|
|
 |
|||||
 |
|
||||
Contact data |
Full Professor |
|
Biography |
Degree in Biology at the University of Milan (1972/73). Since 1992 Associate Professor (Zoology). 2005 Full Professor. Member of the teaching staff of the PhD in Developmental and Evolutionary Biology. Since 1972, Magda de Eguileor actively takes part in the research carried on in the Electron Microscopy laboratory of the Department of Biology of the University of Milan and more recently of the Department of Structural and Functional Biology of the University of Insubria. |
|
| Research interests |
The broad goal of my laboratory
is to understand the mechanisms that underlie angiogenesis and fibroplasia
phenomena during wound healing responses by using the leech Hirudo
medicinalis as a new in vivo model. It is very important to study
the formation of new vessels and extracellular matrix (ECM) in "non-vertebrate"
sharing a high degree of similarity with the same processes occurring
in humans, both under the structural/functional and biochemical points
of view. In addition, the leech, characterised by a relative anatomical
simplicity, has the unique advantage of having a virtually avascular
muscular body wall allowing unambiguous, clear-cut studies on the
angiogenic mechanisms. Angiogenesis and fibroplasia are finely controlled
by growth factors and cytokines. In fact during these phenomena cell
communication is an important mechanism that involves the transduction
of information from one cell to others or from cells to ECM. A second project in the lab addresses the processes which regulate the pathologic alterations induced by parasitoid insects in their hosts: besides their general scientific interest, these studies can lead to the identification of new molecular systems displaying potent and selective insecticide activity. During oviposition, entomophagous hymenopters can inject in their hosts specific venoms, frequently associated with symbiotic viruses belonging to the polydnaviridae (PDV) family. Both venom and PDV can be a natural source of new agents able to induce marked alterations in the neuroendocrine and immune systems of phytophagous insects, like lepidopterans and aphids. The high specificity of the mechanisms allowing parasites to regulate the physiology of their hosts, strongly suggests that both proteins and genes displaying insecticide activity in these systems can be highly selective. Thus, the general aim of our research is the identification and characterization of genes and proteins displaying selective and specific insecticide activity. Moreover, it must be underlined that the potential insecticides must be characterized by high biosafety and low toxicity towards humans, animals, plants. A third project is about the development of obliquely striated muscles, a peculiar type of striated muscles, typical of soft-bodied animals. We use the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis as a model system to identify and characterize the molecules involved in the muscle development. In particular the role for MRFs in promoting muscle development (during embryonic development) is suggested by the location and timing of their expression: The first MRF protein detected in cuttlefish tentacle is Myf-5 followed by MyoD. Initially, Myf-5 and MyoD expression is mutually exclusive and later overlaps (even if in different cell types). In addition we focus on the role of Hedghog, and its receptor during muscle fibre differentiation and spatial organization in cuttlefish organogenesis. The proposed activity is of great importance not only to understand the differentiation of obliquely striated muscles but also it is obviously interesting from evolutionary point of view. |
|
Teaching experience and appointments |
I teach these undergraduate
courses: Morpho-functional zoology, Structural and Functional Biology,
Experimental animal models, In vivo models. I teach also these graduate
courses: Origins and modulation of structures, Environmental tests.
In addition, I mentor several undergraduate students for their independent
studies in the lab and their theses, as well as several PhD students
for their Lab and theses. Member of the teaching committee of the Faculty Member of the Technical Scientific Committee of Central Instrument Facility for Biomedical Research (CSGARB) Member of the International PhD course on “Insect Biotechnology” Member of the editorial board of Current Pharmaceutical Design Member of the editorial board of Invertebrate Survival Journal Coordinator of research unit in national research projects and scientist in charge of research units in national programs |
|
Representative publications |
de Eguileor M., Grimaldi A., Tettamanti G.,
Valvassori R., Cooper E. L. and Lanzavecchia G., 2000, Different types of
response against foreign antigens by leech leukocytes. Tissue & Cell, 32:
40-48
de Eguileor M., Tettamanti G., Grimaldi A., Congiu T.,
Ferrarese R., Perletti G., Valvassori R., Cooper E.L., and Lanzavecchia G.,
2003, Leeches: Immune response, angiogenesis and biomedical applications.
