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Contact data |
Assistant Professor |
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Biography |
Education 1991: High School diploma (Qualified in Chemistry), Varese, Italy. 1996: Degree in Biology, University of Milan, with full mark (110/110 cum laude). 2001: Ph.D. degree in Evolutionary and Developmental Biology, University of Milan, thesis dissertation entitled ”Allantoicase during vertebrate evolution”. Career path December 01, 1996 – May 23, 1997: Fellow in the lab of Comparative Immunology of the Department of Structural and Functional Biology, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy. I have worked on the characterization of Nematomorpha Cuticle. May 24, 1997 – May 23, 1998: National (Military) service. May 24, 1998 – October 31, 2001: Ph.D. student in the lab of Cellular Biology of the Department of Structural and Functional Biology, University of Insubria. I have worked on the characterization of allantoicase, an enzyme involved in purine catabolism in the amphibian Xenopus laevis. November 01, 2001 – January 31, 2004: Postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Cellular Biology of the Department of Structural and Functional Biology, University of Insubria. I have worked on toxicity of metal compounds in Xenopus laevis and continue to work on vertebrate allantoicase. February 01, 2004 – to present: Assistant Professor in Biochemistry at University of Insubria, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences. I am studying cellular matrix focusing on the regulation of the enzymes involved in hyaluronan metabolism. |
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Research interests |
My research is focused on the relationship between extracellular matrix (ECM) and cell behavior. I work on human aortic smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells in order to have a model of vascular system. Among different EMC components we focused on the glycosaminoglycan (GAG) hyaluronan (HA), a linear and unbranched polymer of repeating units of D-glucuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine. It is one of the major components of most extracellular matrices of all vertebrates. HA has been shown to play an important role in matrix assembly, in cell proliferation and migration, as well as in embryonic and tissue development. It is involved not only in physiological processes, but also in a variety of clinical contexts. An altered HA metabolism has been implicated in tumorigenesis and in several important diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Grave’s disease, liver cirrhosis and Werner’s syndrome. In vascular systems, HA is involved in the onset of atherosclerosis as the neointima layer contains a lot of such GAG. As vascular pathologies are related to aging, we also study the modifications of ECM during in vitro aging of our cells by means of biochemical procedures (ie., polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of fluorophore labelled saccharides, Western bloting and zymography) and by gene expression using quantitative Real-Time RT-PCR. I am also interested on the regulation mechanism that controls the synthesis of HA. I have found that UDP-glucose deidrogenase (UGDH), the key enzyme that produces UDP-glucuronic acid, can control the HA production regulating the precursor availability at cytoplasmic level. Interestingly, an overexpression of UGDH has brought to an up-regulation of has2 and has3 genes indicating that a link between the substrate precursor concentration and the transcription of the HA synthetic genes could exist. |
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Teaching experience and appointments |
2003 - present: teach courses of Biochemistry and Applied Physiology and Biological Sciences | |
Representative publications |
1. Brivio, M.F., de Eguileor,
M., Grimaldi, A., Vigetti, D., Valvassori, R., Lanzavecchia, G. (2000).
