Immunologia sperimentale e clinica in Malattie Infettive e Oncologia - Gruppo di Ricerca

Our research projects focus on translational aspects of the immune response in cancer and infectious diseases to identify novel mechanistic insights and potentially druggable immune mechanisms that are relevant in the development of immunotherapies and vaccination strategies. 
The three major lines of research are: 

• Development of therapeutic antibodies against SARS-Cov-2: production of human monoclonal antibodies neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 from B lymphocytes of recovered or vaccinated individuals. Functional streamlining of the Fc portion of human immunoglobulin to improve antibody-dependent cytotoxicity
• Immunology and immunotherapy of liver cancers: investigation of immune mechanisms mediated by newly developed therapeutic antibodies/bioproducts and the influence of tumor microenvironment on the immune system
• Monitoring of immune response after vaccination: assessment of SARS-Cov-2 vaccine-induced immunity, focusing on the interplay between adaptive and innate immunity

• Mele D., Ottolini S., Lombardi A., Conteianni D., Bandera A., Oliviero B., Mantovani S., Cassaniti I., Baldanti F., Gori A., Mondelli M.U., Varchetta S. Long-term dynamics of natural killer cells in response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: Persistently enhanced activity postvaccination. Journal of Medical Virology, 2024;
• Oliviero B., Dei Cas M., Zulueta A., Maiello R., Villa A., Martinelli C., Del Favero E., Falleni M., Montavoci L., Varchetta S., Mele D., Donadon M., Soldani C., Franceschini B., Maestri M., Piccolo G., Barabino M., Bianchi P.P., Banales J.M., Mantovani S., Mondelli M.U., Caretti A. Ceramide present in cholangiocarcinoma-derived extracellular vesicle induces a pro-inflammatory state in monocytes. Scientific Reports, 2023; 
• Mantovani S., Daga S., Fallerini C., Baldassarri M., Benetti E., Picchiotti N., Fava F., Gallì A., Zibellini S., Bruttini M., Palmieri M., Croci S., Amitrano S., Alaverdian D., Capitani K., Furini S., Mari F., Meloni I., GEN-COVID Multicenter Study, Frullanti E., Mondelli M.U., Renieri A. Rare variants in Toll-like receptor 7 results in functional impairment and downregulation of cytokine-mediated signaling in COVID-19 patients. Genes & Immunity, 2022;
• Varchetta S., Mele D., Oliviero B., Mantovani S., Ludovisi S., Cerino A., Bruno R., Castelli A., Mosconi M., Vecchia M., Roda S., Sachs M., Klersy C., Mondelli M.U. Unique immunological profile in patients with COVID-19. Cellular & Molecular Immunology, 2021;
• Mele D., Oliviero B., Mantovani S., Ludovisi S., Lombardi A., Genco F., Gulminetti R., Novati S., Mondelli M.U., Varchetta S. Adaptive Natural Killer Cell Functional Recovery in Hepatitis C Virus Cured Patients. Hepatology, 2021.

Single-Cell Analysis Sequencing System, multi-color flow cytometry, ddPCR , complete PCR equipment, Gel Doc imaging system, Wester Blot and ELISA equipment, cell culture equipment.

Ministero della Salute-Piano Operativo della Salute, POS, traiettoria 4 ‘Immunoterapia: cura e prevenzione di malattie infettive e tumorali (Immuno-HUB)’; Next Generation EU-MUR PNRR Extended Partnership initiative on Emerging Infectious Diseases (INF-ACT); PRIN: PROGETTI DI RICERCA DI RILEVANTE INTERESSE NAZIONALE – Bando 2022 “A Multipronged Approach to Immunotherapy of Liver cancer (MAIL)”; PRIN: PROGETTI DI RICERCA DI RILEVANTE INTERESSE NAZIONALE – Bando 2022 “Muscle weakness and exercise (in)tolerance in Long-COVID patients: mechanistic bases and predictive biomarkers”.

European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), Greta Forlani (University of Insubria), Alessandro Sette (La Jolla Institute for Immunology and University of California, USA), Kai Wucherpfennig (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA), Alessandra Renieri (University of Siena), Anna Caretti (University of Milan), Federico Forneris and Claudia Scotti (University of Pavia).