Histopathology Core Unit

Vacant Director

Research Scientists

Eduardo Jose Caleiras

Technicians

Nuria Cabrera
Carlos Garrido
María Gómez
Patricia González
Zaira Vega

Pathology is the branch of science focused on studying the structural, biochemical, and functional changes in cells, tissues, and organs that underlie disease processes. The Histopathology Unit provides comprehensive support and expertise across a wide range of services, including paraffin embedding, tissue sectioning, histochemical staining, and both research and diagnostic immunohistochemistry (IHC). Additional capabilities include antibody validation and in situ hybridisation techniques — such as RNA in situ detection using RNAScope® and BaseScope® — as well as tissue microarray construction.

The Unit’s highly skilled technicians also offer value-added services such as laser capture microdissection, slide digitisation, image analysis, and quantitative assessments. Furthermore, the Unit collaborates closely with CNIO researchers in the histopathological characterisation of disease models in animals, offering expert pathological guidance. Its full portfolio of services is also available to external institutions, including hospitals, research centres, and private companies.

Recent publications

Priego N, de Pablos-Aragoneses A, Perea-García M, Pieri V, Hernandez-Oliver C, Alvaro-Espinosa L, Rojas A, Sanchez O, Steindl A, Caleiras E, Garcia F, Garcia-Martin S, Grana-Castro O, Garcia-Mulero S, Serrano D, Velasco-Beltran P, Jimenez-Lasheras B, Egia-Mendikute L, Rupp L, Stammberger A, Meinhardt M, Chaachou-Charradi A, Martínez-Saez E, Bertero L, Cassoni P, Mangherini L, Pellerino A, Ruda R, Soffietti R, Al-Shahrour F, Saftig P, Sanz-Pamplona R, Schmitz M, Crocker SJ, Calvo A, Palazon A, Group R, Valiente M. (2025). TIMP1 mediates astrocyte-dependent local immunosuppression in brain metastasis acting on infiltrating CD8+ T cells. Cancer Discovery 15, 179-201. CNIO Publication.
Aguilar-Garrido P, Velasco-Estévez M, Navarro-Aguadero MÁ, Otero-Sobrino A, Ibañez-Navarro M, Marugal MÁ, Hernández-Sánchez M, Malaney P, Rodriguez A, Benitez O, Zhang X, Aitken MJ, Ortiz-Ruiz A, Megias D, Pérez-Martínez M, Mata G, Gomez J, Lafarga M, Dominguez O, Graña-Castro O, Caleiras E, Ximenez-Embun P, Isasa M, de Andrés PJ, Rodriguez-Perales S, Torres-Ruiz R, Revilla E, García-Martín RM, Azorín D, Zubicaray J, Sevilla J, Sirozh O, Lafarga V, Martinez-Lopez J, Post SM, Gallardo M. (2025). The tumor suppressor HNRNPK induces p53-dependent nucleolar stress to drive ribosomopathies. J Clin Invest 135, e183697. CNIO Publication.
Ballesteros-González I, Hernández-Navas I, Brehey O, Lechuga CG, Salmón M, Scotece M, Velasco-Vicente R, Flores-Gómez AA, Cebriá A, Simón-Carrasco L, Jiménez G, Musteanu M, Guerra C, Domínguez O, Caleiras E, Blanco-Aparicio C, Pons T, Ferrer I, Paz-Ares L, Torres-Ruiz R, Rodríguez-Perales S, Barbacid M, Drosten M. (2025). The repressor Capicua is a barrier to lung tumor development driven by Kras/Trp53 mutations. EMBO Mol Med 17, 3377-3406. CNIO Publication.
Liaki V, Barrambana S, Kostopoulou M, Lechuga CG, Zamorano-Dominguez E, Acosta D, Morales-Cacho L, Álvarez R, Sun P, Rosas-Perez B, Barrero R, Jiménez-Parrado S, López-García A, San Roman M, López-Gil JC, Drosten M, Sainz B Jr, Musteanu M, Caleiras E, Dusetti N, Poli V, Sánchez-Bueno F, Guerra C, Barbacid M. (2025). A targeted combination therapy achieves effective pancreatic cancer regression and prevents tumor resistance. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 122, e2523039122. CNIO Publication.
