Genomic instability and cancer

Principal Investigator

Contract Researcher at SCS/FIISC; Research Unit, HUNSC

Félix M. Machín Concepción, PhD


External medical collaborators

  • Laura Anaissi Afonso (Postdoctoral Researcher linked to the project PLEC2022-009507, Research Unit, HUNSC)

Clinical collaborators

  • Ana Chivite de León (FEA Pathological Anatomy, CHUNSC)
  • Fernando Antonio García Machado (FEA Pathological Anatomy, CHUNSC)
  • Helena Gil Campesino (FEA Microbiology and Parasitology, CHUNSC)
  • María Magdalena Lara Pérez (FEA Microbiology and Parasitology, CHUNSC)
  • Ana Cardeña Gutiérrez (FEA Oncology, CHUNSC)

PhD students and researchers in training

  • Emiliano Matos Perdomo (Doctoral Program in Health Sciences ULL, thesis defended 03/2023)
  • Silvia Santana Sosa (Doctoral Program in Health Sciences ULL, ACIISI TESIS2018010034, thesis defended 03/2023)
  • Sara Medina-Suárez (Doctoral Program in Health Sciences ULL, ACIISI TESIS2020010028, 2019-2024)
  • Samantha Morais Armas (Doctoral Program in Health Sciences ULL, Spanish Association Against Cancer, AECC)
  • Noelia Rodríguez Herrera (Doctoral Program in Health Sciences ULL, senior technician contract associated with project PID2021-123716OB-I00)

Lines of research

Genetic instability is the phenomenon by which cells become unable to transmit a reliable copy of their genetic information to their offspring. Genetic instability in our cells inevitably leads to cancer and certain degenerative diseases. Furthermore, genetic instability underlies the diversity within tumors, which explains their malignancy and resistance to treatment. Damage to the DNA molecule and failures in chromosome segregation during cell division are the most common causes of genetic instability and, paradoxically, the strategy employed by most antitumor drugs to eliminate cancer cells. Our group's objectives focus on understanding these phenomena and how they contribute to the complex biology of cancer. To this end, we primarily use model organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, human cell lines, and tumor samples from patients.

We are also interested in chemical compounds that affect DNA, microtubules, mitochondria, the plasma membrane, topoisomerases, protein aggregation, etc., and their potential uses as antitumor, antibiotic, antifungal, antiparasitic, and neurodegenerative therapies.

Funded projects

  • Nuclear envelope homeostasis during chromosome segregation and late DNA damage repair (PID2021-123716OB-I00). PI: Félix Machín. Ministry of Science and Innovation (01/09/2022 – 01/09/2025; €169,400)
  • Caseinolytic Protease P (ClpP) agonists: small molecules with a novel mechanism of action against multidrug-resistant bacterial infections (PLEC2022-009507). PI: Félix Machín (FIISC subproject); Grant McNaughton-Smith of CEAMED SA as coordinator). Ministry of Science and Innovation (01/09/2022 – 01/09/2025; €152,752.92 to the subproject, €564,555.69 to the consortium)
  • Rapid, sensitive and quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-LAMP (PIFIIS20/26). PI: Félix Machín. Canary Islands Foundation Institute of Health Research of the Canary Islands, FIISC (2020-2023; €19,939.25)

Publications 2023

  • Bruna-Haupt EF, Perretti MD, Garro HA, Carrillo R, Machín F, Lorenzo-Castrillejo I, Gutiérrez L, Vega-Hissi EG, Mamberto M, Menacho-Marquez M, Fernández CO, García C, Pungitore CR. Synthesis of Structurally Related Coumarin Derivatives as Antiproliferative Agents. ACS Omega. 2023;8(29):26479-96. DOI: 10.1021/ACSOMEGA.3C03181
  • Santana-Sosa S, Matos-Perdomo E, Ayra-Plasencia J, Machín F. TITLE: A Yeast Mitotic Tale for the Nucleus and the Vacuoles to Embrace Santana-Sosa S, Matos-Perdomo E, Ayra-Plasencia J, Machín F. A Yeast Mitotic Tale for the Nucleus and the Vacuoles to Embrace. International Journal of Molecular Sciences; 2023;24(12). DOI: 10.3390/ijms24129829
  • Morais-Armas S, Medina-Suárez S, Machín F. Effect of carrier yeast RNAs in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-LAMP. MicroPubl Biol. 2023;000979. DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.000979

Other representative publications from recent years

  • Ramos-Pérez C, Dominska M, Anaissi-Afonso L, Cazorla-Rivero S, Quevedo O, Lorenzo-Castrillejo I, Petes TD, Machín F. Cytological and genetic consequences for the progeny of a mitotic catastrophe provoked by Topoisomerase II deficiency. Aging (Albany NY). 2019 Dec;11(23):11686-11721. DOI: 10.18632/aging.102573
  • Ayra-Plasencia J, Machín F. DNA double-strand breaks in telophase lead to coalescence between segregated sister chromatid loci. Nature Communications. 2019 Jun;10(1):2862. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10742-8
  • Anaissi-Afonso L, Oramas-Royo S, Ayra-Plasencia J, Martín-Rodríguez P, García-Luis J, Lorenzo-Castrillejo I, Fernández-Pérez L, Estévez-Braun A, Machín F. Lawsone, Juglone, and β-Lapachone Derivatives with Enhanced Mitochondrial-Based Toxicity. ACS Chem Biol. 2018 Aug;13(8):1950-1957. DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.8b00306