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Lines of investigation
Our research focuses on the molecular bases of neuronal plasticity, learning and memory, and other long-lasting modifications of the animal’s behavior. More precisely, we are investigating the role of specific transcription and epigenetic factors in these processes. We also aim to determine how the malfunction of epigenetic mechanisms leads to different pathological situations in the nervous system. To tackle these questions, we use a multidisciplinary approach that combines mouse genetics, genomics, behavioral and electrophysiological analyses and molecular and cellular biology techniques. From the methodological point of view, we are particularly interested in the application of genomic profiling techniques based on next generation sequencing (NGS) and epigenetic editing approaches in the nervous system.
We currently work on two main lines of research:
• Interplay of transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms in activity-dependent transcription: Alterations in the patterns of neuronal gene expression are thought to underlie the long-lasting changes in the strength of synaptic connections responsible for the encoding of memories in the nervous system. We are investigating the participation of specific activity-regulated transcription factors, such as CREB and SRF, and epigenetic enzymes, such as CBP and p300, in this process. We are also interested in determining the role of the covalent modification of chromatin in neuroplasticity.
• Contribution of epigenetic mechanisms to intellectual disability (ID) disorders: We investigate the contribution of epigenetic mechanisms, such as histone acetylation and methylation, to the pathoetiology of different neurological conditions associated with cognitive impairments and autism, including Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome and X-linked intellectual disability. Towards this end, we generate and characterize mouse models for these conditions, explore the molecular causes of the disease and tackle new therapies.
Representative Publications
- Kdm1a safeguards the topological boundaries of PRC2-repressed genes and prevents aging-related euchromatinization in neurons. Del Blanco B, Niñerola S, Martín-González AM, Paraíso-Luna J, Kim M, Muñoz-Viana R, Racovac C, Sánchez-Mut JV, Ruan Y and Barco A. Nature Communications. 2024 15, 1781 (2024) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45773-3
- Multiomic Analysis of Neurons with Divergent Projection Patterns Identifies Novel Regulators of Axon Pathfinding Fernández-Nogales, M., López-Cascales, M.T., Murcia-Belmonte, V., Escalante, A., Fernández-Albert, J., Muñoz-Viana, R., Barco, A., Herrera, E. Advanced Science 2022 9 (29): art. 2200615 https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202200615
- CBP is required for establishing adaptive gene programs in the adult mouse brain. Lipinski, M., Niñerola, S., Fuentes-Ramos, M., Valor, L.M., del Blanco, B., López-Atalaya, J.P., Barco, A. J Neurosci. 2022 42(42): 7984-8001 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0970-22.2022
- Control of protein synthesis and memory by GluN3A-NMDA receptors through inhibition of GIT1/mTORC1 assembly. Conde-Dusman MJ, Dey PN, Elía-Zudaire Ó, Rabaneda LG, García-Lira C, Grand T, Briz V, Velasco ER, Andero R, Niñerola S, Barco A, Paoletti P, Wesseling JF, Gardoni F, Tavalin SJ, Perez-Otaño I eLife 2021 10:e71575 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.71575
- Sublayer- and cell-type-specific neurodegenerative transcriptional trajectories in hippocampal sclerosis Cid E, Marquez-Galera A, Valero M, Gal B, Medeiros DC, Navarron CM, Ballesteros-Esteban L, Reig-Viader R, Morales AV, Fernandez-Lamo I, Gomez-Dominguez D, Sato M, Hayashi Y, Bayés À, Barco A, Lopez-Atalaya JP, de la Prida LM Cell Rep 2021 35(10):109229 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109229
- KAT3-dependent acetylation of cell type-specific genes maintains neuronal identity in the adult mouse brain Lipinski M, Muñoz-Viana R, Del Blanco B, Marquez-Galera A, Medrano-Relinque J, Caramés JM, Szczepankiewicz AA, Fernandez-Albert J, Navarrón CM, Olivares R, Wilczyński GM, Canals S, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Barco A Nat Commun 2020 11(1):2588 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16246-0
