Miguel Maria Restolho Mateus Pinheiro

Mateus-Pinheiro graduated in Biology in at the University of Lisbon and pursued his master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University Coimbra, where he studied the impact of prenatal dexamethasone in brain development. Next he worked at CEDOC (NOVA Medical School, Lisbon) where he studied the repercussions traumatic events in shaping the thalamic-cortical circuitry in the amygdala through electrophysiological recordings. Mateus-Pinheiro is now enrolled in PhD Programme in Medicines and Pharmaceutical Innovation (i3DU), where his working on the development and validation of biomarkers within the specter of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

EDUCATION

BSc (2015) in Biology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
MSc (2017) in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Lisbon

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Mateus-Pinheiro research is focused on liver diseases, namely on the development and validation of biomarkers within the specter of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Furthermore, he is also interested in the non-canonical roles of necroptosis in metabolic-related pathologies.

Scopus Publications

Discovery and Validation of a Novel Class of Necroptosis Inhibitors Targeting RIPK1
Lior Soday, Chotima Seripracharat, Janine L. Gray, André F. S. Luz, Ryan T. Howard, et al.
ACS Chemical Biology, 2025
Necroptosis is a form of programmed cell death that, when dysregulated, is associated with cancer and inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Here, starting from hits identified from a phenotypic high-throughput screen for inhibitors of necroptosis, we synthesized a library of compounds containing a 7-phenylquinoline motif and validated their anti-necroptotic activity in a novel live-cell assay. Based on these data, we designed an optimized photoaffinity probe for target engagement studies and through biochemical and cell-based assays established receptor-interacting kinase 1 (RIPK1) as the cellular target, with inhibition of necroptosis arising from the prevention of RIPK1 autophosphorylation and activation. X-ray crystallography and mass spectrometry revealed that these compounds bind at the hinge region of the active conformation of RIPK1, establishing them as type I kinase inhibitors. In addition, we demonstrated in vitro synergy with type III kinase inhibitors, such as necrostatin-1 and found that lead compounds protected mice against acute inflammation in necroptosis models in vivo. Overall, we present a novel pharmacophore for inhibition of human RIPK1, a key protein involved in necroptosis, and provide a photoaffinity probe to explore RIPK1 target engagement in cells.
Hippocampal cytogenesis abrogation impairs inter-regional communication between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and promotes the time-dependent manifestation of emotional and cognitive deficits
António Mateus-Pinheiro, Patrícia Patrício, Nuno Dinis Alves, Joana Martins-Macedo, Inês Caetano, et al.
Molecular Psychiatry, 2021
Impaired ability to generate new cells in the adult brain has been linked to deficits in multiple emotional and cognitive behavioral domains. However, the mechanisms by which abrogation of adult neural stem cells (NSCs) impacts on brain function remains controversial. We used a transgenic rat line, the GFAP-Tk, to selectively eliminate NSCs and assess repercussions on different behavioral domains. To assess the functional importance of newborn cells in specific developmental stages, two parallel experimental timeframes were adopted: a short- and a long-term timeline, 1 and 4 weeks after the abrogation protocol, respectively. We conducted in vivo electrophysiology to assess the effects of cytogenesis abrogation on the functional properties of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, and on their intercommunication. Adult brain cytogenesis abrogation promoted a time-specific installation of behavioral deficits. While the lack of newborn immature hippocampal neuronal and glial cells elicited a behavioral phenotype restricted to hyperanxiety and cognitive rigidity, specific abrogation of mature new neuronal and glial cells promoted the long-term manifestation of a more complex behavioral profile encompassing alterations in anxiety and hedonic behaviors, along with deficits in multiple cognitive modalities. More so, abrogation of 4 to 7-week-old cells resulted in impaired electrophysiological synchrony of neural theta oscillations between the dorsal hippocampus and the medial prefrontal cortex, which are likely to contribute to the described long-term cognitive alterations. Hence, this work provides insight on how newborn neurons and astrocytes display different functional roles throughout different maturation stages, and establishes common ground to reconcile contrasting results that have marked this field.
