Among them, the ACE2-ORG project of the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), which is based on the generation of organoids (three-dimensional cell models that mimic a complex biological environment) to study possible therapies and carry out drug screening . Dr. Nuria Montserrat, leader of the project, explained that with the organoids, they study the clinical conditions that can worsen the prognosis of COVID-19, such as diabetes, to specify new effective therapeutic approaches. To do this, the project investigates the cellular responses of these “mini-organs” and the relationship of the angiotensin II converting enzyme (ACE2) with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The COVID-19 Fund managed by the Carlos III Health Institute has granted more than 300,000 euros to the ACE2-ORG project led by ICREA research professor Núria Montserrat at IBEC. The Karolinska Institute of Sweden, the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona and the University of Navarra also participate in the project.
IBEC has been working intensively since the beginning of the pandemic in the search for diagnostic and therapeutic solutions for the crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Check out in this section all our projects and initiatives.
