Our work focuses on understanding the mechanisms that regulate tumor promotion and invasion, with a particular focus on intercellular interactions within the squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) microenvironment. We are interested in unraveling how different cell types, including keratinocytes, immune and stromal cells, influence tumor progression and response to environmental signals. To do so, we employ a multidisciplinary approach using cellular and animal models with the aim of identifying novel molecular targets and developing innovative therapeutic tools to modulate these interactions and their impact on tumor development and progression.

• Biological relevance of the PDPN/CD44/MT1-MMP complex in epithelial carcinogenesis. Development of new therapeutic tools. University Francisco de Vitoria. UFV2024-21. Duration: 3/1/2024-31/12-/2025.
• Podoplanin-mediated interaction of tumor cells and microenvironment controls epithelial carcinogenesis and malignant progression. New therapeutic approaches. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-AEI. Duration 1 September 2022-31 August 2025.
• Podoplanin, a new modulator of skin homeostasis: implications in tissue regeneration and carcinogenesis. University Francisco de Vitoria Foundation. UFV2022-10. Duration 1 Jan 2022-31 Dec 2023.
• Physiological Relevance of Podoplanin/CD44 Interaction in the Transmigration of Tumor Cells through the Basal Membrane. University Francisco de Vitoria Foundation. Duration 1 Jan 2020-31 Dec 2021.
• Role of podoplanin in the malignant progression of epithelial cancer. Relevance of podoplanin-CD44 interaction. Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO)-AEI. SAF2017-84183-R. Duration: January 2018-December 2021.

• Lucía Montero-Montero, Jaime Renart, Andrés Ramírez, Carmen Ramos, Mariam Shamhood, Rocío Jarcovsky, Miguel Quintanilla, Ester Martín-Villar. Interplay between Podoplanin, CD44s and CD44v in Squamous Carcinoma Cells. Cells. 2020 Sep 29;9(10):2200. doi: 10.3390/cells9102200.
• Moncho-Amor V, Pintado-Berninches L, Ibañez de Cáceres I, Martín-Villar E,Quintanilla M, Chakravarty P, Cortes-Sempere M, Fernández-Varas B, Rodriguez-Antolín C, de Castro J, Sastre L, Perona R. Role of Dusp6 Phosphatase as a Tumor Suppressor in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Apr 25;20(8). pii: E2036. doi:10.3390/ijms20082036. PubMed PMID: 31027181; PubMedCentral PMCID: PMC6514584.
• Quintanilla M, Montero-Montero L, Renart J, Martín-Villar E. Podoplanin in Inflammation and Cancer. Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Feb 6;20(3). pii: E707. doi:10.3390/ijms20030707. Review. PubMed PMID: 30736372; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC6386838.
• Da Silva IL, Montero-Montero L, Martín-Villar E, Martin-Pérez J, Sainz B,Renart J, Toscano Simões R, Soares Veloso É, Salviano Teixeira C, de Oliveira MC,Ferreira E, Quintanilla M. Reduced expression of the murine HLA-G homolog Qa-2 is associated with malignancy, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and stemness in breast cancer cells. Sci Rep. 2017 Jul 24;7(1):6276. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-06528-x. PubMed PMID: 28740236; PubMed Central PMCID:PMC5524840.
• Luengo-Gil G, Calvo MI, Martín-Villar E, Águila S, Bohdan N, Antón AI, Espín S, Ayala de la Peña F, Vicente V, Corral J, Quintanilla M, Martínez-Martínez I.Antithrombin controls tumor migration, invasion and angiogenesis by inhibition of enteropeptidase. Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 8;6:27544. doi: 10.1038/srep27544. PubMed PMID: 27270881; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4897635.
• Carrasco-Ramírez P, Greening DW, Andrés G, Gopal SK, Martín-Villar E, Renart J, Simpson RJ, Quintanilla M. Podoplanin is a component of extracellular vesicles that reprograms cell-derived exosomal proteins and modulates lymphatic vessel formation. Oncotarget. 2016 Mar 29;7(13):16070-89. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.7445. PubMed PMID: 26893367; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4941298.
• Renart J, Carrasco-Ramírez P, Fernández-Muñoz B, Martín-Villar E, Montero L, Yurrita MM, Quintanilla M. New insights into the role of podoplanin in epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Int Rev Cell Mol Biol. 2015;317:185-239. doi:10.1016/bs.ircmb.2015.01.009. Epub 2015 Mar 5. Review. PubMed PMID: 26008786.
• Pérez-Gómez E, Andradas C, Blasco-Benito S, Caffarel MM, García-Taboada E, Villa-Morales M, Moreno E, Hamann S, Martín-Villar E, Flores JM, Wenners A, Alkatout I, Klapper W, Röcken C, Bronsert P, Stickeler E, Staebler A, Bauer M, Arnold N, Soriano J, Pérez-Martínez M, Megías D, Moreno-Bueno G, Ortega-Gutiérrez S, Artola M, Vázquez-Villa H, Quintanilla M, Fernández-Piqueras J, Canela EI,McCormick PJ, Guzmán M, Sánchez C. Role of cannabinoid receptor CB2 in HER2 pro oncogenic signaling in breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2015 Apr 8;107(6):djv077. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djv077. Print 2015 Jun. PubMed PMID: 25855725.
• del Castillo G, Sánchez-Blanco E, Martín-Villar E, Valbuena-Diez AC, Langa C, Pérez-Gómez E, Renart J, Bernabéu C, Quintanilla M. Soluble endoglin antagonizes Met signaling in spindle carcinoma cells. Carcinogenesis. 2015 Feb;36(2):212-22. doi: 10.1093/carcin/bgu240. Epub 2014 Dec 10. PubMed PMID: 25503931.
• Martín-Villar E, Borda-d’Agua B, Carrasco-Ramirez P, Renart J, Parsons M, Quintanilla M, Jones GE. Podoplanin mediates ECM degradation by squamous carcinoma cells through control of invadopodia stability. Oncogene. 2015 Aug 20;34(34):4531-44. doi: 10.1038/onc.2014.388. Epub 2014 Dec 8. PubMed PMID:25486435; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4430312.