Person: Porras Gallo, María Almudena
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First Name
María Almudena
Last Name
Porras Gallo
Affiliation
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Faculty / Institute
Farmacia
Department
Bioquímica y Biología Molecular
Area
Bioquímica y Biología Molecular
Identifiers
3 results
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Item New and Old Key Players in Liver Cancer(International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023) Cuesta Martínez, Ángel; Palao, Nerea; Bragado Domingo, Paloma; Gutiérrez Uzquiza, Álvaro; Herrera González, Blanca María; Sánchez Muñoz, Aranzazu; Porras Gallo, María AlmudenaLiver cancer represents a major health problem worldwide with growing incidence and high mortality, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) being the most frequent. Hepatocytes are likely the cellular origin of most HCCs through the accumulation of genetic alterations, although hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) might also be candidates in specific cases, as discussed here. HCC usually develops in a context of chronic inflammation, fibrosis, and cirrhosis, although the role of fibrosis is controversial. The interplay between hepatocytes, immune cells and hepatic stellate cells is a key issue. This review summarizes critical aspects of the liver tumor microenvironment paying special attention to platelets as new key players, which exert both pro- and anti-tumor effects, determined by specific contexts and a tight regulation of platelet signaling. Additionally, the relevance of specific signaling pathways, mainly HGF/MET, EGFR and TGF-β is discussed. HGF and TGF-β are produced by different liver cells and platelets and regulate not only tumor cell fate but also HPCs, inflammation and fibrosis, these being key players in these processes. The role of C3G/RAPGEF1, required for the proper function of HGF/MET signaling in HCC and HPCs, is highlighted, due to its ability to promote HCC growth and, regulate HPC fate and platelet-mediated actions on liver cancer.Item New and Old Key Players in Liver Cancer(International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023) Cuesta Martínez, Ángel; Palao, Nerea; Bragado Domingo, Paloma; Gutiérrez Uzquiza, Álvaro; Herrera González, Blanca María; Sánchez Muñoz, Aranzazu; Porras Gallo, María Almudena; Arechederra, Maria; Tarantino, Giovanni; Berasain, CarmenLiver cancer represents a major health problem worldwide with growing incidence and high mortality, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) being the most frequent. Hepatocytes are likely the cellular origin of most HCCs through the accumulation of genetic alterations, although hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs) might also be candidates in specific cases, as discussed here. HCC usually develops in a context of chronic inflammation, fibrosis, and cirrhosis, although the role of fibrosis is controversial. The interplay between hepatocytes, immune cells and hepatic stellate cells is a key issue. This review summarizes critical aspects of the liver tumor microenvironment paying special attention to platelets as new key players, which exert both pro- and anti-tumor effects, determined by specific contexts and a tight regulation of platelet signaling. Additionally, the relevance of specific signaling pathways, mainly HGF/MET, EGFR and TGF-β is discussed. HGF and TGF-β are produced by different liver cells and platelets and regulate not only tumor cell fate but also HPCs, inflammation and fibrosis, these being key players in these processes. The role of C3G/RAPGEF1, required for the proper function of HGF/MET signaling in HCC and HPCs, is highlighted, due to its ability to promote HCC growth and, regulate HPC fate and platelet-mediated actions on liver cancer.Item HGF/c-Met signaling promotes liver progenitor cell migration and invasion by an epithelial-mesenchymal transition-independent, phosphatidyl inositol-3 kinase-dependent pathway in an in vitro model(BBA - Molecular Cell Research, 2015) Suárez Causado, Amileth; Caballero Díaz, D.; Bertrán, E.; Roncero Romero, César; Addante, Annalisa; García Álvaro, M.; Fernández García De Castro, Margarita; Herrera González, Blanca María; Porras Gallo, María Almudena; Fabregat, I.; Sánchez Muñoz, AranzazuOval cells constitute an interesting hepatic cell population. They contribute to sustain liver regeneration during chronic liver damage, but in doing this they can be target of malignant conversion and become tumor-initiating cells and drive hepatocarcinogenesis. The molecular mechanisms beneath either their pro-regenerative or pro-tumorigenic potential are still poorly understood. In this study, we have investigated the role of the HGF/c-Met pathway in regulation of oval cell migratory and invasive properties. Our results show that HGF induces c-Met-dependent oval cell migration both in normal culture conditions and after in vitro wounding. HGF-triggered migration involves Factin cytoskeleton reorganization, which is also evidenced by activation of Rac1. Furthermore, HGF causes ZO-1 translocation from cell-cell contact sites to cytoplasm and its concomitant activation by phosphorylation. However, no loss of expression of cell-cell adhesion proteins, including E-cadherin, ZO-1 and Occludin-1, is observed. Additionally, migration does not lead to cell dispersal but to a characteristic organized pattern in rows, in turn associated with Golgi compaction, providing strong evidence of a morphogenic collective migration. Besides migration, HGF increases oval cell invasion through extracellular matrix, process that requires PI3K activation and is at least partly mediated by expression and activation of metalloproteases. Altogether, our findings provide novel insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating the essential role of HGF/c-Met signaling during oval cell-mediated mouse liver regeneration.