Universitą degli studi di Pavia
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Maggioli research activity
1) Immunogenetic study of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)
Increasing evidence supports the importance of the inflammatory process in the AD pathogenesis ("inflammatory hypothesis" of Alzheimer's disease), leading to the investigation of genes involved in inflammatory mechanism’s induction and regulation, to identify differences in AD patients susceptibility to the inflammatory process. Our group is therefore investigating the possible involvement of polymorphisms of genes coding for molecules involved in inflammation, some with a proinflammatory role and others with a tolerogenic one.
We are therefore studying the correlation between functional expression polymorphisms of HLA class III genes focusing our attention on haplotype reconstruction, in order to obtain reliable information on the possible involvement of the entire HLA class III region in the disease. The genomic analysis of these polymorphisms will allow us to study the possible involvement of these genes as markers that may contribute to the early AD detection and to distinguish the various forms of AD heterogeneity. For this study, we are setting up, by January 2010, a bank of genomic DNA of patients with AD; we also analyze healthy controls matched for sex and ethnicity and from the HLA Laboratory of Immunohematology and Transfusion Service, IRCCS Foundation Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia (Dr. M. Martinetti).
This line of research is conducted in collaboration with Dr. C. Cereda, Department of Neurology 'IRCCS Foundation Neurological Institute C. Mondino, and Prof. G. Ricevuti, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatrics, University of Pavia.
2) Study of genes polymorphisms encoding inflammatory molecules in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease (KD)
Kawasaki disease affects individuals in childhood (less than five years), mainly of Asian origin but also, less frequently, Caucasians. This disease is a multifactorial and systemic vasculitis that affects mainly the medium-diameter vessels, and particularly the coronary arteries. The causes of the disease remains unknown. Some research has highlighted the importance of inflammation in the pathophysiology of KD: the disease progression seems to be influenced by the effects of a marked inflammatory process. The main purpose of our group is to investigate possible associations between genes coding for key inflammatory or immunomodulatory molecules (RAGE, HLA-G, HSP-70 and others) and the inflammatory component characteristic of Kawasaki disease.The study will be conducted in a group of Italian pediatric patients and a group of healthy controls matched for sex and ethnicity and from the HLA Laboratory of Immunohematology and Transfusion Service, IRCCS Foundation Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia (Dr. M. Martinetti).
This line of research is conducted in collaboration with Dr. S. Mannarino and Dr. G. Bossi of the Pediatric Clinic, IRCCS Foundation Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia.
Increasing evidence supports the importance of the inflammatory process in the AD pathogenesis ("inflammatory hypothesis" of Alzheimer's disease), leading to the investigation of genes involved in inflammatory mechanism’s induction and regulation, to identify differences in AD patients susceptibility to the inflammatory process. Our group is therefore investigating the possible involvement of polymorphisms of genes coding for molecules involved in inflammation, some with a proinflammatory role and others with a tolerogenic one.
We are therefore studying the correlation between functional expression polymorphisms of HLA class III genes focusing our attention on haplotype reconstruction, in order to obtain reliable information on the possible involvement of the entire HLA class III region in the disease. The genomic analysis of these polymorphisms will allow us to study the possible involvement of these genes as markers that may contribute to the early AD detection and to distinguish the various forms of AD heterogeneity. For this study, we are setting up, by January 2010, a bank of genomic DNA of patients with AD; we also analyze healthy controls matched for sex and ethnicity and from the HLA Laboratory of Immunohematology and Transfusion Service, IRCCS Foundation Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia (Dr. M. Martinetti).
This line of research is conducted in collaboration with Dr. C. Cereda, Department of Neurology 'IRCCS Foundation Neurological Institute C. Mondino, and Prof. G. Ricevuti, Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatrics, University of Pavia.
2) Study of genes polymorphisms encoding inflammatory molecules in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease (KD)
Kawasaki disease affects individuals in childhood (less than five years), mainly of Asian origin but also, less frequently, Caucasians. This disease is a multifactorial and systemic vasculitis that affects mainly the medium-diameter vessels, and particularly the coronary arteries. The causes of the disease remains unknown. Some research has highlighted the importance of inflammation in the pathophysiology of KD: the disease progression seems to be influenced by the effects of a marked inflammatory process. The main purpose of our group is to investigate possible associations between genes coding for key inflammatory or immunomodulatory molecules (RAGE, HLA-G, HSP-70 and others) and the inflammatory component characteristic of Kawasaki disease.The study will be conducted in a group of Italian pediatric patients and a group of healthy controls matched for sex and ethnicity and from the HLA Laboratory of Immunohematology and Transfusion Service, IRCCS Foundation Policlinico S. Matteo, Pavia (Dr. M. Martinetti).
This line of research is conducted in collaboration with Dr. S. Mannarino and Dr. G. Bossi of the Pediatric Clinic, IRCCS Foundation Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia.
