Pisconti, Dada - University of Liverpool - Department of Biochemistry

个人简介

I was born and raised in Italy where I completed my academic curriculum. I received my Laurea degree (a sort of BS + MRs) in Biological Sciences in 1999 from the University of Perugia with an honours thesis in Electrophysiology, and my Ph.D. in Cell Biology in 2003 from the University of Bari, School of Medicine with a dissertation in Immuno-senescence. I then moved to San Raffaele Scientific Research Institute in Milan where I carried out a postdoc in Pharmacology and Cell Signalling. Here I became interested in muscle stem cell biology and molecular mechanisms of skeletal muscle development and regeneration and muscular dystrophy. At the end of 2005, I moved to the United States to work in the laboratory of Brad Olwin, a world leader in muscle stem cell biology, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In 2011 I was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship that allowed me to further pursue my interest in muscle stem cells at the University of Liverpool. In 2012 I received a Tenure Track Fellowship, partly funded by the Wellcome Trust, from the Institute of Integrative Biology at the University of Liverpool, to start an independent research group in the Department of Biochemistry. Marie Curie IE Fellowship (Competitive Fellowship, FP7 - European Union 2012) New Investigator Award for Excellence in Research (Matrix Biology Society of Australia and New Zealand 2011) Young Investigator Award (FASEB 2005) Postdoctoral Fellowship (Competitive Fellowship, Universitá Vita-Salute 2003)

研究领域

My research interests revolve around stem cell biology and especially I aim to understand how the microenvironment that stem cells experience affects stem cell homeostasis and regenerative potential. This microenvironment, commonly known as niche, is defined by the complex set of molecules that reside in the immediate vicinity of a stem cell and that directly interact with the stem cells. Although much is known about the protein component of several stem cell niches, little is known to date about the function of the saccharide component of stem cell niches, including free glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans and various saccharide structures linked to glycoproteins. The study of saccharide structure/function relationships is challenging and fascinating. It is challenging mainly for three reasons: (1) although interaction of saccharide chains with their binding partners is often strictly dictated by the structure of specific domains within a saccharide chain, assembly of saccharide chains is not template-driven, making it difficult to mutate the structure of a saccharide chain in a predictable way; (2) in the case of proteoglycans, it appears that same core proteins can be decorated with different saccharide chains when expressed in different cell types; (3) in mammals, the molecular mechanisms regulating the metabolism of saccharide chains are very complex. For all these reasons the study of saccharides in stem cell niches is challenging, however, and precisely for the same reasons, it is also extremely fascinating. My lab makes use of cutting edge technologies in cell imaging, computational biology, molecular biology and organic chemistry to study the structure/function relationships that govern the glycobiology of stem cells. We are also interested in exploring the potential therapeutic outcomes that can be directly drawn from our basic research, including the study of strategies to potentiate endogenous stem cell mobilization and function in the context of pathological conditions and in ageing.

近期论文

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Dynamic changes in heparan sulfate during muscle differentiation and ageing regulate myoblast cell fate and FGF2 signalling. Elastase levels and activity are increased in dystrophic muscle and impair myoblast cell survival, proliferation and differentiation. Loss of niche-satellite cell interactions in syndecan-3 null mice alters muscle progenitor cell homeostasis improving muscle regeneration. A systems biology approach to understand the pathogenic role of the extracellular matrix in muscular dystrophy. The mzqLibrary - An open source Java library supporting the HUPO-PSI quantitative proteomics standard. STEM CELL PLASTICITY AND TUMORIGENISIS: REGULATORY ROLES OF HEPARAN SULPHATE IN THE CANCER STEM CELL NICHE. Stem cell plasticity and tumorigenesis: regulatory roles of heparan sulphate in the cancer stem cell niche. Syndecans in skeletal muscle development, regeneration and homeostasis. Abcg2 labels multiple cell types in skeletal muscle and participates in muscle regeneration. Marking the tempo for myogenesis: Pax7 and the regulation of muscle stem cell fate decisions. Nitric oxide inhibition of Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission is critical for myogenic differentiation. Syndecan-3 and Notch cooperate in regulating adult myogenesis.