Diego Megías Head of Unit
T +34 917328000 (Ext 3160)
dmegias@cnio.es

Optical microscopy has traditionally been an indispensable tool in cell biology studies. In fact, one of the main challenges in oncology research is the study of specific markers, expression patterns or individual cells in the tumour environment.

The Confocal Microscopy Unit provides the CNIO Research Groups with all the standard methodologies as well as the latest advances in microscopy, offering access to state-of-the-art equipment and software packages related to confocal microscopy, including technical and scientific advice and support to the CNIO scientists. The Unit is also actively involved in developing, testing and implementing new microscopy technologies, tools and imaging applications that could be of interest to the Research Groups at the CNIO. Training activities are also an essential component of our mission.

Publications

• Transcriptional regulation by NR5A2 links differentiation and inflammation in the pancreas.(2018)
  Cobo I, Martinelli P, Flández M, Bakiri L, Zhang M, Carrillo-de-Santa-Pau E, Jia J, Sánchez-Arévalo Lobo VJ, Megías D, Felipe I, Del Pozo N, Millán I, Thommesen L, Bruland T, Olson SH, Smith J, Schoonjans K, Bamlet WR, Petersen GM, Malats N, Amundadottir LT, Wagner EF, Real FX.
  Nature 554, 533-537.
• TERRA recruitment of polycomb to telomeres is essential for histone trymethylation marks at telomeric heterochromatin.(2018)
  Montero JJ, López-Silanes I, Megías D, F Fraga M, Castells-García Á, Blasco MA.
  Nat Commun 9, 1548-.
• c-Myc downregulation is required for preacinar to acinar maturation and pancreatic homeostasis.(2018)
  Sánchez-Arévalo Lobo VJ, Fernández LC, Carrillo-de-Santa-Pau E, Richart L, Cobo I, Cendrowski J, Moreno U, Del Pozo N, Megías D, Bréant B, Wright CV, Magnuson M, Real FX.
  Gut 67, 707-718.
• STAT3 labels a subpopulation of reactive astrocytes required for brain metastasis.(2018)
  Priego N, Zhu L, Monteiro C, Mulders M, Wasilewski D, Bindeman W, Doglio L, Martínez L, Martínez-Saez E, Cajal SRY, Megías D, Hernández-Encinas E, Blanco-Aparicio C, Martínez L, Zarzuela E, Muñoz J, Fustero-Torres C, Pineiro E, Hernández-Laín A, Bertero L, Poli V, Sánchez-Martínez M, Menendez JA, Soffietti R, Bosch-Barrera J, Valiente M
  Nat Med 24, 1024-1035.
• Whole-body imaging of lymphovascular niches identifies pre-metastatic roles of midkine.(2017)
  Olmeda D, Cerezo-Wallis D, Riveiro-Falkenbach E, Pennacchi PC, Contreras-Alcalde M, Ibarz N, Cifdaloz M, Catena X, Calvo TG, Cañón E, Alonso-Curbelo D, Suarez J, Osterloh L, Graña O, Mulero F, Megías D, Cañamero M, Martínez-Torrecuadrada JL, Mondal C, Di Martino J, Lora D, Martinez-Corral I, Bravo-Cordero JJ, Muñoz J, Puig S, Ortiz-Romero P, Rodriguez-Peralto JL, Ortega S, Soengas MS
  Nature 546, 676-680.
• Inhibition of Trf1 telomere protein impairs tumor initiation and progression in glioblastoma multiform mouse models and patient-derived xenografts.(2017)
  Bejarano L, Schuhmacher AJ, Méndez-Pertuz M, Megías M, Blanco-Aparicio C, Martínez S, Pastor J, Squatrito M, Blasco MA
  Cancer Cell 32, 590-607.
• Common Telomere Changes during In Vivo Reprogramming and Early Stages of Tumorigenesis.(2017)
  Marión RM, López de Silanes I, Mosteiro L, Gamache B, Abad M, Guerra C, Megías D, Serrano M, Blasco MA.
  Stem Cell Reports 8, 460-475.