- CBP and SRF co-regulate dendritic growth and synaptic maturation Del Blanco B, Guiretti D, Tomasoni R, Lopez-Cascales MT, Muñoz-Viana R, Lipinski M, Scandaglia M, Coca Y, Olivares R, Valor LM, Herrera E, Barco A Cell Death & Differentiation 2019 26(11):2208 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41418-019-0285-x
- CBP/p300 in brain development and plasticity: disentangling the KAT’s cradle Lipinski M, Del Blanco B, Barco A Current Opinion in Neurobiology 2019 59:1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2019.01.023
- Cbp-dependent histone acetylation mediates axon regeneration induced by environmental enrichment in rodent spinal cord injury models Hutson TH, Kathe C, Palmisano I, Bartholdi K, Hervera A, De Virgiliis F, McLachlan E, Zhou L, Kong G, Barraud Q, Danzi MC, Medrano-Fernandez A, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Boutillier AL, Sinha SH, Singh AK, Chaturbedy P, Moon LDF, Kundu TK, Bixby JL, Lemmon VP, Barco A, Courtine G, Di Giovanni S Sci Transl Med 2019 11(487):eaaw2064 https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aaw2064
- Immediate and deferred epigenomic signatures of in vivo neuronal activation in mouse hippocampus Fernandez-Albert J, Lipinski M, Lopez-Cascales MT, Rowley MJ, Martin-Gonzalez AM, Del Blanco B, Corces VG, Barco A Nature Neuroscience 2019 22(10):1718 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0476-2
Tenure-Track Scientist
Postdoctoral Researcher
Postdoctoral Researcher
Postdoctoral Researcher
Postdoctoral Researcher
Predoctoral Researcher
Predoctoral Researcher
Predoctoral Researcher
Predoctoral Researcher
Predoctoral Researcher
Predoctoral Researcher
- Kdm1a safeguards the topological boundaries of PRC2-repressed genes and prevents aging-related euchromatinization in neurons. Del Blanco B, Niñerola S, Martín-González AM, Paraíso-Luna J, Kim M, Muñoz-Viana R, Racovac C, Sánchez-Mut JV, Ruan Y and Barco A. Nature Communications. 2024 15, 1781 (2024) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45773-3
- Extra centrosomes induce PIDD1‐mediated inflammation and immunosurveillance. Irmina Garcia‐Carpio, Vincent Z Braun, Elias S Weiler, Marina Leone , Sergio Niñerola, Angel Barco, Luca L Fava, Andreas Villunger. EMBO J. 2023 42: e113510 https://doi.org/10.15252/embj.2023113510
- Activation-induced chromatin reorganization in neurons depends on HDAC1 activity Grabowska A, Sas-Nowosielska H, Wojtas B, Holm-Kaczmarek D, Januszewicz E, Yushkevich Y, Czaban I, Trzaskoma P, Krawczyk K, Gielniewski B, Martin-Gonzalez A, Filipkowski RK, Olszynski KH, Bernas T, Szczepankiewicz AA, Sliwinska MA, Kanhema T, Bramham CR, Bokota G, Plewczynski D, Wilczynski GM, Magalska A Cell Rep 2022 38(7):110352 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110352
- Comprehensive expression analysis for the core cell cycle regulators in the chicken embryo reveals novel tissue-specific synexpression groups and similarities and differences with expression in mouse, frog and zebrafish Alaiz Noya M, Berti F, Dietrich S Journal of Anatomy. 2022 241 (1): 42-66 https://doi.org/10.1111/joa.13629
- Multiomic Analysis of Neurons with Divergent Projection Patterns Identifies Novel Regulators of Axon Pathfinding Fernández-Nogales, M., López-Cascales, M.T., Murcia-Belmonte, V., Escalante, A., Fernández-Albert, J., Muñoz-Viana, R., Barco, A., Herrera, E. Advanced Science 2022 9 (29): art. 2200615 https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202200615
- CBP is required for establishing adaptive gene programs in the adult mouse brain. Lipinski, M., Niñerola, S., Fuentes-Ramos, M., Valor, L.M., del Blanco, B., López-Atalaya, J.P., Barco, A. J Neurosci. 2022 42(42): 7984-8001 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0970-22.2022
- CBP and p300 Jointly Maintain Neural Progenitor Viability but Play Unique Roles in the Differentiation of Neural Lineages. González-Martínez, R., Márquez-Galera, A., Del Blanco, B., López-Atalaya, J.P., Barco, A., Herrera, E. Cells 2022 11(24): 4118 https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11244118
- Control of protein synthesis and memory by GluN3A-NMDA receptors through inhibition of GIT1/mTORC1 assembly. Conde-Dusman MJ, Dey PN, Elía-Zudaire Ó, Rabaneda LG, García-Lira C, Grand T, Briz V, Velasco ER, Andero R, Niñerola S, Barco A, Paoletti P, Wesseling JF, Gardoni F, Tavalin SJ, Perez-Otaño I eLife 2021 10:e71575 https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.71575
