The Protein Crystallography Unit provides unique expertise and capabilities that are not available elsewhere within the institution. It brings together a comprehensive portfolio of advanced synchrotron-based imaging and structural biology techniques within a single, integrated multiscale workflow, enabling the study of cancer across biological scales ranging from whole tumours to atomic-level molecular targets. This workflow combines Phase-Contrast X-ray Tomography (PCXT), Cryo-Soft X-ray Tomography (CSXT), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS), and Macromolecular Crystallography (MX), allowing non-destructive, label-free, three-dimensional (3D) characterisation of tumours, cells, and macromolecules. Together, these approaches provide a coherent view linking tissue architecture, cellular organisation, biochemical states, and the atomic structures of therapeutic targets. Through coordinated access to major European synchrotron facilities, the Unit supports high-impact research on tumour biology, therapeutic targets, and mechanisms of drug action and resistance, enabling both comprehensive 3D analysis of tumours and their microenvironment, and detailed structural characterisation of proteins and complexes directly involved in cancer progression and therapy.
Publicaciones recientes
- (2026). The oncogenic CCDC6-RET fusion protein is a dual ATP- and ADP-dependent kinase. Nat Commun (in press). Publicación CNIO.
- (2026). Nanobodies as tools for studying human frataxin biology. Commun Biol (in press). Publicación CNIO.
- (2025). Dissecting the molecular basis underlying mycobacterial cell-wall hydrolysis by the catalytic domains of D29LysA and DS6ALysA phage endolysins. Int J Biol Macromol 334, 148896. Publicación CNIO.
- (2025). Redox-dependent activity and thioredoxin interaction of cyclophilin TgCyp21 from Toxoplasma gondii.. Int J Biol Macromol 330, 148019. Publicación CNIO.
- (2025). Novel Inhibitors for MDM2-MDM4 E3 Ligase Potently Induce p53-Indepedent Apoptosis in Drug-Resistant Leukemic Cells. Molecules 30, 186. Publicación CNIO.
- (2025). The oncogenic CCDC6-RET fusion product is a dual ATP and ADP-dependent kinase that functions via cis-phosphorylation. BioRxiv (in press). Publicación CNIO.
- (2024). Small-molecule MMRi36 induces apoptosis in p53-mutant lymphomas by targeting MDM2/MDM4/XIAP for degradation. Front Oncol 14, 1462231. Publicación CNIO.
- (2023). An allosteric switch between the activation loop and a c-terminal palindromic phospho-motif controls c-Src function. Nat Commun 14, 6548. Publicación CNIO.
Open Access - (2023). Recommendations for the classification of germline variants in the exonuclease domain of POLE and POLD1. Genome Med 15, 85. Publicación CNIO.
- (2023). Molecular basis of the final step of cell division in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Cell Reports 42, 112756. Publicación CNIO.
- (2023). Dendritic Cell-Mediated Cross-Priming by a Bispecific Neutralizing Antibody Boosts Cytotoxic T Cell Responses and Protects Mice against SARS-CoV-2.. Adv Sci 10, e2304818. Publicación CNIO.
- (2022). Small molecule MMRi62 targets MDM4 for degradation and induces leukemic cell apoptosis regardless of p53 status. Front Oncol 12, 933446. Publicación CNIO.
- (2021). An Fc-free EGFR-specific 4-1BB-agonistic Trimerbody Displays Broad Antitumor Activity in Humanized Murine Cancer Models without Toxicity. Clin Cancer Res 27, 3167-3177. Publicación CNIO.
- (2021). Integrative structural biology of the penicillin-binding protein-1 from Staphylococcus aureus, an essential component of the divisome machinery. COMPUT STRUCT BIOTEC 19, 5392-5405. Publicación CNIO.