Unit of Development & Disease
Lab of Development & Disease 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 control of cell proliferation 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 linking growth and patterning in larval imaginal epithelia and neuroepithelial precursors of the larval brain (M. Ziosi);
- Growth regulation by Myc protein, insulin and nutrient pathway (F. Parisi);
- Modelling and therapy in Drosophila of human MYCN-driven tumours;
- Molecular mechanisms associated with migration and invasiveness of neoplastic cells (F. Froldi).
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Funding :
- Fondazione Pallotti 2009-2011: "Analisi genetica in vivo della competizione cellulare durante la crescita tumorale".
- Fondazione CarisBO 2008-2011: "Analisi dell'oncogene N-myc in un modello animale: patologie blastiche e soluzioni terapeutiche".
- AGEOP 2009-2011: "Analisi funzionale del silenziamento di MYCN umano in un modello transgenico di Drosophila melanogaster".
Patents :
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Selected Publications :
- 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
- Brandes AA, Franceschi E, Tosoni A, Blatt V, Pession A, Tallini G, Bertorelle R, Bartolini S, Calbucci F, Andreoli A, Frezza G, Leonardi M, Spagnolli F, Ermani M. 2008 MGMT promoter methylation status can predict the incidence and outcome of pseudoprogression after concomitant radiochemotherapy in newly diagnosed glioblastoma patients. J Clin Oncol 26:2192-2197
- 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.
- Morandi L, Asioli S, Cavazza A, Pession A, Damiani S. 2007 Genetic relationship among atypical adenomatous hyperplasia, bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the lung. Lung Cancer 56:35-42.
- 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.
- Franceschi E, Cavallo G, Lonardi S, Magrini E, Tosoni A, Grosso D, Scopece L, Blatt V, Urbini B, Pession A, Tallini G, Crino L, Brandes AA. 2007 Gefitinib in patients with progressive high-grade gliomas: a multicentre phase II study by Gruppo Italiano Cooperativo di Neuro-Oncologia (GICNO). Br. J. Cancer 96:1047-1051.
- Brandes AA, Tosoni A, Cavallo G, Reni M, Franceschi E, Bonaldi L, Bertorelle R, Gardiman M, Ghimenton C, Iuzzolino P, Pession A, Blatt V, Ermani M 2006 Correlations between O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase promoter methylation status, 1p and 19q deletions, and response to temozolomide in anaplastic and recurrent oligodendroglioma: a prospective GICNO study J. Clin. Oncol. 24:4746-4753.
- Strocchi P, Smith MA, Perry G, Tamagno E, Danni O, Pession A, Gaiba A, Dozza B. 2006 Clusterin up-regulation following sub-lethal oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in human neuroblastoma cells. Neurobiol. Aging 27:1588-1594.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Grifoni D, Garoia F, Politi V. Cavicchi S. 2004 Nitric Oxide signaling disruption is associated with the maintenance of an undifferentiated status in imaginal tissues of D. melanogaster. In Drosophila Information Service. D.I.S. 2004 84:71-76.
- Damiani S, Magrini E, Farnedi A, Pession A. 2004 Basal cell (myoepithelial) adenocarcinoma of the lung. First case with cytogenetic findings. Histopathology 45:422-424.
- Franceschi E, Cavallo G, Scopece L, Paioli A, Pession A, Magrini E, Conforti R, Palmerini E, Bartolini S, Rimondini S, Esposti RD, Crino L. 2004 Phase II trial of carboplatin and etoposide for patients with recurrent high-grade glioma. Brit. J. Cancer 91:1038-1044.
- Mora M, Lazzeri M, Marsicano G, Mulder LC, Carraresi L, Pieri A, Benanchi A, Grifoni D, Nuti S, Bruzzone P, Comporti M, Cortesini R and Rossini M. 2000 An in vivo model of hyperacute rejection: characterization and evaluation of the effect of transgenic human complement inhibitors. Trans. Res. 9:205-13.
Postgraduate training :
- Ph.D. Program in Cellular, Molecular and Industrial Biology – Project 1: Physiology and Cellular Biology -
- Post-graduate and post-doctoral fellowships on specific research projects.
Collaborations :
Wing patterning : Luis Alberto Baena-López, Division of Developmental Neurobiology, National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK.
Myc and Insulin : Paola Bellosta, Department of Biology, City College of the City University of New York (CUNY), NY, USA.
N-Myc driven tumors : Andrea Pession, Dipartimento di Ginecologia, Ostetricia e Pediatria dell’Ospedale S.Orsola, Universita' di Bologna.
Lgl and epithelial cancer modeling : Dennis Strand, I Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Johannes-Gutenberg Universitat, Mainz, GER. Helena E. Richardson, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, AUS.
Links :
Postgraduate training
http://www.dipartimentobiologia.it/doctoraltraining/pession.htm
Interactive Fly
http://www.sdbonline.org/fly/aimain/1aahome.htm
FlyBase
http://flybase.bio.indiana.edu/
Paola Bellosta GRoup - Biology Dept. CUNY–NY
http://paolabellosta.com/
Helena Richardson Lab
http://www.petermac.org/Research/CellCycleDevelopment
Disponibilità tirocini per LM Biologia Molecolare
http://www.biologia.unibo.it/BES/Attivita+didattica/Tirocini+e+stage/AltriTirociniMagistraleBMC.htm
Research group :
Annalisa Pession (Associate Professor)
Daniela Grifoni, PhD (Senior Research Fellow) daniela.grifoni@unibo.it
Marcello Ziosi, PhD (Research Fellow) marcello.ziosi2@unibo.it
Francesca Froldi (PhD Fellow) francesca.froldi@unibo.it
Giuseppe Scopelliti (Master Student) scopelliti_giuseppe@fastwebnet.it
