PROJECT
SUPERVISORS
Project Supervisor
Virginia G. de Yébenes
Background
I am a biochemist and molecular biologist with a PhD from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain). Following postdoctoral training at the Spanish National Oncology Research Center (CNIO), I established an independent research program that uncovered key roles for microRNAs in germinal center B cell biology and oncogenic transformation.
Through national and international collaborations, my work has identified tumor-suppressive and oncogenic microRNAs, generated innovative mouse models, and led to high-impact publications as well as patents with therapeutic potential for B cell lymphomas. Since 2019, I have led the B Cell Physiopathology Group at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and serve as scientific co-director of the Lymphocyte Immunobiology Research Group at Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Hospital 12 de Octubre. I am deeply committed to scientific mentoring, teaching, peer review, and public engagement in science.
Research
My laboratory explores how non-coding RNAs, particularly microRNAs, shape B cell biology and drive malignant transformation. We are especially interested in germinal center (GC) B cells, which are central to adaptive immune responses but also represent the cell of origin for several aggressive lymphomas. One line of our research explores the tumor-suppressive role of miR-28, a GC-specific microRNA that is consistently downregulated in Burkitt lymphoma and diffuse large B cell lymphoma. We aim to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying its activity and to determine how its loss contributes to malignant transformation.
In parallel, we investigate how activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) reshapes the microRNA landscape through its mutagenic activity, thereby driving B cell transformation by disrupting post-transcriptional gene regulation. To address these questions, we employ advanced genetic mouse models, transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling, and functional assays. Ultimately, our goal is to translate these mechanistic insights into innovative strategies to fine-tune immune responses and develop targeted therapies for B cell malignancies.
Publications
Fuertes T, Álvarez-Corrales E, Gómez-Escolar C, Ubieto-Capella P, Serrano-Navarro Á, de Molina A, Méndez J, Ramiro AR, de Yébenes VG (2023). miR-28-based combination therapy impairs aggressive B cell lymphoma growth by rewiring DNA replication. Cell Death Dis., 14(10): 687.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-023-06178-0
Fuertes T, Salgado I, de Yébenes VG (2021). microRNA fine-tuning of the germinal center response. Front. Immunol., 12: 660450.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.660450
Fuertes T, Ramiro AR, de Yébenes VG (2020). miRNA-based therapies in B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Trends Immunol., 41(10): 932–947.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2020.08.006
de Yébenes VG, Briones AM, Martos-Folgado I, Mur SM, Oller J, Bilal F, González-Amor M, Méndez-Barbero N, Silla-Castro JC, Were F, Jiménez-Borreguero LJ, Sánchez-Cabo F, Bueno H, Salaices M, Redondo JM, Ramiro AR (2020). Aging-associated miR-217 aggravates atherosclerosis and promotes cardiovascular dysfunction. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., 40(10): 2408–2424.
https://doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.120.314333
de Yébenes VG, Belver L, Pisano DG, González S, Villasante A, Croce C, He L, Ramiro AR (2008). miR-181b negatively regulates activation-induced cytidine deaminase in B cells. J. Exp. Med., 205(10): 2199–2206.
https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20080579