- Sublayer- and cell-type-specific neurodegenerative transcriptional trajectories in hippocampal sclerosis Cid E, Marquez-Galera A, Valero M, Gal B, Medeiros DC, Navarron CM, Ballesteros-Esteban L, Reig-Viader R, Morales AV, Fernandez-Lamo I, Gomez-Dominguez D, Sato M, Hayashi Y, Bayés À, Barco A, Lopez-Atalaya JP, de la Prida LM Cell Rep 2021 35(10):109229 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109229
- Transcriptome and epigenome analysis of engram cells: Next-generation sequencing technologies in memory research Fuentes-Ramos M, Alaiz-Noya M, Barco A Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021 127:865 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.06.010
- A Zic2-regulated switch in a noncanonical Wnt/betacatenin pathway is essential for the formation of bilateral circuits Morenilla-Palao C, López-Cascales MT, López-Atalaya JP, Baeza D, Calvo-Díaz L, Barco A, Herrera E Sci Adv 2020 6(46):eaaz8797 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaz8797
- KAT3-dependent acetylation of cell type-specific genes maintains neuronal identity in the adult mouse brain Lipinski M, Muñoz-Viana R, Del Blanco B, Marquez-Galera A, Medrano-Relinque J, Caramés JM, Szczepankiewicz AA, Fernandez-Albert J, Navarrón CM, Olivares R, Wilczyński GM, Canals S, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Barco A Nat Commun 2020 11(1):2588 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16246-0
- Transcriptome Analysis of iPSC-Derived Neurons from Rubinstein-Taybi Patients Reveals Deficits in Neuronal Differentiation Calzari L, Barcella M, Alari V, Braga D, Muñoz-Viana R, Barlassina C, Finelli P, Gervasini C, Barco A, Russo S, Larizza L Mol Neurobiol 2020 57(9):3685 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-020-01983-6
- CBP and SRF co-regulate dendritic growth and synaptic maturation Del Blanco B, Guiretti D, Tomasoni R, Lopez-Cascales MT, Muñoz-Viana R, Lipinski M, Scandaglia M, Coca Y, Olivares R, Valor LM, Herrera E, Barco A Cell Death & Differentiation 2019 26(11):2208 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41418-019-0285-x
- CBP/p300 in brain development and plasticity: disentangling the KAT’s cradle Lipinski M, Del Blanco B, Barco A Current Opinion in Neurobiology 2019 59:1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conb.2019.01.023
- Cbp-dependent histone acetylation mediates axon regeneration induced by environmental enrichment in rodent spinal cord injury models Hutson TH, Kathe C, Palmisano I, Bartholdi K, Hervera A, De Virgiliis F, McLachlan E, Zhou L, Kong G, Barraud Q, Danzi MC, Medrano-Fernandez A, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Boutillier AL, Sinha SH, Singh AK, Chaturbedy P, Moon LDF, Kundu TK, Bixby JL, Lemmon VP, Barco A, Courtine G, Di Giovanni S Sci Transl Med 2019 11(487):eaaw2064 https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aaw2064
- Contribution of spurious transcription to intellectual disability disorders Scandaglia M, Barco A Journal of Medical Genetics 2019 56(8):491 https://doi.org/10.1136/jmedgenet-2018-105668
- Immediate and deferred epigenomic signatures of in vivo neuronal activation in mouse hippocampus Fernandez-Albert J, Lipinski M, Lopez-Cascales MT, Rowley MJ, Martin-Gonzalez AM, Del Blanco B, Corces VG, Barco A Nature Neuroscience 2019 22(10):1718 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-019-0476-2
- The Epigenetic Factor CBP Is Required for the Differentiation and Function of Medial Ganglionic Eminence-Derived Interneurons Medrano-Fernandez A, Delgado-Garcia JM, Del Blanco B, Llinares M, Sanchez-Campusano R, Olivares R, Gruart A, Barco A Molecular Neurobiology 2019 56(6):4440 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-018-1382-4
- Early alteration of epigenetic-related transcription in Huntington’s disease mouse models Hervas-Corpion I, Guiretti D, Alcaraz-Iborra M, Olivares R, Campos-Caro A, Barco A, Valor LM Sci Rep 2018 8:9925 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28185-4
- Editorial on the Special Issue: Molecules and Cognition Barco A, Knafo S Neuroscience 2018 370:1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.11.003
