Vanessa Rodriguez Fanjul

• Doctor of Biochemistry
• Research Staff at Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies

We report the synthesis of a macrocyclic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) connected by one [Ru(bpy)3]2+ unit (where bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine), a photoactive metal complex that provides photosensitivity and potential biomedical applications to this polymer structure. The PEO chain provides biocompatibility, water solubility, and topological play. The macrocy...

Complexes of the formula [Os(η6-arene)(C,N-phenylpyridine)Z] (where Z is chlorido or a tethered oxygen) undergo very fast Os-Z hydrolysis (<5 min), and the high basicity of the coordinated water molecule of the aqua adducts (Os-OH2; pKa > 8) very much contrasts with previously reported Os-aqua adducts bearing NN- and NO-chelating ligands (pKa < 6)....

Aquation is often acknowledged as a necessary step for metallodrug activity inside the cell. Hemilabile ligands can be used for reversible metallodrug activation. We report a new family of osmium(ii) arene complexes of formula [Os(η6-C6H5(CH2)3OH)(XY)Cl]+/0 (1-13) bearing the hemilabile η6-bound arene 3-phenylpropanol, where XY is a neutral N,N or...

We present four new organometallic half-sandwich iridium(III) complexes of formula [Ir(Î5:κ1-C5Me4CH2py)(N,N)](PF6)2, bearing a N,N-chelating ligand [ethylenediamine (en), 1; 1,3-diaminopropane (dap), 2; 2,2′-bipyridine (bipy), 3; 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), 4]; and a derivatized cyclopentadienyl ligand, C5Me4CH2C5H4N, which forms an additional fiv...

Six complexes of formula [Ir(η5:κ1-C5Me4CH2py)(C,N)]PF6, where C5Me4CH2py is 2-((2,3,4,5-tetramethylcyclopentadienyl)methyl)pyridine, and C,N is 2-phenylpyridine (1), 7,8-benzoquinoline (2), 1-phenylisoquinoline (3), 2-(p-tolyl)pyridine (4), 4-chloro-2-phenylquinoline (5), or 2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)pyridine (6), have been synthesized. The cyclopenta...

The iridium half‐sandwich complex [Ir(η⁵:κ¹‐C5Me4CH2py)(2‐phenylpyridine)]PF6 is highly cytotoxic: 15–250× more potent than clinically used cisplatin in several cancer cell lines. We have developed a correlative 3D cryo X‐ray imaging approach to specifically localize and quantify iridium within the whole hydrated cell at nanometer resolution. By me...

The iridium half‐sandwich complex [Ir(η 5 :κ 1 ‐C 5 Me 4 CH 2 py)(2‐phenylpyridine)]PF 6 is highly cytotoxic: ca. 15‐250x more potent than clinically used cisplatin in several cancer cell lines tested. Unequivocal determination of the intracellular fate of the compound is mandatory to rationalize its potency and improve metallodrug design. We have...

Gold(III) compounds have received increasing attention in cancer research. Three gold complexes of general formula [AuIIIL]Cl, where L is benzil bis(thiosemicarbazonate), compound 1, benzil bis(4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazonate), compound 2, or benzil bis(4-cyclohexyl-3-thiosemicarbazonate), compound 3, have been synthesized and fully characterized, i...

Human gliomas harbour cancer stem cells (CSCs) that evolve along the course of the disease, forming highly heterogeneous subpopulations within the tumour mass. These cells possess self-renewal properties and appear to contribute to tumour initiation, metastasis and resistance to therapy. CSC cultures isolated from surgical samples are considered th...

Nanotechnology plays an increasingly important role in the biomedical arena. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs)-labelled cells is one of the most promising approaches for a fast and reliable evaluation of grafted cells in both preclinical studies and clinical trials. Current procedures to label living cells with IONPs are based on direct incubation o...

Nanotechnology plays an increasingly important role in the biomedical arena1, 2. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs)-labelled cells is one of the most promising approaches for a fast and reliable evaluation of grafted cells in both preclinical studies and clinical trials1-3. Current procedures to label living cells with IONPs are based on direct incub...

Multiforme (GBM) is the highest grade of glioma, being the most common and aggressive primary central nervous system tumor in adults. Despite maximal safe surgical resection followed by ionizing radiation and chemotherapy, median survival is only of 12-15 months due to tumor recurrence. This highlights the need of further GBM characterization to de...

Dual-specificity phosphatase type 1 (DUSP1/MKP1), is a member of the dual-specific family of phosphatases that can dephosphorylate and inactivate all three major Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs), including Extracellular Regulated Kinase (ERK1/2), c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase (JNK1/2), and p38. MKP1 is a nuclear protein whose expression is regul...

We have analyzed the response of primary cultures derived from tumor specimens of non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients to choline kinase α (ChoKα) inhibitors. ChoKα inhibitors have been demonstrated to increase ceramides levels specifically in tumor cells, and this increase has been suggested as the mechanism that explain its proapoptotic ef...

e17502 Background: Cisplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy improves survival among patients with completely resected non-small cell lung cancer. However, objective response rates are in the range of 30% to 50%. Thus, prediction of treatment response and outcome before CRT is a major challenge for clinicians. Methods: In a first stage we perfomed a SA...

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the paradigm of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment; however, it also induces de novo DNA-hypermethylation, a process that may be involved in the development of drug-resistant phenotypes by inactivating genes required for drug-cytotoxicity. By using an expression microarray analysis, we aimed to identify tho...

Treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with cisplatin has a level of antitumor activity still modest. We have shown previously that MKP1/DUSP1 inhibits cisplatin-induced apoptosis in NSCLC cells and is overexpressed in tumors from most patients with stage I-II NSCLC. Here, using different NSCLC cell lines we found that MKP1 and NF-kappaB a...

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) dephosphorylates mitogen-activated protein kinase [extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38], mediates breast cancer chemoresistance, and is repressible by doxorubicin in breast cancer cells. We aimed to characterize doxorubicin effects on M...

2542 Background: We have evaluated the global profile of expressed genes associated to P response in resected NSCLC. Methods: 120 surgical samples were obtained from stages I to III in NSCLC patients. Each sample was divided in two parts: one was frozen to preserve RNA integrity and other one was kept in culture media (RPMI/HAMF-12 plus 10% FCS) an...

The nuclear factor kappa B (NFkappaB) signalling pathway regulates the expression of hundreds of genes that are involved in different cellular processes such as cell proliferation, survival, stress responses, cellular immunity and inflammation. Its aberrant regulation is involved in several pathologies, but its relevance in cellular transformation...

The nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) signalling pathway regulates the expression of hundreds of genes that are involved in different cellular processes such as cell proliferation, survival, stress responses, cellular immunity and inflammation. Its aberrant regulation is involved in several pathologies, but its relevance in cellular transformation and...

The NF kappa B family is composed by five subunits (p65/RelA, c-Rel, RelB, p105-p50/NF kappa B(1), p100-p52/NF kappa B(2)) and controls the expression of many genes that participate in cell cycle, apoptosis, and other key cellular processes. In a canonical pathway, NF kappa B activation depends on the IKK complex activity, which is formed by three...