• The meeting brought together international leaders in mechanotransduction, sensory neuroscience, and developmental biology, fostering new collaborations in a key field for biomedicine.

Official group photo of the international conference ‘Mechanobiology of Physiological Systems’ participants, held in Sant Joan d’Alacant. Source: IN CSIC-UMH.

The Institute for Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), hosted the international conference ‘Mechanobiology of Physiological Systems’ from May 20 to 22. The scientific meeting brought together international experts in mechanobiology in Sant Joan d’Alacant, an emerging discipline that studies how physical and mechanical forces influence the functioning of cells and tissues.

The workshop, organized locally by IN CSIC-UMH researchers Francisco J. Taberner, Ana Gomis, Víctor Borrell, and Félix Viana, brought together experts from leading institutions in Europe and the United States to discuss the latest advances in mechanotransduction, neural development, sensory perception, mechanical pain, and cellular dynamics, among other research areas. The event featured a scientific program consisting of plenary lectures, invited talks, short communications, and poster sessions.

The scientific sessions addressed topics such as the role of PIEZO mechanosensitive channels in brain and cardiovascular development, the cellular mechanisms involved in mechanical pain, tissue repair, neuronal migration, and the mechanical organization of tissues during embryonic development.

The program included a series of keynote lectures that formed the backbone of the meeting. Highlights included the EMBO Lecture by Gary Lewin (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin), focused on the molecular mechanisms of touch, as well as plenary lectures by Pere Roca-Cusachs (University of Barcelona), on the regulation of mechanotransduction from integrins to the nucleus; Yanlan Mao (University College London), on tissue responses to mechanical stress during development and repair; Marcos Sotomayor (University of Chicago, USA), on the molecular mechanisms of mechanical sensory perception; Medha Pathak (University of California, Irvine, USA), on the role of PIEZO1 in development and tissue repair; and Ellen Lumpkin (University of California, Berkeley, USA), on the ion channels involved in touch and mechanical pain.

The program also featured a strong participation from researchers at the IN CSIC-UMH. Contributions included those by Francisco Taberner (Wiring and Function of Somatosensory Circuits Laboratory), focused on the role of PIEZO channels in mechanotransduction; Jorge Fernández-Trillo (Sensory Transduction and Nociception Laboratory), on the role of PIEZO2 in nociceptors involved in mechanical pain; Augusto Escalante (Generation and Regeneration of Bilateral Neural Circuits Laboratory), on spinal circuits involved in mechanical itch; Sergio Sarrió-Fernández (Wiring and Function of Somatosensory Circuits Laboratory), on tools for the characterization of mechanosensitive channels; Víctor Borrell (Neurogenesis and Cortical Expansion Laboratory), on the relationship between tissue mechanics and cortical folding formation; and José Carlos Pastor Pareja (Cell-to-tissue Architecture in the Nervous System Laboratory), on the mechanical properties of basement membranes in tissues.

In addition to promoting scientific exchange among researchers from different disciplines, the meeting helped strengthen new international collaborations in a field with significant biomedical implications. Mechanobiology has become a key tool for understanding physiological processes and pathologies related to brain development, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and sensory disorders.

The organization of this workshop reinforces the role of the IN CSIC-UMH as an international leading center in biomedical research and neuroscience, as well as its commitment to hosting high-level scientific meetings and promoting international research networks.

Este congreso ha sido posible gracias al apoyo de las compañías Grünenthal, Axion Biosystems, 3 Brain, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Nanion Technologies y World Precision Instruments; la Red Española de Canales Iónicos (RECI); la Organización Europea de Biología Molecular (EMBO);  la Generalitat Valenciana; y el Programa Severo Ochoa para Centros de Excelencia.

This conference was possible thanks to the support of the companies Grünenthal, Axion Biosystems, 3Brain, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Nanion Technologies, and World Precision Instruments; the Spanish Ion Channel Network (RECI); the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO); the Generalitat Valenciana; and the Severo Ochoa Program for Centers of Excellence.

Source: Institute for Neurosciences CSIC-UMH (in.comunicacion@umh.es)

La entrada The Institute for Neurosciences brings together international leaders at the ‘Mechanobiology of Physiological Systems’ conference se publicó primero en Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante.

Several researchers from the ICN2 participated in talks, poster sessions and round-table discussions at last week’s international conference in Madrid. This event is establishing itself as a key meeting point in the fields of artificial intelligence and materials science.

Researchers from the group of Prof. Pau Ballester at ICIQ have reported a self-assembled dynamically covalent molecular cage that promotes intermolecular azide–alkyne Huisgen cycloadditions, while showing that subtle changes in cavity size modulate the catalytic performance. The study was published in Nature Communications.

The researchers found that small geometric changes in the molecular cage strongly affect the balance between reaction acceleration and product release. For one pair of reactants, the cage produces moderate acceleration while allowing catalytic turnover, as the product binds only weakly to the cage and can be replaced by a new reacting pair of substrates. The presence of an additional methylene group in one of the substrates leads to larger accelerations but also much stronger product binding, ultimately preventing catalyst turnover due to product inhibition.

“This work wraps up nearly 20 years of our group’s effort to study reactions inside confined spaces. With the new cage, a very small structural change gives our maximum acceleration so far and, for the first time, catalytic turnover in this system. What we find especially interesting is that turnover still happens despite strong substrate binding. Together with kinetic analysis and DFT, these results highlight what our research is about and move us a step forward in understanding confined catalysis,” explains Dr. Gemma Aragay, Group Scientific Coordinator and author of this work.