• Systems analysis identifies melanoma-enriched pro-oncogenic networks controlled by the RNA binding protein CELF1.(2017)
  Cifdaloz M, Osterloh L, Graña O, Riveiro-Falkenbach E, Ximénez-Embún P, Muñoz J, Tejedo C, Calvo TG, Karras P, Olmeda D, Miñana B, Gómez-López G, Cañon E, Eyras E, Guo H, Kappes F, Ortiz-Romero PL, Rodríguez-Peralto JL, Megías D, Valcárcel J, Soengas MS.
  Nat Commun 8, 2249-.
• In Vivo DNA Re-replication Elicits Lethal Tissue Dysplasias.(2017)
  Muñoz S, Búa S, Rodríguez-Acebes S, Megías D, Ortega S, de Martino A, Méndez J
  Cell Reports 19, 928-938.
• CHL1 hypermethylation as a potential biomarker of poor prognosis in breast cancer.(2017)
  Martín-Sánchez E, Mendaza S, Ulazia-Garmendia A, Monreal-Santesteban I, Blanco-Luquin I, Córdoba A, Vicente-García F, Pérez-Janices N, Escors D, Megías D, López-Serra P, Esteller M, Illarramendi JJ, Guerrero-Setas D.
  Oncotarget 8, 861-870.
• Application of standard cell cultures and 3D in vitro tissue models as an effective tool in drug design and development.(2017)
  Amelian A, Wasilewska K, Megias D, Winnicka K
  Pharmacol Rep 69, 861-870.
• Germline missense pathogenic variants in the BRCA1 BRCT domain, p.Gly1706Glu and p.Ala1708Glu, increase cellular sensitivity to PARP inhibitor Olaparib by a dominant negative effect.(2016)
  Vaclová T, Woods NT, Megías D, Gomez-Lopez S, Setién F, García Bueno JM, Macías JA, Barroso A, Urioste M, Esteller M, Monteiro AN, Benítez J, Osorio A
  Hum Mol Genet 25, 5287-5299.
• Monitoring vascular normalization induced by antiangiogenic treatment with (18)F-fluoromisonidazole-PET.(2016)
  Hernández-Agudo E, Mondejar T, Soto-Montenegro ML, Megías D, Mouron S, Sanchez J, Hidalgo M, Lopez-Casas PP, Mulero F, Desco M, Quintela-Fandino M.
  Mol Oncol 10, 1704-1718.
• Regulation of OGT by URI in Response to Glucose Confers c-MYC-Dependent Survival Mechanisms.(2016)
  Burén S, Gomes AL, Teijeiro A, Fawal MA, Yilmaz M, Tummala KS, Perez M, Rodriguez-Justo M, Campos-Olivas R, Megías D, Djouder N
  Cancer Cell 30, 290-307.
• Lineage-specific roles of the cytoplasmic polyadenylation factor CPEB4 in the regulation of melanoma drivers.(2016)
  Pérez-Guijarro E, Karras P, Cifdaloz M, Martínez-Herranz R, Cañón E, Graña O, Horcajada-Reales C, Alonso-Curbelo D, Calvo TG, Gómez-López G, Bellora N, Riveiro-Falkenbach E, Ortiz-Romero PL, Rodríguez-Peralto JL, Maestre L, Roncador G, de Agustín Asensio JC, Goding CR, Eyras E, Megías D, Méndez R, Soengas MS
  Nat Communications 7, 13418-.
• Activation of the orphan receptor GPR55 by lysophosphatidylinositol promotes metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer.(2016)
  Andradas C, Blasco-Benito S, Castillo-Lluva S, Dillenburg-Pilla P, Diez-Alarcia R, Juanes-García A, García-Taboada E, Hernando-Llorente R, Soriano J, Hamann S, Wenners A, Alkatout I, Klapper W, Rocken C, Bauer M, Arnold N, Quintanilla M, Megías D, Vicente-Manzanares M, Urigüen L, Gutkind JS, Guzmán M, Pérez-Gómez E, Sánchez C.
  Oncotarget 7, 47565-47575.
• Clathrin regulates lymphocyte migration by driving actin accumulation at the cellular leading edge.(2016)
  Ramírez-Santiago G, Robles-Valero J, Morlino G, Cruz-Adalia A, Pérez-Martínez M, Zaldivar A, Torres-Torresano M, Chichón FJ, Sorrentino A, Pereiro E, Carrascosa JL, Megías D, Sorzano CO, Sánchez-Madrid F, Veiga E8
  Eur J Immunol 46, 2376-2387.