- Impact of environmental conditions and chemicals on the neuronal epigenome Del Blanco B, Barco A Curr Opin Chem Biol 2018 45:157 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2018.06.003
- CREB Regulates Distinct Adaptive Transcriptional Programs in Astrocytes and Neurons Pardo L, Valor LM, Eraso-Pichot A, Barco A, Golbano A, Hardingham GE, Masgrau R, Galea E Sci Rep 2017 7:6390 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06231-x
- Epigenetic Etiology of Intellectual Disability Iwase S, Berube NG, Zhou Z, Kasri NN, Battaglioli E, Scandaglia M, Barco A J Neurosci 2017 37(45):10773 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1840-17.2017
- Loss of Kdm5c Causes Spurious Transcription and Prevents the Fine-Tuning of Activity-Regulated Enhancers in Neurons Scandaglia M, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Medrano-Fernandez A, Lopez-Cascales MT, Del Blanco B, Lipinski M, Benito E, Olivares R, Iwase S, Shi Y, Barco A Cell Rep 2017 21(1):47 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2017.09.014
- Revitalizing genetically-modified mouse strains using frozen-thawed sperm after up to 192 h of refrigerated epididymis transportation Moreno-del Val G, Munoz-RobledanoP Lab Anim 2017 51(5):526 https://doi.org/10.1177/0023677217692612
- Blocking miRNA Biogenesis in Adult Forebrain Neurons Enhances Seizure Susceptibility, Fear Memory, and Food Intake by Increasing Neuronal Responsiveness Fiorenza A, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Rovira V, Scandaglia M, Geijo-Barrientos E, Barco A Cereb Cortex 2016 26(4):1619 https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhu332
- Nuclear organization and 3D chromatin architecture in cognition and neuropsychiatric disorders Medrano-Fernandez A, Barco A Mol Brain 2016 9:83 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13041-016-0263-x
- Role of Dicer and the miRNA system in neuronal plasticity and brain function Fiorenza A, Barco A Neurobiol Learn Mem 2016 135:3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2016.05.001
- Specific promoter deacetylation of histone H3 is conserved across mouse models of Huntington’s disease in the absence of bulk changes Guiretti D, Sempere A, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Ferrer-Montiel A, Barco A, Valor LM Neurobiol Dis 2016 89:190 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2016.02.004
- Targeted activation of CREB in reactive astrocytes is neuroprotective in focal acute cortical injury Pardo L, Schlüter A, Valor LM, Barco A, Giralt M, Golbano A, Hidalgo J, Jia P, Zhao Z, Jove M, Portero-Otin M, Ruiz M, Gimenez-Llort L, Masgrau R, Pujol A, Galea E Glia 2016 64(5):853 https://doi.org/10.1002/glia.22969
- Fine-tuned SRF activity controls asymmetrical neuronal outgrowth: implications for cortical migration, neural tissue lamination and circuit assembly Scandaglia M, Benito E, Morenilla-Palao C, Fiorenza F, del Blanco B, Coca Y, Herrera E, Barco A Sci Rep 2015 5:17470 https://doi.org/10.1038/srep17470
- The Neuronal Activity-Driven Transcriptome Benito E, Barco A Mol Neurobiol 2015 51(3):1071 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-014-8772-z
- Editorial Barco A, Brambilla R, Rosenblum K Neurobiol Learn Mem 2015 124:1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2015.08.001
- cAMP Responsive Element Binding Protein (CREB) and cAMP Co-regulate Activator Protein 1 (AP1)-Dependent Regeneration-Associated Gene Expression and Neurite Growth Ma TC, Barco A, Ratan RR, Willis DE J Biol Chem 2014 289(47):32914 https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M114.582460
- Can changes in histone acetylation contribute to memory formation? Lopez-Atalaya J, Barco A Trends Genet 2014 30(12):529 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tig.2014.09.003
- Epigenetic factors in intellectual disability: the Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome as a paradigm of neurodevelopmental disorder with epigenetic origin Lopez-Atalaya JP, Valor LM, Barco A Prog Molec Biol Transl Sci 2014 128:139 https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-800977-2.00006-1
- Histone Acetylation and CREB Binding Protein Are Required for Neuronal Resistance against Ischemic Injury Yildririm F, Ji SB, Kronenberg G, Barco A, Olivares R, Benito E, Dirnangl U, Gertz K, Endres M, Harms C, Meisel A PLoS One 2014 9(4):e95465 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095465
