Molecular and cellular mechanisms of oxidative stress

The research activity aims to study the role of oxygen and nitrogen radical species in both physiological and pathological conditions

A) Research scope: role of reactive oxygen species in neurodevelopmental disorders.

Research project: study of biological, biochemical, immunological and microbiological parameters in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Ongoing research objectives: to study the role of oxidative stress, inflammation, intestinal microbiota alterations, and mitochondrial dysfunctions to better understand the biological mechanisms underlying ASD and to identify biomarkers useful both in early diagnosis and in the evaluation of therapeutic intervention efficacy. The innovative aspect of the research is the simultaneous evaluation of several parameters and the possibility of studying their interdependence through a machine-learning approach.

B) Research scope: reactive oxygen species and iron homeostasis in cardiac functionality.

Research project: role of iron homeostasis and hepcidin-ferroportin axis (HAMP / FPN) in cardiac function.

Ongoing research objectives: to investigate the role of iron homeostasis and the HAMP / FPN axis at the cardiac level, using mouse models of ischemia and reperfusion as well as cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).

C) Research scope: effects of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in tissue adaptations to physical exercise.

Research project: physical exercise in the prevention of sarcopenia in the elderly.

Ongoing research objectives: to analyze the bioinformatics of gene expression profiles obtained through NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) to identify the molecular pathways modulated by physical exercise in the muscles of elderly subjects.

External Collaborators

• Dott. Alessandro Ghezzo e Cristina Panisi
  (Fondazione Danelli ONLUS, Lodi, Milano)
• Dott.ssa Carla Ferreri
  (ISOF, CNR, Bologna)