Human Technopole has once again been awarded by Europe’s prestigious public body for funding of scientific research conducted within the European Union, the European Research Council (ERC), for two projects on the origin of tumours, their evolution and the development of resistance to therapies. The two studies could contribute to the identification of new anti-cancer targeted treatments.

A study by the University of Padua and Human Technopole, together with the University of Milan and the European Institute of Oncology, published in Cell Reports Medicine, reveals that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, binds the RAGE receptor present on the surface of specific human immune cells to penetrate them and pathologically alter their function. This study also shows how the involvement of RAGE, previously known only in the context of other pathophysiological conditions, such as obesity and diabetes, is implicated in the degree of severity with which COVID-19 can manifest.

The Human Technopole and Mario Negri institute for Pharmacological Research are among 33 leading international partners who have joined forces to better understand cardiovascular diseases and optimise future prevention and treatment.

In a perspective article published in Nature, Piero Carninci and colleagues discuss the status of human gene annotation and how high-throughput RNA sequencing technologies have accelerated the discovery of non-coding RNA genes with unknown functions and will promote the completion of the human gene catalogue.