The study describes a tetra-imine bis-calix[4]pyrrole cage, termed TI-1, featuring a rigid aromatic cavity with two convergent polar hemispheres. TI-1 binds pairs of reactive substrates (pyridine N-oxide derivatives) within its cavity with high affinity (Michaelis complex), and organizes their reactive ends (alkyne and azide) in a proper geometry for reaction. Interestingly, the cage promotes the exclusive accelerated formation of the 1,4-disubstituted triazole regioisomer. The synthetic cage operates similarly to enzymes, which catalyze chemical transformations with high specificity and efficiency by confining substrates within well-defined binding pockets, where reactive partners are brought into close proximity and preorganized for reaction.

By comparing TI-1 with a closely related cage, the study demonstrates that variations of less than one ångström in cavity size can finely tune the balance between reaction acceleration and product release. These findings shed light on a recurring limitation in confined catalysis of bimolecular reactions, whereby strong product binding often prevents synthetic molecular containers from operating under truly catalytic conditions.

Reference publication

Balancing acceleration and turnover in [1 + 1] tetra-imine bis-calix[4]pyrrole reactor for Huisgen cycloadditions
Li, Y.; Aragay, G.; Ballester, P.
Nat Commun 2026
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-72315-w

La entrada Cycloadditions in confined molecular cages se publicó primero en ICIQ.

Researchers from ICN2 helped organise the Sabadell edition of the Pint of Science festival and delivered several outreach talks, bringing science to the city’s bars.

The Institute for Neuroscience (IN), a joint research center of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), is organizing a new edition of the Image Analysis Course in collaboration with the PhD Program in Neuroscience. This intensive two-day course will provide both theoretical and practical training in digital image analysis applied to neuroscience research.

The course will take place on May 25 and 26, 2026, in Room 0.6 of the Severo Ochoa building (UMH Sant Joan d’Alacant Campus) and will feature image analysis specialists José Manuel Morante, from the Universitat de València, and Manuel Bosch, from the Universitat de Barcelona.

Throughout the two-day course, participants will explore the fundamentals of digital imaging and image processing, as well as quantitative analysis methodologies using ImageJ, combining theoretical sessions with hands-on activities focused on neuroscience applications.

The course is organized by Aida Giner, from the IN Microscopy Facility, in collaboration with Cruz Morenilla, coordinator of the PhD Program in Neuroscience, and is funded by this program.

This initiative represents an excellent opportunity for PhD students and researchers interested in acquiring advanced image analysis tools for application in scientific research projects.

Full programme in the attached document.

La entrada II Image Analysis Course – PhD Program in Neuroscience, May 25–26, 2026 se publicó primero en Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante.

• The study links reduced levels of the ADAM10 protein to processes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, which may contribute to the development of more effective therapies and earlier detection strategies.
• The findings have been published in the scientific journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy.

Photo: Researchers Adriana Gea, Javier Sáez Valero and María Salud García Ayllón at the Instituto de Neurociencias CSIC-UMH

A research team from the Fisabio Foundation in Elche has led a study that provides new insights into how Alzheimer’s disease develops. Researchers from the Institute of Neurosciences (IN), a joint center of Miguel Hernández University (UMH) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), have also participated in the work. The findings, published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, help to better understand why the amyloid peptide accumulates in the brains of affected individuals. This molecule is the main component of amyloid plaques, abnormal protein deposits characteristic of the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The study identifies a decrease in ADAM10, a protein that, under normal conditions, helps prevent the accumulation of the amyloid peptide in the brain. According to the study’s findings, the reduction of this protein could promote the formation of amyloid plaques and thereby contribute to the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

“This finding helps us better understand what is going wrong in the brains of patients and why the disease occurs”, explains María Salud García Ayllón, associate researcher at the Altered Molecular Mechanisms in Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Laboratory, which has led the study. “It also provides us with very valuable clues that could allow us to intervene earlier and more effectively”, the expert adds.

The study was carried out using brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with Alzheimer’s disease and from healthy individuals of different age groups. The results indicate that the decrease in the ADAM10 protein is directly associated with the disease rather than with aging, reinforcing its importance as a potential therapeutic target.

One of the most relevant aspects of the study is that the detection of the decrease in this protein in cerebrospinal fluid opens up the possibility of using it as a new tool to improve the diagnosis of the disease. “Being able to measure these types of changes in an accessible way would allow us to move toward earlier and more accurate diagnoses”, points out the researcher.

Likewise, the results suggest new avenues for the development of treatments aimed at restoring this protective brain mechanism in which this protein is involved. “Our goal is for these advances to translate into real benefits for patients, improving their quality of life and offering new therapeutic options”, concludes the researcher.

The study was funded by the Fisabio Foundation, the Valencian Government, and the Carlos III Health Institute, and reinforces the commitment of public research to generating practical clinical knowledge applicable to patients and to improving public health.

Selective reduction of ADAM10 in brain and cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer’s disease patients. Gea-González, A., Valle-Pedroso, R., López-Font, I., Zetterberg, H., Blennow, K., Sáez-Valero, J. and García-Ayllón, M.S. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy (2026) 18, 98

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-026-02007-6

This work, conducted at the IN UMH-CSIC, involved PhD student Adriana Gea and researcher Mª Salud García Ayllón, both from Fisabio, in collaboration with UMH professor Javier Sáez Valero, researcher Inmaculada López Font, and Renata Valle Pedroso, a researcher at the Federal University of São Carlos (Brazil).

Source: Elche General Hospital Health Department / UMH Communication Service (comunicacion@umh.es) 

The original press release is available in the attached file.

La entrada A study by Fisabio and the IN UMH-CSIC identifies alterations in a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease development se publicó primero en Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante.

The Spanish Network on Safe and Sustainable Nanotechnologies, of which ICN2 is one of the 13 members and the coordinating center, held its first conference, consolidating its role as a collaborative platform for advancing safe and sustainable technologies in Spain.