An Institute Project Recognized in the 2025 Health Research Call by the La Caixa Foundation

The 2025 Health Research Call by the ”la Caixa” Foundation has selected 34 cutting-edge biomedical research projects from a total of 714 submitted proposals. These projects will be led by 25 Spanish research centers, universities, and hospitals, and 9 Portuguese institutions. The total funding of the program is 26 million euros.

Dr. Quintana’s group will carry out the project “Lipid droplets as immunometabolic mediators in mitochondrial disease encephalopathy”, which aims to uncover why certain brain cells are more vulnerable than others in mitochondrial diseases. These are rare —affecting approximately 1 in 5,000 children— and devastating pathologies that damage mitochondria, the organelles responsible for producing most of the energy cells need to function properly.

Quintana and his team will investigate whether damaged mitochondria in brain cells can trigger a false alarm that makes the cells believe they are under viral attack. This erroneous response would cause lipid accumulation inside the cell, which in turn could lead to further damage and ultimately cell death. Using a mouse model that accurately simulates the human disease, the project researchers have already found evidence of this abnormal immune response and the resulting lipid accumulation in the brain. They will now use advanced tools to study the development of this process in real time. Specifically, they will analyze the formation and behavior of lipid droplets (adiposomes) in affected brain cells and their relationship with the immune response. They will also investigate whether blocking this response or modifying the way cells manage lipid accumulation could protect the brain and improve symptoms.

The results obtained could lead to new treatments, not only for mitochondrial diseases but also for other conditions related to neurodegenerative disorders involving mitochondria.

The project funding is 499,970e. Congratulations!