• Therapeutic inhibition of TRF1 impairs the growth of p53-deficient K-RasG12V-induced lung cancer by induction of telomeric DNA damage.(2015)
  García-Beccaria M, Martínez P, Méndez-Pertuz M, Martínez S, Blanco-Aparicio C, Cañamero M, Mulero F, Ambrogio C, Flores JM, Megias D, Barbacid M, Pastor J, Blasco MA
  EMBO Mol Med 7, 930-949.
• AMPK and PFKFB3 mediate glycolysis and survival in response to mitophagy during mitotic arrest.(2015)
  Doménech E, Maestre C, Esteban-Martínez L, Partida D, Pascual R, Fernández-Miranda G, Seco E, Campos-Olivas R, Pérez M, Megias D, Allen K, López M, Saha AK, Velasco G, Rial E, Méndez R, Boya P, Salazar-Roa M, Malumbres M
  Nat Cell Biol 17, 1304-1316.
• Role of cannabinoid receptor CB2 in HER2 pro-oncogenic signaling in breast cancer.(2015)
  Pérez-Gómez E, Andradas C, Blasco-Benito S, Caffarel MM, García-Taboada E, Villa-Morales M, Moreno E, Hamann S, Martín-Villar E, Flores JM, Wenners A, Alkatout I, Klapper W, Röcken C, Bronsert P, Stickeler E, Staebler A, Bauer M, Arnold N, Soriano J, Pérez-Martínez M, Megías D, Moreno-Bueno G, Ortega-Gutiérrez S, Artola M, Vázquez-Villa H, Quintanilla M, Fernández-Piqueras J, Canela EI, McCormick PJ, Guzmán M, Sánchez C.
  J Natl Cancer I 107, djv077-.
• MiR-93 Controls Adiposity via Inhibition of Sirt7 and Tbx3.(2015)
  Cioffi M, Vallespinos-Serrano M, Trabulo SM, Fernandez-Marcos PJ, Firment AN, Vazquez BN, Vieira CR, Mulero F, Camara JA, Cronin UP, Perez M, Soriano J, G Galvez B, Castells-Garcia A, Haage V, Raj D, Megias D, Hahn S, Serrano L, Moon A, Aicher A, Heeschen C
  Cell Reports 12, 1594-1605.
• Proteomic analysis of connexin 43 reveals novel interactors related to osteoarthritis.(2015)
  Gago-Fuentes R, Fernandez-Puente P, Megias D, Carpintero-Fernandez P, Mateos J, Acea B, Fonseca E, Blanco FJ, Mayan MD
  Mol Cell Proteomics 14, 1831-1845.
• EPB41L3, TSP-1 and RASSF2 as new clinically relevant prognostic biomarkers in diffuse gliomas.(2015)
  Perez-Janices N, Blanco-Luquin I, Tuñón MT, Barba-Ramos E, Ibáñez B, Zazpe-Cenoz I, Martinez-Aguillo M, Hernandez B, Martínez-Lopez E, Fernández AF, Mercado MR, Cabada T, Escors D, Megias D, Guerrero-Setas D.
  Oncotarget 6, 368-380.
• iMSRC: converting a standard automated microscope into an intelligent screening platform.(2015)
  Carro A, Perez-Martinez M, Soriano J, Pisano DG, Megias D
  Sci Rep 5, 10502-.
• Non-genotoxic activation of p53 through the RPL11-dependent ribosomal stress pathway.(2014)
  Morgado-Palacin L, Llanos S, Urbano M, Blanco-Aparicio C, Megias D, Pastor J, Serrano M
  Carcinogenesis 35, 2822-2830.
• Reply: ‘Comments on Stromal disrupting effects of nab-paclitaxel in pancreatic cancer’(2014)
  Alvarez R, Musteanu M, Garcia-Garcia E, Lopez-Casas PP, Megias D, Guerra C, Muñoz M, Quijano Y, Cubillo A, Rodriguez-Pascual J, Plaza C, de Vicente E, Prados S, Tabernero S, Barbacid M, Lopez-Rios F, Hidalgo M
  Br J Cancer 111, 1677-1678.
