Scientific Program
Physiological and pathological processes
RESEARCH GROUP
Neuroepigenetics of brain physiology and pathology

Ernest Palomer Vila
We are interested in understanding how the interaction between the environment and genetics favours long-lasting cell-type epigenetic changes in the brain in the healthy brain and pathology.
To achieve our research goals, we use a range of experimental settings from cell cultures and mouse models to human samples from a multidisciplinary approach perspective, thus combining cutting-edge molecular and cellular biology techniques to functional studies in vivo.
Research
Our laboratory is interested in understanding the aberrant molecular changes underlying cognitive deficits in physiological and pathological brain ageing, with particular interest in Alzheimer’s disease. We hypothesise that the interaction between the environment and genetics favours long-lasting cell-type molecular changes in the brain, which will impact cognitive function with time. Thus, our laboratory is interested in studying the contribution of cell-type neuro-epigenetics to cognitive function in the ageing brain.
Among the different epigenetic regulations, we are interested in studying how histone post-translational modifications regulate gene transcription during memory formation and how these fundamental mechanisms are aberrantly regulated during physiological and pathological brain ageing. We have shown that memory-induced stimulation favours the chromatin remodelling of genes involved in memory formation and that such processes are aberrantly regulated in the ageing brain or in response to amyloid beta, the toxic peptide associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Given the role of different cell-types in memory formation or their involvement in neurodegeneration, we are now dissecting the cell-type neuro-epigenetics of brain cells (neurons, astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes) in relation to physiological and pathological brain processes.
To achieve our research goals, we use a range of experimental settings from cell cultures and mouse models to human samples from a multidisciplinary approach perspective, thus combining cutting-edge molecular and cellular biology techniques to functional studies in vivo.
Group members

Ernest Palomer Vila
Lab.: 122 Ext.: 4543
epalomer(at)cbm.csic.es

Jose Ruiz Iglesias
Lab.: 122 Ext.: 4520
jose.ruiz(at)cbm.csic.es

Lucía Cañizares Moscato
Lab.: 122 Ext.: 4520
lucia.c(at)cbm.csic.es

Elena Alejandre Ruíz
Lab.: 122 Ext.: 4520
ealejandre(at)cbm.csic.es
Selected publications

Epigenetic repression of Wnt receptors in AD: a role for Sirtuin2-induced H4K16ac deacetylation of Frizzled1 and Frizzled7 promoters
Ernest Palomer et al.
Single-Cell Quantification of mRNA Expression in The Human Brain
Sarah Jolly et al.
Neuronal activity controls Bdnf expression via Polycomb de-repression and CREB/CBP/JMJD3 activation in mature neurons
Ernest Palomer et al.

Aging Triggers a Repressive Chromatin State at Bdnf Promoters in Hippocampal Neurons
Ernest Palomer et al.