Drosophila genetics - Research Goups

Unit of Cancer Genetics

Lab of Cancer Modelling in Drosophila

tel. +051-2094179

fax +051-2094286

Group Leader: Annalisa Pession

E-mail : annalisa.pession@ausl.bo.it

Research in progress :

- Our research group investigates the genetic mechanisms at the basis of epithelial cancers and other proliferative disorders using developmental genetics techniques. Larval and adult structures of Drosophila are both used as a model for analysing the behaviour in growth and differentiation of genetically modified cells. The research lines are as follows:

- Mechanisms regulating growth and fate of neuroepithelial progenitors;

- Modelling and therapy in Drosophila of human MYCN-driven tumours;

- Molecular mechanisms associated with invasiveness and migration of neoplastic cells.

Funding :

- Fondazione Pallotti 2011-2013: "Analisi genetica in vivo della competizione cellulare durante la crescita tumorale".

- CIRC 2011-2013: "Myc oncoprotein and cell competition in tumourous growth". Post-doc fellowship at Columbia University, NY.

- AIRC 2012-2014: Competitive cell-cell interactions in Drosophila and mammalian models of oncogenic cooperation

Patents :

Selected Publications :

- Parisi F, Riccardo S, Daniel M, Saqcena M, Kundu N, Pession A, Grifoni D, Stocker H, Tabak E, Bellosta P 2011 Drosophila insulin and target of rapamycin (TOR) pathways regulate GSK3beta activity to control Myc stability and determine Myc expression in vivo BMC Biology 9:65

- Ziosi M, Baena-Lopez LA, Grifoni D, Froldi F, Pession A, Garoia F, Trotta V, Bellosta P, Cavicchi S and Pession A 2010 dMyc functions downstream of Yorkie to promote the supercompetitive behavior of Hippo pathway mutant cells PLoS Genetics 6(9):e1001140.

- Froldi F, Ziosi M, Garoia F, Pession A, Grzeschik NA, Bellosta P, Strand D, Richardson HE, Pession A, Grifoni D. 2010 The lethal giant larvae tumour suppressor mutation requires dMyc oncoprotein to promote clonal malignancy BMC Biology 8:33.

- Galletti M, Riccardo S, Parisi F, Lora C, Saqcena MK, Rivas L, Wong B, Serra A, Serras F, Grifoni D, Pelicci P, Jiang J, Bellosta P. 2009 Identification of domains responsible for ubiquitin-dependent degradation of dMyc by glycogen synthase kinase 3beta and casein kinase 1 kinases. Mol Cell Biol 29:3424-3434.

- Froldi F, Ziosi M, Tomba G, Parisi F, Garoia F, Pession A, Grifoni D. 2008 Drosophila "lethal giant larvae" neoplastic mutant as a genetic tool for cancer modeling. Current Genomics 9:147-154.

- Grifoni D, Garoia F, Bellosta P, Parisi F, De Biase D, Collina G, Strand D, Cavicchi S, Pession A. 2007 aPKCζ cortical loading is associated with Lgl cytoplasmic release and tumor growth in Drosophila and human epithelia. Oncogene 26:5960-5965.

- Trotta V, Garoia F, Guerra D, Pezzoli MC, Grifoni D and Cavicchi S. 2005 Developmental instability of the Drosophila wing as an index of genomic perturbation and altered cell proliferation. Evol. Dev. 7: 234-243.

- Garoia F, Grifoni D, Trotta V, Guerra D, Pezzoli MC and Cavicchi S. 2005 The tumor suppressor gene fat modulates the EGFR-mediated proliferation control in the imaginal tissues of Drosophila melanogaster. Mech. Dev. 122: 175- 187.

- Grifoni D, Garoia F, Schimanski CC, Schmitz G, Laurenti E, Galle PR, Pession A, Cavicchi S and Strand D. 2004 The human protein Hugl-1 substitutes for Drosophila Lethal giant larvae tumour suppressor function in vivo. Oncogene 23:8688-8694.