Sant Pau - Institut de Recerca

The group focuses its research on the establishment of epigenomic and epitranscriptomic maps for normal and transformed cells, on the study of interactions between epigenetic modifications and non-coding RNAs, and on the development of new epigenetic drugs for cancer treatment.

The research plan for the coming years will expand and innovate upon the group’s previous key contributions in the fields of Epigenetics and Epitranscriptomics, both at the basic and translational levels. It will address the identity of organs, tissues, and cells, and how these characteristics become deregulated in disease, with a primary focus on cancer.

Main Lines of Research

Study the “language” of chemical modifications in DNA and histones (Epigenetics) and in RNA (Epitranscriptomics).
Resolve multi-omic heterogeneity through a single-cell epigenetic approach.
Elucidate the interaction between RNA modifications and carcinogenesis.
Identify therapeutic vulnerabilities in cancer for epigenetic and epitranscriptomic drugs.

Group coordination

ESTELLER BADOSA, MANEL ICREA
mesteller@santpau.cat

Members

Santos-Pujol E, Noguera-Castells A, Casado-Pelaez M, García-Prieto CA, Vasallo C, Campillo-Marcos I, Quero-Dotor C, Crespo-García E, Bueno-Costa A, Setién F, Ferrer G, Davalos V, Mereu E, Pluvinet R, Arribas C, de la Torre C, Villavicencio F, Sumoy L, Granada I, Coles NS, Acha P, Solé F, Mallo M, Mata C, Peregrina S, Gabaldón T, Llirós M, Pujolassos M, Carreras-Torres R, Lluansí A, García-Gil LJ, Aldeguer X, Samino S, Torné P, Ribalta J, Guardiola M, Amigó N, Yanes O, Martínez P, Sánchez-Vázquez R, Blasco MA, Oviedo J, Lemos B, Rius-Bonet J, Torrubiano M, Massip-Salcedo M, Khidir KA, Cao TH, Quinn PA, Jones DJL, Macip S, Brigos-Barril E, Moldes M, Barteri F, Muntané G, Laayouni H, Navarro A, Esteller M. The Multiomics Blueprint of the Individual with the Most Extreme Lifespan. Cell Reports Medicine, 6, 102368, 2025. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102368

Noguera-Castells A, García-Prieto CA, Ferrer G, Davalos V, Setien F, Genescà E, Ribera J, Ribera JM, Esteller M. A DNA methylation database of human and mouse hematological malignancy cell lines. Leukemia, 39, 512-515, 2025. doi: 10.1038/s41375-024-02478-2,

Esteller M, Dawson MA, Kadoch C, Rassool FV, Jones PA, Baylin SB. The Epigenetic Hallmarks of Cancer. Cancer Discovery, 14, 1783–1809, 2024. doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-24-0296

Campillo-Marcos I, Casado-Pelaez M, Davalos V, Ferrer G, Mata C, Mereu E, Roué G, Valcárcel D, Molero A, Zamora L, Xicoy B, Palomo L, Acha P, Manzanares A, Tobiasson M, Hellström-Lindberg E, Solé F, Esteller M. Single-Cell Multiomics Analysis of Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Clinical Response to Hypomethylating Therapy. Cancer Research Communications, 4, 365-377, 2024. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-23-0389

Noguera-Castells A, Parra J, Davalos V, García-Prieto CA, Veselinova Y, Pérez-Miés B, Caniego-Casas T, Palacios J, Saenz-Sardà X, Englund E, Musulen E, Esteller M. Epigenetic Fingerprint of the SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Lung of Lethal COVID-19. CHEST, 165, 820-824, 2024. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2023.10.032

Ortiz-Barahona V, Soler M, Davalos V, García-Prieto CA, Janin M, Setien F, Fernández-Rebollo I, Bech-Serra JJ, De La Torre C, Guil S, Villanueva A, Zhang PH, Yang L, Guarnacci M, Schumann U, Preiss T, Balaseviciute U, Montal R, Llovet JM, Esteller M. Epigenetic inactivation of the 5-methylcytosine RNA methyltransferase NSUN7 is associated with clinical outcome and therapeutic vulnerability in liver cancer. Molecular Cancer, 22, 83, 2023. doi: 10.1186/s12943-023-01785-z.

