Happy Thursdays with Alicia & Cristina

Hypothalamic RXRs are necessary to regulate body weight in females

Retinoid X Receptors (RxR) are a subfamily of nuclear receptors involved in many cellular pathways as they are known to dimerize with many other receptors such as PPAR, Thyroid hormone, vitamine D (VDR)… Many of these pathways are already described but the role of RxR is still unknown. On the other hand, POMC neurons are described as one of the keys of the melanocortin system, the main body energy balance regulator. This work aims to specifically describe the role of RxR in POMC neurons.

CV highlights: 

Graduated in Biotecnology by the Universitat de Girona (UdG) and specialized in Neurosciences by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM). Her TFG talked about the relationship between the gut microbiota populations and the BMI and my TFM focused on the role of IL-6 signaling in POMC neurons. Nowadays, she is doing a PhD in Neuroendocrinology in the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), based on the role of a specific nuclear receptor subfamily (RxR) on the POMC neurons in the energetic balance context.

Alicia Otero Rey. PhD student, Neuroendocrine Regulation of Metabolism (NeuRoMet), (P0L1), CiMUS

Tanycytes and aging: involvement of the Dsg2 gene

Tanycytes are ependymal cells that line the third ventricle in the basal hypothalamus. This specific location confers them the ability to act as the ‘gatekeepers of the brain,’ allowing them to take part in the communication between the Central Nervous System and the periphery by modulating many metabolic aspects, hormone access, circadian rhythms... Nevertheless, little is known about their contribution to aging or neurodegenerative processes. To fill this gap, we aim to identify genes in tanycytes that could be important in the aged brain, as we hypothesize with Dsg2.

CV highlights:

She earned her degree in Biology in 2010 in Santiago de Compostela, where she also completed a Master’s in Biomedical Research. She finished her PhD in 2016 at CIMUS, in the Vascular Biology and Cellular Stress Lab. Then she moved to the Neuroendrocrinology and Cancer Lab until 2018. In 2019, she joined the Molecular Metabolism group led by Rubén Nogueiras to take part in the WATCH Project and study the diverse roles of tanycytes in the control of health."

 Cristina Iglesias García. Postdoc at the Molecular Metabolism Group (P0L4), CiMUS. 

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