Structural and biochemical analysis of the parasite Gordius villoti
(Nematomorpha, Gordiacea) cuticle. Tissue and Cell Research 32, 366-376
2. Vigetti, D., Monetti, C., Pollegioni, L., Taramelli, R., Bernardini, G. (2000). Xenopus allantoicase: molecular cloning, enzymatic activity and developmental expression. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 379, 90-96 3. Vigetti, D., Monetti, C., Acquati, F., Taramelli, R., Bernardini, G. (2000). Human allantoicase gene: cDNA cloning, genomic organization and chromosome localization. Gene 256, 253-260 4. Vigetti, D., Monetti, C., Bernardini, G. (2001). Molecular cloning of mouse allantoicase cDNA. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1519, 117-121 5. Pomati, F., Monarolla, G., Rossi, O., Vigetti, D., Rossetti, C. (2001). The purine degradation pathway possible role in paralytic shellfish toxin metabolism in the cyanobacterium Planktothrix sp FP1. Environment International 27, 463-470 6. Vigetti, D., Pollegioni, L., Monetti, C., Prati, M., Bernardini, G., Gornati, R, (2002). Property comparison of recombinant amphibian and mammalian allantoicases. FEBS Letters 512, 323-328 7. Vigetti, D., Monetti, C., Prati, M., Gornati, R., Bernardini, G. (2002). Genomic organization and chromosome localization of the murine and human allantoicase gene. Gene 289, 13-17 8. Vigetti, D., Binelli, G., Monetti, C., Prati, M., Bernardini, G., Gornati, R. (2003). Selective pressure on the allantoicase gene during vertebrate evolution. Journal of Molecular Evolution 57: 650-658. 9. Gornati, R., Monetti, C., Vigetti, D., Bosisio, S., Fortaner, S., Sabbioni, E., Bernardini, G., Prati, M (2002). Arsenic toxicity and HSP70 expression in Xenopus laevis embryos. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals (ATLA) 30, 597-603. 10. Monetti, C., Bernardini, G., Vigetti, D., Prati,M., Fortaner, S., Sabbioni, E., Gornati, R. (2003). Platinum toxicity and gene expression in Xenopus embryos: analysis by FETAX and differential display. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals (ATLA) 31, 404-408. 11. Monetti, C., Vigetti, D., Prati, M., Sabbioni, E., Bernardini, G., Gornati, R. (2002). Gene expression in Xenopus embryos after methylmercury exposure: a search for molecular biomarkers. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 21, 2731–2736. 12. Monetti, C., Vigetti, D., Gornati, R., Prati, M., Klinefelter G.R., Bernardini, G. (2002). Identification and molecular cloning of Xenopus laevis SP22, a protein associated with fertilization in mammals. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) 132, 761-767 13. Gornati, R., Trova, G., Vigetti, D., Prati, M., Saroglia, M., Bernardini, G. (2004). Effects of population on seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) gene expression. Aquaculture 230, 229-239. 14. Vigetti, D., Viola, M., Gornati, R., Ori, M., Nardi, I., Passi, A., De Luca, G., Bernardini, G. (2003). Molecular cloning, genomic organization and developmental expression of the Xenopus laevis hyaluronan synthase 3. Matrix Biology 22, 511-517 15. Nardini, M., Ori, M., Vigetti, D., Gornati, R., Nardi, I., Perris, R. (2004). Regulated gene expression of hyaluronan synthases durino Xenopus laevis development. Gene Expression Pattern 4, 303-308. 16. Raio, L., Cromi, A., Ghezzi, F., Passi, A., Karousou, E., Viola, M., Vigetti, D., De Luca, G., Bolis, P. (2005). Hyaluronan content of wharton´s jelly in healthy and down syndrome fetuses. Matrix Biology 24, 166-174 17. Viola, M., Karousou, E. G., Vigetti, D., Genasetti, A., Pallotti, F., Guidetti, G.F., Tira, M. E., De Luca, G., Passi, A.(2005) Decorin from different bovine tissues: study of glycosaminoglycan chain by PAGEFS. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis in press 18. Karousou, E., Viola M., Genasetti A., Vigetti D., De Luca G., Karamanos N.K. , Passi A. (2005). Application of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of fluorophore labeled-saccharides for analysis of hyaluronan and chondroitin sulfate in human and animal tissues and cell cultures. Biomedical Chromatography in press 19. Vigetti , D., Moretto, P., Viola, M., Genasetti, A., Rizzi, M., Karousou, E., Pallotti, F., De Luca, G., Passi, A. (2005). Matrix metalloproteinase 2 and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases regulate human aortic smooth muscle cell migration during in vitro aging. Submitted to FASEB Journal 20. Vigetti, D., Viola, M., Pallotti, F., Karousou, E., De Luca, G., Passi, A (2005). Molecular cloning and characterization of UDP-glucose dehydrogenase from the amphibian Xenopus laevis and its involvement in hyaluronan synthesis. Submitted to Journal of Biological Chemistry 21. Pomati, F., Castiglioni, S., Zuccato, E., Fanelli, R., Vigetti, D., Rossetti, C., Calamari, D. (2005). Effects of a complex mixture of therapeutic drugs at environmental levels (ng/L) on human embryonic cells HEK293. Submitted to Molecular Pharmacology 22. Vigetti, D., Viola, M., Moretto, P., Genasetti, A., Pallotti, F., Karousou, E., De Luca, G., Passi, A.. Hyaluronan metabolism in young and aged human aortic smooth muscle cells. Manuscript in preparation |
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