RIPK3 acts as a lipid metabolism regulator contributing to inflammation and carcinogenesis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Marta B Afonso, Pedro M Rodrigues, Miguel Mateus-Pinheiro, André L Simão, Maria M Gaspar, et al.
Gut, 2021
ObjectiveReceptor-interacting protein kinase 3 (RIPK3) is a key player in necroptosis execution and an emerging metabolic regulator, whose contribution to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is controversial. We aimed to clarify the impact of RIPK3 signalling in the pathogenesis of human and experimental NAFLD.DesignRIPK3 levels were evaluated in two large independent cohorts of patients with biopsy proven NAFLD diagnosis and correlated with clinical and biochemical parameters. Wild-type (WT) or Ripk3-deficient (Ripk3−/−) mice were fed a choline-deficient L-amino acid-defined diet (CDAA) or an isocaloric control diet for 32 and 66 weeks.ResultsRIPK3 increased in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in both cohorts, correlating with hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. Accordingly, Ripk3 deficiency ameliorated CDAA-induced inflammation and fibrosis in mice at both 32 and 66 weeks. WT mice on the CDAA diet for 66 weeks developed preneoplastic nodules and displayed increased hepatocellular proliferation, which were reduced in Ripk3−/− mice. Furthermore, Ripk3 deficiency hampered tumourigenesis. Intriguingly, Ripk3−/− mice displayed increased body weight gain, while lipidomics showed that deletion of Ripk3 shifted hepatic lipid profiles. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) was increased in Ripk3−/− mice and negatively correlated with hepatic RIPK3 in patients with NAFLD. Mechanistic studies established a functional link between RIPK3 and PPARγ in controlling fat deposition and fibrosis.ConclusionHepatic RIPK3 correlates with NAFLD severity in humans and mice, playing a key role in managing liver metabolism, damage, inflammation, fibrosis and carcinogenesis. Targeting RIPK3 and its intricate signalling arises as a novel promising approach to treat NASH and arrest disease progression.
Microglia cytoarchitecture in the brain of adenosine A2A receptor knockout mice: Brain region and sex specificities
Carla Simões-Henriques, Miguel Mateus‐Pinheiro, Rita Gaspar, Helena Pinheiro, Joana Mendes Duarte, et al.
European Journal of Neuroscience, 2020
Microglia cells exert a critical role in brain development, mainly supported by their immune functions, which predicts an impact on the genesis of psychiatric disorders. In fact, microglia stress during gestation is, for instance, associated with chronic anxiety and cognitive deficits accompanied by long‐lasting, region‐ and sex‐specific changes in microglia morphology. We recently reported that the pattern of microglia morphologic plasticity, which is sex‐determined, impacts on anxious‐like behaviour and cognition. We also reported that the pharmacologic blockade of adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR) is able to reshape microglia morphology, in a sex‐specific manner and with behavioural sequelae. In order to better understand the role of A2AR in the sex differentiation of microglia, we now compared their morphology in wild‐type and A2AR knockout male and female C57BL/6 mice in two cardinal brain regions implicated in anxiety‐like behaviour and cognition, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the dorsal hippocampus (dHIP). We report interregional differences between PFC and dHIP in a sex‐specific manner: while males presented more complex microglia in the dHIP, microglia from females had a more complex morphology in the PFC. Surprisingly, the genetic deletion of A2AR did not alter these sex differences, but promoted the exclusive remodelling (increase in complexity) in PFC microglia from females. These findings further support the existence of a heterogeneous microglial network, distinct between sexes and brain regions, and help characterizing the role of A2AR in the sex‐ and brain region‐specific morphologic differentiation of microglia.
Overview: Systems Medicine Applied to Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease
Miguel Mateus-Pinheiro, Cecilia M.P. Rodrigues
Systems Medicine Integrative Qualitative and Computational Approaches Volume 1 3, 2020