improve the effectiveness of existing therapies. It would permit the release of drugs or biomolecules specifically at the site of action, which could achieve high local concentrations, as the nanoparticles can be guided and focused on the area of interest by an external magnetic field and/or by functionalization, while maintaining low systemic concentrations that would reduce the undesirable side effects of current therapies. The combination of nanoparticles and immunomodulation seems a very attractive idea.
