Oscar Fernandez-Capetillo
Oscar Fernandez-Capetillo
Karolinska Institutet
Research Interests
DNA damage is a known cause of cancer and ageing. In this context, drugs that either generate DNA damage or inhibit DNA repair have shown good efficacy in the treatment of tumors, and are the current standard of care in several cases. Still, our knowledge of the specific synthetic lethal interactions that can enhance the efficacy of these treatments is somewhat rudimentary and there is room for improvement. I have previously been involved in the development of DNA repair inhibitors and help them arise clinical phases. At KI, I want to further pursue these translational activities by integrating our research with the national platforms available in the area of drug development. While our research will still have an angle towards DNA damage and repair, we will also explore other health-relevant areas such as the development of immune-modulators or new strategies to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Group members
Oscar Fernandez-Capetillo, Professor
Jordi Carreras, Project Leader
Per Moberg, Scientific Coordinator
Daniela Huehn, Postdoc
Bomi Jung, Postdoc
Kirsten Tschapalda, Postdoc
Maria Häggblad, Research engineer
Louise Lidemalm, Laboratory technician
Alba Corman, Master student
Key publications
1: Lecona E, Rodriguez-Acebes S, Specks J, Lopez-Contreras AJ, Ruppen I, Murga M, Muñoz J, Mendez J, Fernandez-Capetillo O. USP7 is a SUMO deubiquitinase essential for DNA replication. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2016 Mar 7. doi: 10.1038/nsmb.3185.
2: Jacome A, Gutierrez-Martinez P, Schiavoni F, Tenaglia E, Martinez P, Rodríguez-Acebes S, Lecona E, Murga M, Méndez J, Blasco MA, Fernandez-Capetillo O. NSMCE2 suppresses cancer and aging in mice independently of its SUMO ligase activity. EMBO J. 2015 Nov 3;34(21):2604-19.
3: Ruiz S, Lopez-Contreras AJ, Gabut M, Marion RM, Gutierrez-Martinez P, Bua S, Ramirez O, Olalde I, Rodrigo-Perez S, Li H, Marques-Bonet T, Serrano M, Blasco MA, Batada NN, Fernandez-Capetillo O. Limiting replication stress during somatic cell reprogramming reduces genomic instability in induced pluripotent stem cells. Nat Commun. 2015 Aug 21;6:8036.
4: Lopez-Contreras AJ, Specks J, Barlow JH, Ambrogio C, Desler C, Vikingsson S, Rodrigo-Perez S, Green H, Rasmussen LJ, Murga M, Nussenzweig A, Fernandez-Capetillo O. Increased Rrm2 gene dosage reduces fragile site breakage and prolongs survival of ATR mutant mice. Genes Dev. 2015 Apr 1;29(7):690-5.
5: Ruiz S, Fernandez-Capetillo O. The maternal side of Fanconi Anemia. Mol Cell. 2014 Sep 18;55(6):803-4.
Group homepage/external homepage
