Albert Giralt

Hippocampal function in health and disease

ORCID Research Profile

Albert Giralt

Position: Principal Investigator

albertgiralt (at) ub.edu

Contact details

 

Dr. Albert Giralt

Department of Biomedicine

Faculty of Medicine, Casanova 143

08036 Barcelona (Spain)

932275400

albertgiralt (at) ub.edu

webgrec.ub.edu/cgi…

Current Research Line

  • Research on new genetic risk factors in Alzheimer’s disease and study of new strategies for gene therapy in rodent models.
  • Research on the formation of neuronal engrams in murine models of depression induced by chronic stress.
  • Research on new risk factors for schizophrenia in murine models.

Technologies/Methods

  • Western blot
  • Immunofluorescence
  • Histological techniques
  • Electrophysiology in slices of brain. Induction of long-term potentiation (LTP).
  • Primary cultures of neural cells. Astrocytes, neurons, oligodendrocytes.
  • Biochemical tests: ELISA, enzymatic phosphatase and kinase activities
  • Advanced microscopy and confocal microscopy.
  • Stereotaxic surgery in animals (mice and rats).
  • Implantation of intracerebral osmotic pumps and pumps in mice and rats.
  • Techniques of molecular biology. RT-PCR and PCR.
  • Behavioral characterization of mouse models.

Highlighted Publications

Giralt A, Rodrigo T, Martín ED, Gonzalez JR, Milà M, Ceña V, Dierssen M, Canals JM, Alberch J. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor modulates the severity of cognitive alterations induced by mutant huntingtin: involvement of
phospholipaseCgamma activity and glutamate receptor expression. Neuroscience. 2009 Feb 18;158(4):1234-50. Impact Factor: 3.3

 

Giralt A, Friedman HC, Caneda-Ferrón B, Urbán N, Moreno E, Rubio N, Blanco J, Peterson A, Canals JM, Alberch J. BDNF regulation under GFAP promoter provides engineered astrocytes as a new approach for long-term protection in Huntington’s disease. Gene Ther. 2010 Oct;17(10):1294-308. Impact Factor: 4.53

 

Saavedra A, Giralt A, Rué L, Xifró X, Xu J, Ortega Z, Lucas JJ, Lombroso PJ, Alberch J, Pérez-Navarro E. Striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase expression and activity in Huntington’s disease: a STEP in the resistance to
excitotoxicity. J Neurosci. 2011 Jun 1;31(22):8150-62. Impact Factor: 7.11

 

Giralt A, Saavedra A, Carretón O, Xifró X, Alberch J, Pérez-Navarro E. Increased PKA signaling disrupts recognition memory and spatial memory: role in Huntington’s disease. Hum Mol Genet. 2011 Nov 1;20(21):4232-47. Impact Factor: 7.36

 

Giralt A, Carretón O, Lao-Peregrin C, Martín ED, Alberch J. Conditional BDNF release under pathological conditions improves Huntington’s disease pathology by delaying neuronal dysfunction. Mol Neurodegener. 2011 Oct 10;6(1):71. Impact Factor: 4.27

 

Giralt A, Puigdellívol M, Carretón O, Paoletti P, Valero J, Parra-Damas A, Saura CA, Alberch J, Ginés S. Long-term memory deficits in Huntington’s disease are associated with reduced CBP histone acetylase activity. Hum Mol Genet. 2012 Mar 15;21(6):1203-16. Impact Factor: 7.63