Current Pharmaceutical Design 9: 133-149. Perletti G., Marras E., Dondi D., Grimaldi A.,
Tettamanti G., Valvassori R., de Eguileor M., 2003, Assessment of the
biological activity of an improved naked-DNA vector for angiogenesis gene
therapy on a non-mammalian model. Inter. J. Mol. Med. 11: 691-696. Tettamanti G., Grimaldi A.,
Ferrarese R., Palazzi M., Perletti G., Valvassori R., Cooper E., Lanzavecchia
G., de Eguileor M., 2003, Leech responses to tissue transplantation. Tissue & Cell 35: 199-212. Tettamanti G., Grimaldi A.,
Valvassori R., Rinaldi L., de Eguileor M., 2003, Vascular Endothelial
Growth Factor is involved in neoangiogenesis in Hirudo medicinalis
(Annelida, Hirudinea), 2003, Cytokine 22: 168-179. Protasoni M., de Eguileor M., Congiu T,
Grimaldi A., Reguzzoni M., 2003, The
extracellular matrix of the cuticle of Gordius panigettensis
(Gordioiidae, Nematomorpha): observations by TEM, SEM and AFM. Tissue & Cell 36: 1-6 Giordana B., Milani A, Grimaldi A., Farneti R.,
Ambrosecchio M.R., Digilio M.C., Leonardi G., de Eguileor M., Pennacchio
F., 2003, Absorption of sugar and amino acids by the epidermis of Aphidius
ervi larvae. J. Insect. Phisiol. 49: 1115-1124 Perletti G., Marras E., Osti D., Grimaldi A.,
Ferrarese R., de Eguileor M., 2003, Mechanism of action of the tumor
suppresor protein-kinase C delta. Int. J. Mol. Med. 12: 15-18. Grimaldi A., Tettamanti G., Rinaldi L., Brivio
M., Castellani D., de Eguileor M., 2004, Muscle differentiation
in tentacles of Sepia officinalis (Mollusca) is regulated by muscle
regulatory factors (MRFs) related proteins. Dev. Growth Diff., 46: 83-95. Grimaldi A., Tettamanti G., Brivio M., Valvassori
R., Lanzavecchia G., de Eguileor M., 2004, Differentiation of slow and
fast fibers in tentacles of Sepia officinalis. Dev. Growth Diff.,
46: 181-193. Tettamanti G., Grimaldi A., Ferrarese R., Rinaldi
L., Bortolotto A., Di Guardo G., de Eguileor M., 2004, A
comparative study of sporta perimedullaris musculosa in the reniculus of six
species of cetaceans. Ital. J. Zool. , 71: 115-121 de Eguileor M., Tettamanti G., Grimaldi A.,
Perletti G., Congiu T., Rinaldi L., Valvassori R., 2004, Hirudo medicinalis:
avascular tissues for clear-cut angiogenesis studies? Current Pharmaceutical
Design 10: 1979-1988. Perletti G., Osti D., Marras
E., Tettamanti G., de Eguileor M., 2004, Generation of VSV-G pseudotyped
lentiviral vectors in 293T cells. J. Cell Mol. Med. 8: 142-143. Tettamanti G., Grimaldi A.,
Rinaldi L., Arnaboldi F., Congiu T., Valvassori R., de Eguileor M.,
2004, The multifunctional role of fibroblasts during wound healing in Hirudo
medicinalis (Annelida, Hirudinea). Biology of the Cell 96: 443-456. Perletti G., Marras E., Dondi D., Osti D., Congiu
T., Ferrarese R., de Eguileor M., Tashjian, Jr A.H., 2004, p21Waf1/Cip1
and p53 are downstream effectors of Protein Kinase C delta in tumor suppression
and differentiation in human colon cancer cells. Int. J. Cancer, 113:
42-53. Rao R., Arciello S., Giordana B., Leonardi MG., de
Eguileor 2004, AcMNPV ChiA protein disrupts the peritrophic membrane and
alters midgut physiology of Bombyx mori larvae. Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 34:
1205-1213 Grimaldi A., Tettamanti G., Rinaldi L.,
Valvassori R., de Eguileor M. 2004, Role of cathepsin b in
leech wound healing. Invert. Surv.J. 1: 38-46. Perletti G., Marras E., Osti D, Felici L., Zaro
S., de Eguileor M. 2004, PKCδ requires p53 for suppression of the
transformed phenotype in human colon cancer cells. J. Cell. Mol. Med. 8: 563-569 de Eguileor M., Congiu T., Grimaldi A.,
Perletti G., Raspanti M.,Tettamanti G., Valvassori R. 2004, Collagen
reorganization in leech wound healing. Biology of the Cell 97: 557-568. Ferrarese R., Brivio M.,
Congiu T., Falabella P., Grimaldi A., Mastore M., Perletti G., Pennacchio F.,
Sciacca L., Tettamanti G., Valvassori R., de Eguileor M. 2005, Early
suppression of immune response in Heliothis virescens larvae by the
endophagous parasitoid Toxoneuron nigriceps. Journal Survival
Invertebrates 2: 60-68. Rinaldi L., Basso P., Tettamanti G.,Grimaldi A.,
Terova G., Saroglia M., de Eguileor M. 2005, Oxygen availability causes
morphological changes and a different VEGF/Flk-1/HIF-2 expression pattern in
sea bass gills. Italian Journal of Zoology 72:
103-111 Caccia S., Leonardi MG.,
Casartelli M., Grimaldi A.,de Eguileor M.,Pennacchio F., Giordana B.
2005, Nutrient absorption by Aphidius ervi larvae. J. Insect. Physiol. Falabella P., Varricchio P.,
Provost B., Espagne E., Ferrarese R., Grimaldi A., de Eguileor M.,
Fimiami G., Urini V., Malva C., Drezen JM., and Pennacchio F. 2004, Suppression
of NF-kB activity by I-kB –like proteins from polydnaviruses. (in press on J. of Virology)
|
The University of Insubria, - Via Ravasi, 2 - 21100 Varese - P.I. 02481820120 - C.F. 95039180120 © 2006 Università degli Studi dell'Insubria. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | About the Site | Feedback | Sitemap |
||