Martínez-Puente N, Ruz-Caracuel I, Leandro-García LJ, Pian-Arias H, Vega-Corral Z, Letón R, Radu R, Berrizbeitia M, Mellid S, Reglero C, Salazar-Hidalgo ME, Arroba E, Díaz-Talavera A, Marazuela M, Benito-Berlinches A, González-García I, Campos-Mena S, Lozano-Escario MD, Guadalix S, Calatayud M, Pérez-Campos A, Lahera M, Cascón A, Galofré JC, Currás-Freixes M, Caleiras EJ, Valderrabano P, Robledo M, Montero-Conde C. (2025). Expression of Homo sapiens (Hsa)-miR-139-5p as a Clinically Feasible Prognostic Marker for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (DTC). Lab Invest 105, 104199. CNIO Publication.
Navarro P, Grazioso TP, Barquín A, Barba M, Yagüe M, Millán C, López I, Sevillano E, Quiralte M, Fernández P, Losada D, Caleiras E, Calzas J, Jiménez B, Ruiz-Llorente S, Justo J, Guerrero F, Hevia V, Martín R, Pérez-Rodriguez FJ, Tejerina J, Prieto M, Comune P, Rodriguez-Moreno JF, García-Donás J. (2025). Multicenter study correlating molecular characteristics and clinical outcomes of cancer cases with patient-derived organoids. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 44, 182. CNIO Publication.
Martinez-Jañez N, García-Saenz JÁ, Pernas S, Bermejo B, Morales S, Guerra J, Silva J, Manso L, Ciruelos E, Tolosa P, Sánchez-Bayona R, Alva M, Calabuig-Fariñas S, Gallach S, Muinelo-Romay L, Piñeiro-Yáñez E, Caleiras E, Bueno MJ, Mouron S, Quintela-Fandino M. (2025). Co-clinical trial targeting ER, FGFR and CDK4/6 in resistant hormone-positive breast cancer with FGFR alterations.. NPJ PRECIS ONCOL 9, 343. CNIO Publication.
Mellid S, Caleiras E, Martínez-Montes ÁM, Arenas A, Jiménez S, Monteagudo M, Letón R, Radu R, Álvarez-Díaz R, Arroba E, Diaz-Talavera A, Martínez-Puente N, Álvarez-Escolá C, Pineda M, Balbín M, Al-Shahrour F, Rodriguez-Antona C, Montero-Conde C, Leandro-García LJ, Honrado E, Soria-Tristán M, Robledo M, Cascón A, (2025). Molecular profiling unveils genetic complexity and identifies potential new driver mechanisms in head and neck paragangliomas. Genes Dis 13, 101705. CNIO Publication.
Plata-Gómez AB, de Prado-Rivas L, Sanz A, Deleyto-Seldas N, García F, de la Calle Arregui C, Silva C, Caleiras E, Graña-Castro O, Piñeiro-Yáñez E, Krebs J, Leiva-Vega L, Muñoz J, Jain A, Sabio G, Efeyan A. (2024). Hepatic nutrient and hormone signaling to mTORC1 instructs the postnatal metabolic zonation of the liver. Nat Commun 15, 1878. CNIO Publication.
Hernández-Barranco A, Santos V, Mazariegos MS, Caleiras E, Nogués L, Mourcin F, Léonard S, Oblet C, Genebrier S, Rossille D, Benguría A, Sanz A, Vázquez E, Dopazo A, Efeyan A, Ortega-Molina A, Cogne M, Tarte K, Peinado H. (2024). NGFR regulates stromal cell activation in germinal centers. Cell Reports 43, 113705. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Menéndez V, Solórzano JL, García-Cosío M, Cereceda L, Díaz E, Estévez M, Roncador G, Vega Z, Montalbán C, Kulasinghe A, García JF. (2024). Mapping the Spatial Dynamics of the CD4+ T Cell Spectrum in Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. Mod Pathol 37, 100551. CNIO Publication.
Grazioso TP, Rigual MdM, Perna C, Caleiras EJ, Djouder N (2024). Cold exposure reinstates NAD+ levels and attenuates hepatocellular carcinoma. Cell Stress 8, 125-139. CNIO Publication.
Ortega-Molina A, Lebrero-Fernández C, Sanz A, Calvo-Rubio M, Deleyto-Seldas N, de Prado-Rivas L, Plata-Gómez AB, Fernández-Florido E, González-García P, Vivas-García Y, Sánchez García E, Graña-Castro O, Price NL, Aroca-Crevillén A, Caleiras E, Monleón D, Borrás C, Casanova-Acebes M, de Cabo R, Efeyan A. (2024). A mild increase in nutrient signaling to mTORC1 in mice leads to parenchymal damage, myeloid inflammation and shortened lifespan. Nature Aging 4, 1102-1120. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Bueno MJ, Mouron S, Caleiras E, Martínez M, Manso L, Colomer R, Quintela-Fandino M. (2023). Distribution of PD-L1, TROP2 and HER2- “lowness” in early triple-negative breast cancer: an opportunity for treatment de-escalation. Clin Transl Oncol (in press). CNIO Publication. Open Access
