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Biology and Biochemistry
Spain
2025

D-Index & Metrics

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
105
Citations
33720
World Ranking
1217
National Ranking
12

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2025 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in Spain Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in Spain Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Biology and Biochemistry in Spain Leader Award

Overview

Rafael Franco is affiliated with the University of Barcelona in Spain. Their research spans a diverse range of topics within medicine, biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and neuroscience. The main fields of study in their work include Medicine with 109 publications, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology with 102 publications, and Neuroscience with 100 publications. Subfields of study prominently featured in their research are Molecular Biology, Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Physiology, Pharmacology, and Neurology.

The research topics frequently addressed by Rafael Franco cover areas such as Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling, Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, Adenosine and Purinergic Signaling, Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology, Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior, and Tryptophan and brain disorders.

Rafael Franco has contributed scholarly articles to several notable scientific journals. The most frequent venues include the International Journal of Molecular Sciences with 14 publications, Cells with 8, Exploration of Neuroprotective Therapy with 7, Pharmacological Research with 4, and the British Journal of Pharmacology with 4.

Their recent papers demonstrate a focus on neurotransmitter systems and receptor biology. These include:

  • "Dopamine in Health and Disease: Much More Than a Neurotransmitter," published in 2021 in Biomedicines

Frequent collaborators in Rafael Franco's work include Gemma Navarro with 84 joint publications, Rafael Rivas-Santisteban with 35, Irene Reyes-Resina with 33, Jaume Lillo with 32, and Alejandro Lillo with 25. These co-authors suggest active participation in collaborative and interdisciplinary research networks.

Best Publications

  • Alternatively activated microglia and macrophages in the central nervous system.

    Rafael Franco;Diana Fernández-Suárez

  • Presynaptic Control of Striatal Glutamatergic Neurotransmission by Adenosine A1–A2A Receptor Heteromers

    Francisco Ciruela;Vicent Casadó;Ricardo J. Rodrigues;Rafael Luján

  • Coaggregation, cointernalization, and codesensitization of adenosine A2A receptors and dopamine D2 receptors

    Joëlle A. Hillion;Meritxell Canals;Maria Torvinen;Vicent Casado

  • Adenosine A2A-Dopamine D2 Receptor-Receptor Heteromerization QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT BY FLUORESCENCE AND BIOLUMINESCENCE ENERGY TRANSFER

    Meritxell Canals;Daniel Marcellino;Francesca Fanelli;Francisco Ciruela

  • Dopamine D1 and adenosine A1 receptors form functionally interacting heteromeric complexes

    Silvia Ginés;Joëlle Hillion;Maria Torvinen;Stèphane Le Crom

  • Building a new conceptual framework for receptor heteromers

    Sergi Ferré;Ruben Baler;Michel Bouvier;Marc G. Caron

  • Synergistic interaction between adenosine A2A and glutamate mGlu5 receptors: implications for striatal neuronal function.

    Sergi Ferré;Marzena Karcz-Kubicha;Bruce T. Hope;Patrizia Popoli

  • Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutical Implications of Intramembrane Receptor/Receptor Interactions among Heptahelical Receptors with Examples from the Striatopallidal GABA Neurons

    Luigi F. Agnati;Sergi Ferré;Carme Lluis;Rafael Franco

  • Detection of heteromerization of more than two proteins by sequential BRET-FRET.

    Paulina Carriba;Gemma Navarro;Francisco Ciruela;Sergi Ferré

  • Adenosine receptor-dopamine receptor interactions in the basal ganglia and their relevance for brain function.

    Kjell Fuxe;Sergi Ferré;Susanna Genedani;Rafael Franco

  • METABOTROPIC GLUTAMATE TYPE 5, DOPAMINE D2 AND ADENOSINE A2A RECEPTORS FORM HIGHER-ORDER OLIGOMERS IN LIVING CELLS

    Nuria Cabello;Jorge Gandía;Daniela C. G. Bertarelli;Masahiko Watanabe

  • Striatal adenosine A2A and cannabinoid CB1 receptors form functional heteromeric complexes that mediate the motor effects of cannabinoids.

    Paulina Carriba;Oskar Ortiz;Kshitij Patkar;Zuzana Justinova;Zuzana Justinova

  • Cell surface adenosine deaminase: Much more than an ectoenzyme

    Rafael Franco;Vicent Casadó;Francisco Ciruela;Carles Saura

  • Receptor heteromerization in adenosine A2A receptor signaling Relevance for striatal function and Parkinson’s disease

    Kjell Fuxe;L. F. Agnati;K. Jacobsen;J. Hillion

  • An Update on Adenosine A2A-Dopamine D2 Receptor Interactions: Implications for the Function of G Protein-Coupled Receptors

    Sergi Ferré;César Quiroz;A S Woods;Rodrigo Antunes Cunha

  • Cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 form functional heteromers in brain.

    Lucía Callén;Lucía Callén;Estefanía Moreno;Estefanía Moreno;Pedro Barroso-Chinea;David Moreno-Delgado;David Moreno-Delgado

  • Adenosine A2A and dopamine D2 heteromeric receptor complexes and their function

    Kjell Fuxe;Sergi Ferré;Meritxell Canals;Maria Torvinen

  • CD26, adenosine deaminase, and adenosine receptors mediate costimulatory signals in the immunological synapse

    R. Pacheco;J. M. Martinez-Navio;M. Lejeune;N. Climent

  • Identification of dopamine D1-D3 receptor heteromers: Indications for a role of synergistic D1-D3 receptor interactions in the striatum

    Daniel Marcellino;Sergi Ferré;Vicent Casadó;Antonio Cortés

  • Combining mass spectrometry and pull-down techniques for the study of receptor heteromerization. Direct epitope-epitope electrostatic interactions between adenosine A2A and dopamine D2 receptors.

    Francisco Ciruela;Javier Burgueño;Vicent Casadó;Meritxell Canals

Frequent Co-Authors

Gemma Navarro
Gemma Navarro University of Barcelona
Enric I. Canela
Enric I. Canela University of Barcelona
Carmen Lluis
Carmen Lluis University of Barcelona
Josefa Mallol
Josefa Mallol University of Barcelona
Sergi Ferré
Sergi Ferré National Institute on Drug Abuse
Vicent Casadó
Vicent Casadó University of Barcelona
Kjell Fuxe
Kjell Fuxe Karolinska Institute
Francisco Ciruela
Francisco Ciruela University of Barcelona
José L. Lanciego
José L. Lanciego University of Navarra
Luigi F. Agnati
Luigi F. Agnati University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

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