Maria Jesús Moure García
Maria Jesús Moure García
POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER
Chemical Glycobiology Lab
Email: mmoure@cicbiogune.es
Phone: 4209 / 944 061 321
Address: Bizkaia Science and Technology Park, building 800, Derio (Bizkaia)

The Chemical Glycobiology Lab is actively engaged in extensive multidisciplinary studies on diverse glycan-lectin systems related to health and disease. This collaborative research involves Senior (Jimenez-Barbero, Ardá, Ereño-Orbea, Unione) and Emerging Scientists (Gimeno), along with Specialists, Technicians, Postdoctoral associates, and Doctoral candidates.

Using a combination of diverse and synergic methodologies, including chemical synthesis, protein biochemistry and molecular biology, biophysics (ITC, BLI), molecular modelling, and structural biology (X-Ray crystallography and CryoEM), with special emphasis on NMR spectroscopy, the Chemical Glycobiology lab investigates the interactions of glycans related to immune responses, from cancer to bacterial and viral infections.

Indeed, glycans, prevalent on mammalian cells and in the extracellular matrix, collectively form the glycocalyx, impacting physical properties, regulating protein function, and acting as ligands for lectins. Dysregulation of glycosyltransferases results in tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs), unique to tumor cells. While TACAs are recognized therapeutic targets, their low immunogenicity presents a challenge for T-cell-dependent immune responses crucial in cancer therapy. TACAs play a crucial role in modulating immune responses within the tumor microenvironment through interactions with lectins. Similar interactions are observed in bacterial and viral-mediated infectious events.

From the application side, the focus is on structure-based drug and vaccine design, collaborating with research groups and pharmaceutical companies worldwide, investigating lectin-glycan and antibody-glycan molecular recognition processes. Additionally, from the basic perspective, we explore the conformational properties of glycans, specially the glycosyl oxocarbenium cations, key intermediates in synthesis and cleavage, and examine the presentation and dynamic properties of glycans designed for specific geometrical shapes.

In parallel, the laboratory continuously develops cutting-edge NMR-based techniques. Special emphasis is placed on the use of stable isotopes (13C, 19F) to push the boundaries of NMR applications. These advancements are vital for understanding the pivotal roles of glycans in their interactions with receptors, influencing biological responses associated with health or disease.

Specific areas and research lines include:

  • • Interactions of glycans with galectins and C-type lectins, overseen by Dr. Ana Ardá.
  • • Recognition of sialic acids by Siglecs and their role as glyco-immune checkpoints, led by Dr. June Ereño-Orbea.
  • • Attachment of glycans to influenza virus proteins and other pathogens, investigating their impact on infections, directed by Dr. Luca Unione.
  • • Analysis of proteoglycans and the functional landscape of glycosylation in cancer, spearheaded by Dr. Ana Gimeno.
Latest Publications

Insights into the transglucosylation activity of α-glucosidase from Schwanniomyces occidentalis

Merdzo, Z; Narmontaite, E; Gonzalez-Alfonso, JL; Poveda, A; Jimenez-Barbero, J; Plou, FJ; Fernández-Lobato, M;

APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

2024-12-01

Antigenic determinants driving serogroup-specific antibody response to Neisseria meningitidis C, W, and Y capsular polysaccharides: Insights for rational vaccine design

Pietri, GP; Bertuzzi, S; Karnicar, K; Unione, L; Lisnic, B; Malic, S; Miklic, K; Novak, M; Calloni, I; Santini, L; Usenik, A; Romano, MR; Adamo, R; Jonjic, S; Turk, D; Jimenez-Barbero, J; Rovis, ...

CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS

2024-10-01

Unprecedented selectivity for homologous lectin targets: differential targeting of the viral receptors L-SIGN and DC-SIGN

Delaunay, C; Pollastri, S; Thépaut, M; Cavazzoli, G; Belvisi, L; Bouchikri, C; Labiod, N; Lasala, F; Gimeno, A; Franconetti, A; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Ardá, A; Delgado, R; Bernardi, A; Fieschi, ...

CHEMICAL SCIENCE

2024-08-27

Influence of Selective Deoxyfluorination on the Molecular Structure of Type-2 N-Acetyllactosamine

Kurfirt, M; Stastna, LC; Dracinsky, M; Pohl, R; Cisarová, I; Sykora, J; Balouch, M; Baka, M; Hamala, V; Cañada, FJ; Ardá, A; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Karban, J;

JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

2024-08-23

Insights into the recognition of hypermucoviscous Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates by innate immune lectins of the Siglec and galectin families

Campanero-Rhodes, MA; Martí, S; Hernández-Ortiz, N; Cubero, M; Ereño-Orbea, J; Ardá, A; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Ardanuy, C; Solís, D;

FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY

2024-08-01

Different roles of the heterodimer architecture of galectin-4 in selective recognition of oligosaccharides and lipopolysaccharides having ABH antigens.

Quintana, Jon I; Massaro, Mora; Cagnoni, Alejandro J; Nunez-Franco, Reyes; Delgado, Sandra; Jimenez-Oses, Gonzalo; Marino, Karina V; Rabinovich, Gabriel A; Jimenez-Barbero, Jesus; Arda, Ana; ...