Joshi RS, Rigau M, García-Prieto CA, Castro de Moura M, Piñeyro D, Moran S, Davalos V, Carrión P, Ferrando-Bernal M, Olalde I, Lalueza-Fox C, Navarro A, Fernández-Tena C, Aspandi D, Sukno FM, Binefa X, Valencia A, Esteller M. Look-alike humans identified by facial recognition algorithms show genetic similarities. Cell Reports, 40, 111257, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111257

Garcia-Prieto CA, Villanueva L, Bueno-Costa A, Davalos V, González-Navarro EA, Juan M, MD, Urbano-Ispizua A, Delgado J, Ortíz-Maldonado V, del Bufalo F, Locatelli F, Quintarelli C, Sinibaldi M, Soler M, Castro de Moura M, Ferrer G, Urdinguio RG, Fernandez AF, Fraga MF, Bar D, Meir A, Itzhaki O, Besser MJ, Avigdor A, Jacoby E, Esteller M. Epigenetic profiling and response to CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in B-cell malignancies. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 114, 436-445, 2022. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111257

Castro de Moura M, Davalos V, Planas-Serra L, Alvarez-Errico D, Arribas C, Ruiz M, Aguilera-Albesa S, Troya J, Valencia-Ramos J, Vélez-Santamaria V, Rodríguez-Palmero A, Villar-Garcia J, Horcajada JP, Albu S, Casasnovas C, Rull A, Reverte L, Dietl B, Dalmau D, Arranz MJ, Llucià-Carol L, Planas AM, Pérez-Tur J, Fernandez-Cadenas I, Villares P, Tenorio J, Colobran R, Martin-Nalda A, Soler-Palacin P, Vidal F, Pujol A, Esteller M. Epigenome-Wide Association Study of COVID-19 Severity with Respiratory Failure. Lancet EBiomedicine, 68, 103393, 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103339

Esteve-Puig R, Climent F, Piñeyro D, Domingo-Domènech E, Davalos V, Encuentra M, Rea A, Espejo-Herrera N, Soler M, Lopez M, Ortiz-Barahona V, Tapia G, Navarro T, Cid J, Farré L, Villanueva A, Casanova I, Mangues R, Santamarina-Ojeda P, Fernández AF, Fraga MF, Piris MA, Kol N, Avrahami C, Moshitch-Moshkovitz S, Rechavi G, Sureda A, Esteller M. Epigenetic Loss of m1A RNA Demethylase ALKBH3 in Hodgkin Lymphoma Targets Collagen Conferring Poor Clinical Outcome. Blood, 137, 994-999, 2021. doi: 10.1182/blood.2020005823

Bueno-Costa A, Piñeyro D, Soler M, Javierre BM, Raurell-Vila H, Subirana-Granés M, Pasquali L, Martinez-Climent JA, Esteller M. B-cell Leukemia Transdifferentiation to Macrophage Involves Reconfiguration of DNA Methylation for Long-range Regulation. Leukemia, 34, 1158-62, 2020. doi: 10.1038/s41375-019-0643-1

Rosselló-Tortella M, Llinàs-Arias P, Sakaguchi Y, Miyauchi K, Davalos V, Setien F, Calleja-Cervantes ME, Piñeyro D, Martínez-Gómez J, Guil S, Joshi R, Villanueva A, Suzuki T, Esteller M. Epigenetic Loss of the tRNA-Modifying Enzyme TYW2 Induces Ribosome Frameshifts in Colon Cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 117, 20785-93, 2020. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2003358117

Introduction

Main Lines of Research

Study the “language” of chemical modifications in DNA and histones (Epigenetics) and in RNA (Epitranscriptomics).
Resolve multi-omic heterogeneity through a single-cell epigenetic approach.
Elucidate the interaction between RNA modifications and carcinogenesis.
Identify therapeutic vulnerabilities in cancer for epigenetic and epitranscriptomic drugs.

Team

Group coordination

ESTELLER BADOSA, MANEL ICREA
mesteller@santpau.cat

Members

Scientific output

ONCOHEMATOLOGIC DISEASES

Cancer Epigenetics

Main Lines of Research

Group coordination

Members

Main Lines of Research

Group coordination

Members

Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau