Developed skills and lines of research
Luigina Romani is a Full Professor of Pathology at the Department of Experimental Medicine of the University of Perugia. She graduated in Biological Sciences and Medicine from the same university. Her prolific research activity boasts excellent results in analyzing the role of the microbiota in conditioning the predisposition to infections. She is co-author of over 500 publications in international journals. In May 2015, she was awarded the prestigious “Lucille Georg” award, a recognition given to distinguished mycologists who have distinguished themselves for their considerable scientific contributions: the award to Luigina Romani was motivated by the significant contribution given to Science in the field of Medical Mycology.
Projects funded by FFC Ricerca as Principal Investigator or as Research Manager
FFC#24/2018
Pharmacology and therapeutics of inhaled indoles, as aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands, in cystic fibrosis
FFC#9/2016
Anakinra in cystic fibrosis: from targeting pathogenic inflammation to correcting CFTR defects
FFC#22/2014
Targeting pathogenic pathways leading to inflammatory Th17 responses in cystic fibrosis: from drug discovery to preclinical validation
FFC#16/2012
Targeting pathogenic pathways leading to inflammatory Th17 responses in cystic fibrosis: a drug discovery approach
FFC#21/2010
Th17 responses in Cystic fibrosis: paving the way for novel anti-inflammatory strategies and immunogenetic screening
Publications from FFC Research projects
Romani L, et al. Immunity to fungal infections. Nat Rev Immunol, Apr;11(4):275-88. doi: 10.1038/nri2939. Epub 2011 Mar 11
Cunha C, Aversa F, Bistoni G et al. Immunogenetic profiling to predict risk of invasive fungal diseases: where are we now? Immunol Invest. 2011;40(7-8):723-34. doi: 10.3109/08820139.2011.586395.
Cunha C, Giovannini G, Pierini A et al. Genetically-determined hyperfunction of the S100B/RAGE axis is a risk factor for aspergillosis in stem cell transplant recipients. PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e27962. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027962. Epub 2011 Nov 17.
Carvalho A, Cunha C, Bistoni F, Romani L. Immunotherapy of aspergillosis. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2012 Feb;18(2):120-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-0691.2011.03681.x. Epub 2011 Oct 24.
Zelante T, Iannitti R, De Luca A, Romani L. IL-22 in antifungal immunity. Eur J Immunol. 2011 Feb;41(2):270-5. doi: 10.1002/eji.201041246. Epub 2011 Jan 11.
Sorci G, Giovannini G, Riuzzi F et al. The danger signal S100B integrates pathogen- and danger-sensing pathways to restrain inflammation. PLoS Pathog. 2011 Mar;7(3):e1001315. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1001315. Epub 2011 Mar 10.
Cunha C, Carvalho A, Esposito A et al. DAMP signaling in fungal infections and diseases. Front Immunol. 2012 Sep 10;3:286. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2012.00286. eCollection 2012.
Cunha C, Carvalho A. Host genetics and invasive fungal diseases: towards improved diagnosis and therapy? Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2012 Mar;10(3):257-9. doi: 10.1586/eri.12.3.
Carvalho A, Cunha C, Iannitti RG et al. Host defense pathways against fungi: the basis for vaccines and immunotherapy. Front Microbiol. 2012 May 10;3:176. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00176. eCollection 2012.
Zelante T, Iannitti RG, De Luca A et al. Sensing of mammalian IL-17A regulates fungal adaptation and virulence. Nat Commun. 2012 Feb 21;3:683. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1685.
Iannitti RG, Carvalho A, Cunha C et al. Th17/Treg imbalance in murine cystic fibrosis is linked to indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase deficiency but corrected by kynurenines. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2013 Mar 15;187(6):609-20. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201207-1346OC. Epub 2013 Jan 10.
Iannitti RG, Casagrande A, De Luca A, et al. Hypoxia promotes danger-mediated inflammation via receptor for advanced glycation end products in cystic fibrosis. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2013 Dec 1;188(11):1338-50. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201305-0986OC.
Borghi M, Renga G, Puccetti M,et al. Antifungal Th Immunity: Growing up in Family. Front Immunol, 2014 Oct 15;5:506. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00506. eCollection 2014.
Zelante T, Iannitti RG, Fallarino F, et al. Tryptophan Feeding of the IDO1-AhR Axis in Host-Microbial Symbiosis. Front Immunol. 2014 Dec 15;5:640. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2014.00640. eCollection 2014.
Bedke T, Iannitti RG, De Luca A et al. Distinct and complementary roles for Aspergillus fumigatus-specific Tr1 and Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in humans and mice. Immunol Cell Biol. 2014 Sep;92(8):659-70. doi: 10.1038/icb.2014.34. Epub 2014 May 13.
Moretti S, Bozza S, Oikonomou V et al. L-37 inhibits inflammasome activation and disease severity in murine aspergillosis. PLoS Pathog. 2014 Nov; 10(11): e1004462
Iannitti RG, Napolioni V, Oikonomou V et al. IL-1 receptor antagonist ameliorates inflammasome-dependent inflammation in murine and human cystic fibrosis. Nat Commun. 2016 Mar 14;7:10791. doi: 10.1038/ncomms10791.
Costantini C, Renga G, Oikonomou V, et al. The Mast Cell-Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Interplay at the Host-Microbe Interface. Mediators Inflamm. 2018 Oct 28;2018:7396136. doi: 10.1155/2018/7396136. eCollection 2018.
Puccetti M, Paolicelli G, Oikonomou V, et al. Towards Targeting the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor in Cystic Fibrosis. Mediators Inflamm. 2018 Feb 18;2018:1601486. doi: 10.1155/2018/1601486. eCollection 2018.
Piliponsky AM, Romani L. The contribution of mast cells to bacterial and fungal infection immunity. Immunol Rev. 2018 Mar;282(1):188-197. doi: 10.1111/imr.12623.
Valerio Napolioni, Marilena Pariano, Monica Borghi et al. Genetic Polymorphisms Affecting IDO1 or IDO2 Activity Differently Associate With Aspergillosis in Humans. Front Immunol. 2019; 10: 890.
Marilena Pariano, Matteo Puccetti, Vasilis Oikonomou, Monica Borghi, Valeria R. Villella, Claudia Stincardini, Luigi Sforna, Giorgia Renga and Luigina Romani. Anakinra in cystic fibrosis: From targeting pathogenic inflammation to correcting CFTR defects. The Proceedings of the 16th Italian Convention of Investigators in Cystic Fibrosis. Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine, 2019, 14 (Suppl 1):5
Riconoscimenti
2005: Premio “Lucille Georg”
2003: Professore onorario presso Old Herborn University
2011: Vincitore del “Jon van Rood Award” per la migliore ricerca nel campo Transplantation Immunology/Immunogenetics, pubblicata nel 2010
2012: Vincitore del Abraham White Scientific, Humanitarian, and Public Service Award, Washington DC, USA