The Journal of biological chemistry

2024-07-15

Nanotechnology-assisted intracellular delivery of antibody as a precision therapy approach for KRAS-driven tumors

López-Estévez, AM; Sanjurjo, L; Turrero, A; Arriaga, I; Abrescia, NGA; Poveda, A; Jimenez-Barbero, J; Vidal, A; Torres, D; Alonso, MJ;

JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE

2024-07-15

Exploring galectin interactions with human milk oligosaccharides and blood group antigens identifies BGA6 as a functional galectin-4 ligand.

Cagnoni, Alejandro J; Massaro, Mora; Cutine, Anabela M; Gimeno, Ana; Perez-Saez, Juan M; Manselle Cocco, Montana N; Maller, Sebastian M; Di Lella, Santiago; Jimenez-Barbero, Jesus; Arda, Ana; ...

The Journal of biological chemistry

2024-07-13

Quantifying Siglec-sialylated ligand interactions: a versatile 19F-T2 CPMG filtered competitive NMR displacement assay

Atxabal, U; Fernández, A; Moure, MJ; Sobczak, K; Nycholat, C; Almeida-Marrero, V; Oyenarte, I; Paulson, JC; de la Escosura, A; Torres, T; Reichardt, NC; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Ereño-Orbea, J;

CHEMICAL SCIENCE

2024-06-07

Solid-Phase-Supported Chemoenzymatic Synthesis and Analysis of Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan Glycopeptides

Lin, PH; Xu, YM; Bali, SK; Kim, J; Gimeno, A; Roberts, ET; James, D; Almeida, NMS; Loganathan, N; Fan, F; Wilson, AK; Amster, IJ; Moremen, KW; Liu, J; Jimenez-Barbero, J; Huang, XF;

ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION

2024-05-23

Disentangling Glycan-Protein Interactions: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) to the Rescue

Bertuzzi, S; Poveda, A; Ardá, A; Gimeno, A; Jiménez-Barbero, J;

JOVE-JOURNAL OF VISUALIZED EXPERIMENTS

2024-05-17

A Multidisciplinary Structural Approach to the Identification of the Haemophilus influenzae Type b Capsular Polysaccharide Protective Epitope

Nonne, F; Dello Iacono, L; Bertuzzi, S; Unione, L; Proietti, D; Norais, N; Margarit, I; Adamo, R; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Carboni, F; Romano, MR;

ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE

2024-02-22

Dissecting the Conformational Stability of a Glycan Hairpin

Yadav, N; Djalali, S; Poveda, A; Ricardo, MG; Seeberger, PH; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Delbianco, M;

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

2024-02-20

Unraveling Molecular Recognition of Glycan Ligands by Siglec-9 via NMR Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Modeling

Atxabal, U; Nycholat, C; Pröpster, JM; Fernández, A; Oyenarte, I; Lenza, MP; Franconetti, A; Soares, CO; Coelho, H; Marcelo, F; Schubert, M; Paulson, JC; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Ereño-Orbea, J;

ACS CHEMICAL BIOLOGY

2024-02-16

Evolution of human H3N2 influenza virus receptor specificity has substantially expanded the receptor-binding domain site

Thompson, AJ; Wu, NC; Canales, A; Kikuchi, C; Zhu, XY; de Toro, BF; Cañada, FJ; Worth, C; Wang, SY; Mcbride, R; Peng, WJ; Nycholat, CM; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Wilson, IA; Paulson, JC;

CELL HOST & MICROBE

2024-02-14

Strategy for the Enzymatic Acylation of the Apple Flavonoid Phloretin Based on Prior α-Glucosylation

Gonzalez-Alfonso, JL; Alonso, C; Poveda, A; Ubiparip, Z; Ballesteros, AO; Desmet, T; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Coderch, L; Plou, FJ;

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY

2024-02-13

The impact of glycosylation on the structure, function, and interactions of CD14.

Quintana, Jon Imanol; Delgado, Sandra; Rabano, Miriam; Azkargorta, Mikel; Florencio-Zabaleta, Mirane; Unione, Luca; Vivanco, Maria dM; Elortza, Felix; Jimenez-Barbero, Jesus; Arda, Ana;

Glycobiology

2024-01-16

Illuminating a Solvent-Dependent Hierarchy for Aromatic CH/π Complexes with Dynamic Covalent Glyco-Balances

Díaz-Casado, L; Villacampa, A; Corzana, F; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Gómez, AM; Santana, AG; Asensio, JL;

JACS AU

2024-01-02

Targeting the Spike: Repurposing Mithramycin and Dihydroergotamine to Block SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Stagnoli, S; Macari, G; Corsi, P; Capone, B; Vidaurrazaga, A; Ereño-Orbea, J; Ardá, A; Polticelli, F; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Abrescia, NGA; Coluzza, I;

ACS OMEGA

2023-11-13

Synthesis of a glycan hairpin

Fittolani, G; Tyrikos-Ergas, T; Poveda, A; Yu, Y; Yadav, N; Seeberger, PH; Jiménez-Barbero, J; Delbianco, M;

NATURE CHEMISTRY

2023-07-03