The task is to identify new preventive strategies for the
reduction of risk factors associated to chronic
degenerative diseases, such as cancer and
neurodegeneration. The first contribution is
the identification of critical biological targets and the
understanding of the events with a pivotal role in cancer and
the age‐associated neuronal loss in neurodegenerative diseases.The
search is toward active chemopreventive and neuroprotective drugs
that would prevent the progression of degenerative
diseases, through the manipulation of endogenous
cellular defence mechanisms by chemical inducers.
Her name is associated with original and significant
contribution to the development of new cellular and molecular
approaches to detect and quantify the global cellular response to
toxic stress, including measurements of apoptosis, specific
metabolic capabilities and cell cycle effects, the
activation of cellular death/survival biochemical pathways, and at
developing methods based on biomarker analysis to improve
assessment of human early biological response, susceptibility and
risk.
The research philosophy is a multidisciplinary approach to
problems of preventive and traslational medicine.
Toxic stress response in human cell lines
New integrated experimental approach has been developed with the
potential to evaluate the impairment of critical cellular and
molecular events related to carcinogenesis or neurodegeneration
induced by exposure to pesticides and drugs and to identify the
chain of events leading to those effects. This kind of approach
allows the parallel estimation of genetic damage, apoptosis and
effects on cell cycle progression. The analysis can either be
restricted to basic approaches or proceed, if needed, to more
mechanistic approaches with molecular biology techniques (FISH,
chromosome painting, gene and protein expression).
Biomarkers and risk of chronic degenerative
diseases in human populations
Molecular cytogenetic techniques and other biomarkers of
exposure and susceptibility are used to understand the risk of
chronic diseases in exposed populations, cancer-prone and normal
unexposed cohorts. Biomarkers have been successfully employed in
studies designed to assess genetic damage induced by alcohol abuse,
professional exposure to ionizing radiation, urban air pollution
and associated to human gastric diseases. An european concerted
action was launched in 1996 on the validation and application of
the HPRT in vivo mutation assay for risk assessment in humans.
Moreover, an international collaborative study was launched in 1997
to perform a prospective study linking data on a biomarker of
effect (micronuclei) from 16 countries to determine association
with cancer, ageing and selected genetic syndromes.
Natural polifunctional agents
for chemoprevention of cancer and
neuroprotection
A novel venture for the labs is exploring the molecular and
biochemical interactions of natural multifunctional agents with
human tumor cells leading to chemopreventive activity. They first
demonstrated that isothiocyanates (ITCs) from Brassica
vegetables could be active (in terms of induction of apoptosis,
necrosis and derangement of cell cycle) not only in transformed
cells but also in their normal counterpart. These finding stressed
the need of a carefully examination of any chemopreventive use of
ITCs, as dietary supplementation with single, putative
anticarcinogenic compounds is not warranted without extensive
investigation into their possible harmful effects. More recently,
polyfunctional agents have been exercised against the cascade of
events leading to neurodegeneration in neurodegenerative diseases.
The goal is to identify new potential targets for novel
multifunctional therapeutic strategies useful to counteract the
neurodegeneration The expected results, through the
elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms that
orchestrate the different neurodegenerative processes , should
facilitate the development of neuroprotective and neurorestorative
strategies for neurodegenerative diseases.
