Brambilla, Riccardo - Cardiff University

个人简介

I am a leading figure in the emerging field of Molecular and Cellular Cognition. Council Member of the Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society (MCCS; www.molcellcog.org) I am also Founding President of the sister organisation European Molecular and Cellular Cognition Society (EMCCS; http://emccs.org/) since 2008 part of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS). I have been working in the field of signal transduction since 1987 and in molecular neuroscience since 1993, being post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Ruediger Klein at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. In Heidelberg I learned mouse genetics techniques such as gene targeting and successfully applied them to the neurobiology of learning and memory. In particular I generated the Ras-GRF1 KO mouse strain that was the first published genetic model demonstrating a direct involvement of the Ras-ERK-CREB signalling cascade in behavioural plasticity (Brambilla et al, Nature, 1997, cited so far 339 times). During the last 17 years as a group leader I have continued to work on the role of synaptic signalling in behavioural plasticity and demonstrated that ERK1 and Ras-GRF1 are essential for normal and abnormal behavioural plasticity in the striatum. In my seminal paper in 2002, I demonstrated that loss of ERK1 MAP kinase, a gene recently implicated in certain forms of autism, results in procedural learning improvements and in increased synaptic plasticity in the striatum (Mazzucchelli et al, 2002, Neuron, cited so far 288 times). This phenotype is likely to be due to an abnormal hyperactivation of the remaining ERK2 isoform, suggesting a potential mechanism for some autism spectrum disorders associated to deregulated cell signalling in the brain (Vantaggiato et al, 2006, J Biol, cited so far 131 times). In more recent years, I have published important works on the role of Ras-GRF1, a synaptic integrator of Ras-ERK signalling the basal ganglia, in pathological processes such as drug addiction and L-DOPA induced Dyskinesia (Fasano et al, 2009, Biol Psych, cited so far 50 times; Fasano et al, 2010, PNAS, cited so far 62 times, Cerovic et al, 2015 Biol Psych). In recent years my laboratory has developed new molecular biology tools to modulate gene expression in the brain via lentiviral vectors and cell permeable peptides (CPP). In particular, I recently patented CPPs able to either block or potentiate Ras-ERK signalling in the brain and I will try to develop them into clinically relevant therapeutics for several neuropsychiatric disorders: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and related disorders, including L-DOPA induced Dyskinesia (LID); Huntington’s Disease (HD); Mental Retardation Syndromes and Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and drug addiction. More recently, I also started to use neurophysiological and optogenetic tools to investigate those brain functions.

研究领域

Understanding the molecular mechanisms and devising treatments for motor and cognitive plasticity disorders associated to Parkinson’s Disease pharmacotherapy (Dopamine Dysregulation Syndrome and L-DOPA induced Dyskinesia) Understanding the basic molecular mechanisms of neuronal cell survival and devising treatments for neurodegenerative disorders (Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s disease)

近期论文

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Papale, A.et al. 2016. Impairment of cocaine-mediated behaviours in mice by clinically relevant Ras-ERK inhibitors. eLife 5, article number: e17111. (10.7554/eLife.17111) pdf Melgarejo da Rosa, M.et al. 2016. Synaptic GluN2B/CaMKII-α signaling induces synapto-nuclear transport of ERK and Jacob. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience 9, article number: 66. (10.3389/fnmol.2016.00066) pdf Papale, A.et al. 2016. Severe intellectual disability and enhanced Gamma-aminobutyric acidergic synaptogenesis in a novel model of rare RASopathies. Biological psychiatry (10.1016/j.biopsych.2016.06.016) Rosas, M.et al. 2016. Role of nucleus accumbens μ opioid receptors in the effects of morphine on ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Psychopharmacology 233(15-16), article number: 2943. (10.1007/s00213-016-4340-8) Trusel, M.et al. 2015. Coordinated regulation of synaptic plasticity at striatopallidal and sriatonigral neurons orchestrates motor control. Cell Reports 13(7), pp. 1353-1365. (10.1016/j.celrep.2015.10.009) pdf Barco, A., Brambilla, R. and Rosenblum, K. 2015. Editorial. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory 124, pp. 1-2. (10.1016/j.nlm.2015.08.001) Bastide, M.et al. 2015. Pathophysiology of L-dopa-induced motor and non-motor complications in Parkinson's disease. Progress in Neurobiology 132, pp. 96-168. (10.1016/j.pneurobio.2015.07.002) Bido, S.et al. 2015. Differential involvement of Ras-GRF1 and Ras-GRF2 in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology 2(6), pp. 662-678. (10.1002/acn3.202) pdf Fossati, G.et al. 2015. Reduced SNAP-25 increases PSD-95 mobility and impairs spine morphogenesis. Cell Death and Differentiation 22, pp. 1425-1436. (10.1038/cdd.2014.227) pdf Cerovic, M.et al. 2015. Derangement of Ras-guanine nucleotide-releasing Factor 1 (Ras-GRF1) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) dependent striatal plasticity in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. Biological psychiatry 77(2), pp. 106-115. (10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.04.002) pdf