• Lineage-restricted function of the pluripotency factor NANOG in stratified epithelia.(2014)
  Piazzolla D, Palla AR, Pantoja C, Cañamero M, de Castro IP, Ortega S, Gómez-López G, Dominguez O, Megías D, Roncador G, Luque-Garcia JL, Fernandez-Tresguerres B, Fernandez AF, Fraga MF, Rodriguez-Justo M, Manzanares M, Sánchez-Carbayo M, García-Pedrero JM, Rodrigo JP, Malumbres M, Serrano M
  Nat Communications 5, 4226-.
• Intracellular autofluorescence: a biomarker for epithelial cancer stem cells.(2014)
  Miranda-Lorenzo I, Dorado J, Lonardo E, Alcala S, Serrano AG, Clausell-Tormos J, Cioffi M, Megias D, Zagorac S, Balic A, Hidalgo M, Erkan M, Kleeff J, Scarpa A, Sainz B Jr, Heeschen C
  Nat Methods 11, 1161-1169.
• RAB7 controls melanoma progression by exploiting a lineage-specific wiring of the endolysosomal pathway.(2014)
  Alonso-Curbelo D, Riveiro-Falkenbach E, Perez-Guijarro E, Cifdaloz M, karras P, Osterloh L, Megías D, Cañón E, Calvo TG, Olmeda D, Gómez-Lopez G, Graña O, Sánchez-Arévalo VJ, Pisano DG, Wang H-W, Ortiz-Romero P, Tormo D, Hoeck K, Rodríguez-Peralto JL, Joyce JA, Soengas MS
  Cancer Cell 26, 61-76.
• p120-catenin differentially regulates cell migration by Rho-dependent intracellular and secreted signals.(2014)
  Epifano C, Megias D, Perez-Moreno M
  EMBO Rep 15, 592-600.
• Gasdermin-B promotes invasion and metastasis in breast cancer cells.(2014)
  Hergueta-Redondo M, Sarrió D, Molina-Crespo Á, Megias D, Mota A, Rojo-Sebastian A, García-Sanz P, Morales S, Abril S, Cano A, Peinado H, Moreno-Bueno G
  PLoS ONE 9, e90099-.
• Integrative analysis of miRNA and mRNA expression profiles in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma identifies genotype-specific markers and potentially regulated pathways.(2013)
  de Cubas AA, Leandro-Garcia LJ, Schiavi F, Mancikova V, Comino-Méndez I, Inglada-Perez L, Pérez M, Ibarz N, Ximénez-Embún P, López-Jiménez E, Letón R, Maliszewska A, Gómez Graña A, Bernal C, Alvarez-Escolá C, Rodriguez-Antona C, Opocher G, Muñoz J, Megías D, Cascón A, Robledo M
  Endocr-Relat Cancer 20, 477-493.
• Stromal disrupting effects of nab-paclitaxel in pancreatic cancer.(2013)
  Alvarez R, Musteanu M, Garcia-Garcia E, Lopez-Casas PP, Megias D, Guerra C, Muñoz M, Quijano Y, Cubillo A, Rodriguez-Pascual J, Plaza C, de Vicente E, Prados S, Tabernero S, Barbacid M, Lopez-Rios F, Hidalgo M
  Br J Cancer 109, 926-933.
• Reprogramming in vivo produces teratomas and iPS cells with totipotency features.(2013)
  Abad M, Mosteiro Ll, Pantoja C, Cañamero M, Rayon T, Ors I, Graña O, Megías D, Domínguez O, Martinez D, Manzanares M, Ortega S, Serrano M
  Nature 502, 340-345.
• CLASP2 interacts with p120-catenin and governs microtubule dynamics at Adherens Junctions.(2013)
  Shahbazi MN, Megías D, Epifano C, Akhmanova A, Gundersen GG, Fuchs E, Perez-Moreno M
  J Cell Biol 203, 1043-1061.
• Identification of mitochondrial dysfunction in Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome through use of stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture.(2013)
  Rivera-Torres J1, Acín-Perez R, Cabezas-Sánchez P, Osorio FG, Gonzalez-Gómez C, Megias D, Cámara C, López-Otín C, Enríquez JA, Luque-García JL, Andrés V.
  J Proteomics 91, 466-477.