- Loss of neuronal 3D chromatin organization causes transcriptional and behavioural deficits related to serotonergic dysfunction Ito S, Magalska A, Alcaraz-Iborra M, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Rovira V,Contreras-Moreira B, Lipinski M, Olivares R, Martinez-Hernandez J,Ruszczycki B, Lujan R,Geijo-Barrientos E,Wilczynski GM, Barco A Nat Commun 2014 5:4450 https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5450
- Neuroepigenetic disorders: Progress, promises and challenges. Barco A Neuropharmacology 2014 80:1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.02.013
- Genomic landscape of transcriptional and epigenetic dysregulation in early-onset polyglutamine disease Valor LM, Guiretti D, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Barco A J Neurosci 2013 33(25):10471 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0670-13.2013
- Genomic targets, and histone acetylation and gene expression profiling of neural HDAC inhibiton Lopez-Atalaya JP, Ito S, Valor LM, Benito E, Barco A Nucleic Acids Res 2013 41(17):8072 https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkt590
- Histone H3 lysine methylation in cognition and intellectual disability disorders Parkel S, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Barco A Learn Mem 2013 20(10):570 https://doi.org/10.1101/lm.029363.112
- Lysine acetyltransferases CBP and p300 as therapeutic targets in cognitive and neurodegenerative disorders Valor LM, Viosca J, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Barco A Curr Pharm Design 2013 19(28):5051
- Enhanced cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein Activity Increases Neuronal Excitability, Hippocampal Long-Term Potentiation, and Classical Eyeblink Conditioning in Alert Behaving Mice Gruart A, Benito E, Delgado-Garcia JM, Barco A J Neurosci 2012 32(48):17431 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4339-12.2012
- Hippocampal gene profiling: Toward a systems biology of the hippocampus Valor LM, Barco A Hippocampus 2012 22(5):929 https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.20888
- Histone acetylation deficits in lymphoblastoid cell lines from patients with Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome Lopez-Atalaya JP, Gervasini C, Mottadelli F, Spena S, Piccione M, Scarano G, Selicorni A, Barco A, Larizza L J Med Genet 2012 49(1):66 https://doi.org/10.1136/jmedgenet-2011-100354
- Ablation of CBP in Forebrain Principal Neurons Causes Modest Memory and Transcriptional Defects and a Dramatic Reduction of Histone Acetylation But Does Not Affect Cell Viability Valor LM, Pulopulos MM, Jimenez-Minchan M, Olivares R, Lutz B, Barco A J Neurosci 2011 31(5):1652 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4737-10.2011
- cAMP Response Element-Binding Protein Is a Primary Hub of Activity-Driven Neuronal Gene Expression Benito E, Valor JM, Jimenez-Minchan M, Huber W, Barco A J Neurosci 2011 31(50):18237 https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4554-11.2011
- CBP is required for environmental enrichment-induced neurogenesis and cognitive enhancement Lopez-Atalaya JP, Ciccarelli A, Viosca J, Valor LM, Jimenez-Minchan M, Canals S, Giustetto M, Barco A EMBO J 2011 30(20):4287 https://doi.org/10.1038/emboj.2011.299
- Genetic Approaches to Investigate the Role of CREB in Neuronal Plasticity and Memory Barco A, Marie H Mol Neurobiol 2011 44(3):330 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-011-8209-x
- CREB’s control of intrinsic and synaptic plasticity: implications for CREB-dependent memory models Benito E, Barco A Trends Neurosci 2010 33(5):230 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tins.2010.02.001
- Syndromic features and mild cognitive impairment in mice with genetic reduction on p300 activity: Differential contribution of p300 and CBP to Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome etiology Viosca J, Lopez-Atalaya JP, Olivares R, Eckner R, Barco A Neurobiol Dis 2010 37(1):186 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbd.2009.10.001
- Ultrastructural and transcriptional profiling of neuropathological misregulation of CREB function Valor LM, Jancic D, Lujan R, Barco A Cell Death Differ 2010 17(10):1636 https://doi.org/10.1038/cdd.2010.40
