Responsible: Prof. Eugenio Gaudio

FACULTY

Prof. Eugenio GAUDIO (Professor)
Prof. Paolo ONORI (Professor)
Prof. Guido CARPINO (Associate Professor)
Prof. Luigi PANNARALE (Associate Professor)
Dott. Romina MANCINELLI (Research Associate)
Dott. Claudia GIAMPIETRI (Research Associate "a tempo determinato")

STAFF

LIGHT MICROSCOPY LABORATORY 

Dr. Stefano LEONE

CELL CULTURE LABORATORY 

LABORATORY OF MICROCIRCULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL SURGERY 

LABORATORY FOR DISSECTION AND PLASTINATION 

Mr. Luciano SBRAGA

VISITING RESEARCHERS

Prof. Antonio FRANCHITTO (Associate Professor) University "Foro Italico", Rome

Dr. Simone CAROTTI (Research Associate) University Campus Bio-Medico, Rome

PhD STUDENTS

Dr. Ludovica CECI

LABORATORIES

Light Microscopy
Microcirculation
Experimental Microsurgery
Cell Culture
Plastination
Dissection

INSTRUMENTATION

Vertical Laminar Airflow Workstation,Biohazard BioAir Topsafe 1.2 – Euroclone.
CO2 “HEPA2” - Shel Lab 5215-2 incubator.
Labtech lt 4000 microplate reader.
Thermo Scientific™ Heraeus™ Megafuge™  Centrifuge16.
Timo Autoclave cycle programming 23 litri di capacità, VWR.
Thermal cycler Si96 Quad Thermal Engine Technology (QuarTET), Tecnochimica Moderna.
Liquid nitrogen tank – Statebourne Bio 20.
Revco -80°C benchtop freezer 230v 50Hz, Thermo Scientific.
Thermo Scientific Spin Tissue Processor Microm STP 120.
Paraffin dispenser DP 500 Bio-Optica.
Leica rm2245 rotary microtome.
Reichert Jung Model 2800 Frigocut, Cryostat Microtome.
Lyophilizer.
Fluorescence microscope - Leica DM4500 B with video camera (Prog ResC10plus, Jenoptik Germany) and image analysis system (IAS 2000; Delta Sistemi, Rome, Italy).
Scan Glass Slides Aperio University Scanscope CS.
Scan Glass Slides Aperio University Scanscope Fluorescence with themonochrome camera and quad multi-band pass filter set.
Surgical microscope Carl Zeiss 50 West Germany Speisegerat fur Lichtl with video camera Panasonic DC power.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY

The main interests concern the characteristics of the liver and biliary ways, under normal and experimental conditions and in human pathologies including Polycystic Liver, Primary Liver Cirrhosis and Cholangiocarcinoma.
Findings, in collaboration with international research groups, are:

-the first in vitro demonstration of bile secretion in human hepatocytes;
-the definition of the three dimensional morphology of hepatic microcirculation and extrahepatic biliary ways;
-the first demonstration of the presence of estrogen receptors at the level of cholangiocytes; -a proposed innovative therapy for proliferative cholangiopathies by means of estrogen receptors modulating drugs.
-the demonstration of the presence of VEGF receptors at the level of cholangiocytes, during the evolution of the secondary biliary cirrhosis.
-the demonstration of the presence of IGF1 receptors at the level of cholangiocytes along the evolution of secondary biliary cirrhosis and human cholangiopathies.
-the definition of the role of IGF1 bile levels in differentiating extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma from other common causes of obstructive cholestasis.

In the last years, we investigated the morpho-functional aspects of biliary tree during different experimental and human liver diseases and the mechanisms regulating the proliferation and death of cholangiocytes of biliary tree and resident progenitor/stem cells localization and activation in the liver.

 In this field of research, the group coordinated by Prof. E. Gaudio has entered into numerous national and international scientific collaborations with:

1) Prof. Gianfranco ALPINI, Texas A&M University, System Health Science Centre College of Medicine Temple, Texas, USA.
2) Prof. Tania ROSKAMS, Department of Morphology and Molecular Pathology, Leuven, Belgio.
3) Prof. CICALESE, Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Dept. of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)
4) Prof. D. ALVARO, Gastroenterologia, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”.
5) Tom Hemming KARLSEN, Norwegian PSC Research Center, Department of Transplantation Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine, Surgery and Transplantation, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
6) Prof. Lola REID, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, NUNC University, Chapel Hill, USA.

In recent years the research has been focused on the study of:

a) morphological and functional aspects of the biliary tree during experimental and human diseases,
b) the mechanisms that regulate the cholangiocyte proliferation and death in the biliary tree,
c) location and activation of stem / progenitor cells residents in the liver.

INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATIONS

Dept. of Imaging and Pathology, Translation Cell and Tissue Research, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven  (Belgium);
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center (USA);
Department of Cell Biology and Physiology and program in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC (USA);
Diabetes Research Institute, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami (USA);
Norwegian PSC Research Center, Department of Transplantation Medicine, Division of Cancer Medicine, Surgery and Transplantation, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway