Rui E. Castro
PhD (2006) in Pharmacy (Biochemistry), Universidade de Lisboa
Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Minnesota Medical School, MN, USA
Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Human Biology, Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa
Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade de Lisboa — Av. Prof. Gama Pinto, 1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal
Research Interests
The research being developed by Castro combines his solid background in the modulation of liver cell function by bile acids with his most recent discoveries in the miRNA field, to answer fundamental questions on the pathogenesis and therapeutic targeting of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Well-established in vitro and in vivo models of disease, human patients liver biopsies and liver-specific miRNA knockout animals are being used in multi-layered pharmacological approaches aiming to ultimately bring miRNA therapies to the liver clinical setting.
Selected Publications
Rodrigues PM, Afonso MB, Simão AL, Carvalho CC, Trindade A, Duarte A, Borralho PM, Machado MV, Cortez-Pinto H, Rodrigues CMP, Castro RE. miR-21 ablation and obeticholic acid ameliorate nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in mice. Cell Death Dis 2017; 8: e2748.
Rodrigues PM, Afonso MB, Simão AL, Borralho PM, Rodrigues CMP, Castro RE. Inhibition of NF-κB by deoxycholic acid induces miR-21/PDCD4-dependent hepatocellular apoptosis. Sci Rep 2015; 5: 17528.
Afonso MB, Rodrigues PM, Carvalho T, Caridade M, Borralho P, Cortez-Pinto H, Castro RE, Rodrigues CMP. Necroptosis is a key pathogenic event in human and experimental murine models of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Clin Sci 2015; 129: 721-739.
Castro RE, Ferreira DMS, Borralho PM, Machado MV, Cortez-Pinto H, Rodrigues CMP. miR-34a/SIRT1/p53 is suppressed by ursodeoxycholic acid in rat liver and activated by disease severity in human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Hepatol 2013; 58: 119-25.
Castro RE, Ferreira DM, Zhang X, Borralho PM, Sarver AL, Zeng Y, Steer CJ, Kren BT, Rodrigues CMP. Identification of microRNAs during rat liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy and modulation by ursodeoxycholic acid. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2010; 299: G887-97.