Bacterial Toxins

Research field

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), characterized by hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia, is the most common cause of acute renal failure in early childhood. Most cases occur as a consequence of intestinal infections by pathogenic Escherichia coli strains that release Shiga toxins (Stx). The thrombotic microangiopathy induced by renal endothelial injuries caused by Stx is the primary pathogenetic event in HUS.

General research project

Diagnosis, pathogenesis, and treatmentof hemolytic uremic syndrome: the role of Stx

Ongoing research projects

1. Study of the time course of Stx in patients during infections by pathogenic E. coli
2. Study of the role of blood cell-derived extracellular vesicles in the delivery of Stx from the gut to the kidney
3. Study of the relationship between (early and late) toxemia and the clinical features of patients infected by Escherichia coli strains that release Stx
4. Study of inhibitors of blood cell/Stx interactions
5. Setup of rapid and sensitive methods for detecting Stx in biological fluids
6. Study of the relationship between the structure and role of Stx in the pathogenesis of HUS.

Collaborations

• Dott. Xiaohua He
  (US Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service, Foodborne Toxin Detection & Prevention Research Unit, Albany, California, USA)
• Prof. Dorothea Orth-Höller e Prof. Reinhard Würzner
  (Division of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria)
• Dott. Gianluigi Ardissino (Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico di Milano, Centro per la Cura e lo Studio della Sindrome Emolitico Uremica, Milano)
• Dott. Stefano Morabito, Dott.ssa Gaia Scavia
  (Istituto superiore di sanità – ISS, Roma)