Biomembranes Unit

Biological membranes serve not only as biological boundaries but also as dynamic structures essential for several cellular events, both on health and disease. The scope of the Unit is the study of biochemical and biophysical processes occurring at the level of the membranes of human cells and of their viral and bacterial pathogens, even without the involvement of membrane receptors. The Unit is mainly focused on the two steps of the life cycle of enveloped viruses (mainly HIV and dengue virus) that involve biomembranes: the entry of the virus in a target cell and the release of new virus. The questions that we try to answer are related to specific lipid recruitment during viral assembly, virus-target cell interactions conditioning by viral lipid composition and, the role of lipid rafts (heterogeneous membrane areas enriched in specific components) on the virus life cycle and on the action of some anti-HIV drugs. The answering of some of these questions may reveal specific interactions, show how they can be modulated and, hopefully, identify new targets for antiretroviral therapy. Adding to this main focus, we are also involved in collaborative projects on: i) the evaluation of the activity of microbicides that bind to specifics component of the membranes of some bacteria; ii) the study of the binding of fibrinogen to platelets and erythrocytes and its relevance as cardiovascular risk factor; and, iii) on the Nanomedicine / Nanotechnology area, the structural characterization of metal nanoparticles conjugated with proteins for biomedical applications (e.g., biosensors).

Please, visit also our external web pages at biochemistry-imm.org and at imm.fm.ul.pt.

Unidade de Biomembranas
Instituto de Medicina Molecular
Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa
Av. Prof. Egas Moniz
1649-028 Lisboa
Portugal