Supervisor of the San Raffaele Rett Research Center at the Division of Neuroscience
ITALY
Supervisor of the San Raffaele Rett Research Center at the Division of Neuroscience.
Since the last seven years, the research activity supervised by N.L. is exclusively dedicated to Rett syndrome (RTT) and related disorders. In particular, the activities of the San Raffaele Rett Research Center are mainly involved in i) developing and characterizing novel mouse models of Mecp2, devoid of the methyl-binding protein in specific brain areas or tissues; ii) identifying novel target genes or pathways of MeCP2 that might be relevant to specific symptoms and treatments; iii) translate novel results or hypothesis in prospective therapeutic studies for RTT.
EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY:
*1989 Degree cum laude in Biological Science, university of Milan, Italy.
*1993 PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Milan, Italy.
*1993-1997 Post-Doc Fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Alan P. Wolffe, NICHD, NIH, Bethesda (MD), USA.
*1998-2004 University researcher at the University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
*2005-present Associate professor at the University of Insubria, Varese, Italy.
*2011-present Supervisor of the San Raffaele Rett Research Center at the Division of Neuroscience, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan
RESEARCH ACTIVITY:
N.L. is supervising two units involved in several projects and approaches, which are aimed to better characterize the molecular mechanisms, involved in Rett syndrome and MECP2/CDKL5 related disorders. In particular we are interested in developing novel mouse and cellular models, identifying the target genes whose expression is influenced either by CDKL5 or MeCP2, analyzing the role and regulation of the post-translation modifications of either factor and understanding the biological role of these proteins outside of the central nervous system.
PUBLICATION:
Bellini E, Pavesi G, Barbiero I, Bergo A, Chandola C, Nawaz MS, Rusconi L, Stefanelli G, Strollo M, Valente M, Kilstrup-Nielsen C, Landsberger N. MeCP2 post-translational modifications: a mechanism to control its involvement in synaptic plasticity and homeostasis? Frontiers in cellular Neuroscience. 2014. 8: 236
Bedogni F, Rossi RL, Galli F, Cobolli Gigli C, Gandaglia A, Kilstrup-Nielsen C, Landsberger N. Rett syndrome and the urge of novel approaches to study MeCP2 functions and mechanisms of action. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2014. S0149-7634(14)00022-0
Forlani G., Giarda E., Ala U., Di Cunto F., Salani M., Tupler R., Kilstrup- Nielsen, Landsberger N. The MeCP2/YY1 interaction regulates ANT1 expression at 4q35: novel hints for Rett syndrome pathogenesis. Human Mol. Genet. 2010. 19(16):3114-23
Mari F, Azimonti S, Bertani I, Bolognese F, Colombo E, Caselli R, Scala E, Longo I, Grosso S, Pescucci C, Ariani F, Hayek G, Balestri P, Bergo A, Badaracco G, Zappella M, Broccoli V, Renieri A, Kilstrup-Nielsen C, Landsberger N. CDKL5 belongs to the same molecular pathway of MeCP2 and it is responsible for the early-onset seizure variant of Rett syndrome. Hum Mol Genet. 2005. 14: 1935-46