Cátia Monteiro, Lauritz Miarka, María Perea-García, Neibla Priego, Pedro García-Gómez , Laura Álvaro-Espinosa, Ana de Pablos-Aragoneses, Natalia Yebra, Diana Retana, Patricia Baena, Coral Fustero-Torre, Osvaldo Graña-Castro, Kevin Troulé, Eduardo Caleiras, Patricia Tezanos, Pablo Muela, Elisa Cintado , José Luis Trejo, Juan Manuel Sepúlveda , Pedro González-León , Luis Jiménez-Roldán , Luis Miguel Moreno , Olga Esteban , Ángel Pérez-Núñez, Aurelio Hernández-Lain, José Mazarico Gallego, Irene Ferrer, Rocío Suárez, Eva M. Garrido-Martín, Luis Paz-Ares, Celine Dalmasso, Elizabeth Cohen-Jonathan Moyal, Aurore Siegfried, Aisling Hegarty, Stephen Keelan, Damir Varešlija, Leonie S. Young, Malte Mohme, Yvonne Goy, Harriet Wikman, Jose Fernández-Alén, Guillermo Blasco, Lucía Alcázar, Clara Cabañuz, Sergei I. Grivennikov, Andrada Ianus , Noam Shemesh, Claudia C. Faria, Rebecca Lee , Paul Lorigan , Emilie Le Rhun, Michael Weller, Riccardo Soffietti, Luca Bertero , Umberto Ricardi, Joaquim Bosch-Barrera , Elia Sais, Eduard Teixidor, Alejandro Hernández-Martínez, Alfonso Calvo, Javier Aristu, Santiago M. Martin, Alvaro Gonzalez, Omer Adler, Neta Erez, RENACER* and Manuel Valiente (2022). Stratification of radiosensitive brain metastases based on an actionable S100A9/RAGE resistance mechanism. Nat Med 28, 752-765. CNIO Publication. Open Access
González-Martínez J, Cwetsch AW, Gilabert-Juan J, Gómez J, Garaulet G, Schneider P, de Cárcer G, Mulero F, Caleiras E, Megías D, Porlan E, Malumbres M. (2022). Genetic interaction between PLK1 and downstream MCPH proteins in the control of centrosome asymmetry and cell fate during neural progenitor division. Cell Death Differ 29, 1474-1485. CNIO Publication.
Martín A, Epifano C, Vilaplana-Marti B, Hernández I, Macías RIR, Martínez-Ramírez Á, Cerezo A, Cabezas-Sainz P, Garranzo-Asensio M, Amarilla-Quintana S, Gómez-Domínguez D, Caleiras E, Camps J, Gómez-López G, Gómez de Cedrón M, Ramírez de Molina A, Barderas R, Sánchez L, Velasco-Miguel S, Pérez de Castro I. (2022). Mitochondrial RNA methyltransferase TRMT61B is a new, potential biomarker and therapeutic target for highly aneuploid cancers. Cell Death Differ (in press). CNIO Publication. Open Access
Mouron S, Bueno MJ, Lluch A, Manso L, Calvo I, Cortes J, Garcia-Saenz JA, Gil-Gil M, Martinez-Janez N, Apala JV, Caleiras E, Ximénez-Embún P, Muñoz J, Gonzalez-Cortijo L, Murillo R, Sánchez-Bayona R, Cejalvo JM, Gómez-López G, Fustero-Torre C, Sabroso-Lasa S, Malats N, Martinez M, Moreno A, Megias D, Malumbres M, Colomer R, Quintela-Fandino M (2022). Phosphoproteomic analysis of neoadjuvant breast cancer suggests that increased sensitivity to paclitaxel is driven by CDK4 and filamin A. Nat Commun 13, 7529. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Zhu L, Retana D, García-Gómez P, Álvaro-Espinosa L, Priego N, Masmudi-Martín M, Yebra N, Miarka L, Hernández-Encinas E, Blanco-Aparicio C, Martínez S, Sobrino C, Ajenjo N, Artiga MJ, Ortega-Paino E, Torres-Ruiz R, Rodríguez-Perales S; RENACER, Soffietti R, Bertero L, Cassoni P, Weiss T, Muñoz J, Sepúlveda JM, González-León P, Jiménez-Roldán L, Moreno LM, Esteban O, Pérez-Núñez Á, Hernández-Laín A, Toldos O, Ruano Y, Alcázar L, Blasco G, Fernández-Alén J, Caleiras E, Lafarga M, Megías D, Graña-Castro O, Nör C, Taylor MD, Young LS, Varešlija D, Cosgrove N, Couch FJ, Cussó L, Desco M, Mouron S, Quintela-Fandino M, Weller M, Pastor J, Valiente M. (2022). A clinically compatible drug-screening platform based on organotypic cultures identifies vulnerabilities to prevent and treat brain metastasis. EMBO Mol Med 14, 14552. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Montero-Conde C, Leandro-García LJ, Martínez-Montes ÁM, Martínez P, Moya FJ, Letón R, Gil E, Martínez-Puente N, Guadalix S, Currás-Freixes M, García-Tobar L, Zafon C, Jordà M, Riesco-Eizaguirre G, González-García P, Monteagudo M, Torres-Pérez R, Mancikova V, Ruiz-Llorente S, Pérez-Martínez M, Pita G, Galofré JC, Gonzalez-Neira A, Cascón A, Rodríguez-Antona C, Megías D, Blasco MA, Caleiras E, Rodríguez-Perales S, Robledo M (2022). Comprehensive molecular analysis of immortalization hallmarks in thyroid cancer reveals new prognostic markers. Clin Transl Med 12, e1001. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Fenor MD, Ruiz-Llorente S, Rodríguez-Moreno JF, Caleiras E, Torrego JC, Sevillano-Fernández E, Navarro P, Yagüe-Fernández M, Amarilla-Quintana S, Barquín A, García-Donas J. (2022). MEK inhibitor sensitivity in BRAF fusion-driven prostate cancer. Clin Transl Oncol 24, 2432-2440. CNIO Publication.
Sanclemente M, Nieto P, Garcia-Alonso S, Fernández-García F, Esteban-Burgos L, Guerra C, Drosten M, Caleiras E, Martinez-Torrecuadrada J, Santamaría D, Musteanu M, Barbacid M (2021). RAF1 kinase activity is dispensable for KRAS/p53 mutant lung tumor progression.. Cancer Cell 39, 294-296. CNIO Publication. Open Access
de la Calle Arregui C, Plata-Gómez AB, Deleyto-Seldas N, García F, Ortega-Molina A, Abril-Garrido J, Rodriguez E, Nemazanyy I, Tribouillard L, de Martino A, Caleiras E, Campos-Olivas R, Mulero F, Laplante M, Muñoz J, Pende M, Sabio G, Sabatini DM, Efeyan A (2021). Limited survival and impaired hepatic fasting metabolism in mice with constitutive Rag GTPase signaling. Nat Commun 12, 3660. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Salmón M, Paniagua G, Lechuga CG, Fernández-García F, Zarzuela E, Álvarez-Díaz R, Musteanu M, Guerra C, Caleiras E, Muñoz J, Ortega S, Drosten M, Barbacid M (2021). KRAS4A induces metastatic lung adenocarcinomas in vivo in the absence of the KRAS4B isoform. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 118, e2023112118. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Ortega-Molina A, Lebrero-Fernández C, Sanz A, Deleyto-Seldas N, Plata-Gómez AB, Menéndez C, Graña-Castro O, Caleiras E, Efeyan A (2021). Inhibition of Rag GTPase signaling in mice suppresses B cell responses and lymphomagenesis with minimal detrimental trade-offs.. Cell Reports 36, 109372. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Santos M, Lanillos J, Roldan-Romero JM, Caleiras E, Montero-Conde C, Cascón A, Climent MA, Anguera G, Hernando S, Laínez N, Robledo M, Robles L, de Velasco G, García-Donas J, Rodriguez-Antona C (2021). Prevalence of pathogenic germline variants in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Genet Med 23, 698-704. CNIO Publication. Open Access
Compte M, Harwood SL, Martínez-Torrecuadrada J, Perez-Chacon G, González-García P, Tapia-Galisteo A, Van Bergen En Henegouwen PMP, Sánchez A, Fabregat I, Sanz L, Zapata JM, Alvarez-Vallina L (2021). Case report: an EGFR-targeted 4-1BB-agonistic trimerbody does not induce hepatotoxicity in transgenic mice with liver expression of human EGFR.. Front Inmmunol 11, 614363. CNIO Publication.
Monteagudo M, Martínez P, Leandro-García LJ, Martínez-Montes ÁM, Calsina B, Pulgarín-Alfaro M, Díaz-Talavera A, Mellid S, Letón R, Gil E, Pérez-Martínez M, Megías D, Torres-Ruiz R, Rodriguez-Perales S, González P, Caleiras E, Jiménez-Villa S, Roncador G, Álvarez-Escolá C, Regojo RM, Calatayud M, Guadalix S, Currás-Freixes M, Rapizzi E, Canu L, Nölting S, Remde H, Fassnacht M, Bechmann N, Eisenhofer G, Mannelli M, Beuschlein F, Quinkler M, Rodríguez-Antona C, Cascón A, Blasco MA, Montero-Conde C, Robledo M (2021). Analysis of Telomere Maintenance Related Genes Reveals NOP10 as a New Metastatic-Risk Marker in Pheochromocytoma/Paraganglioma. Cancers 13, 4758. CNIO Publication. Open Access