NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES / Immunology
Research Interests
Cancer induced immune suppression, intracellular trafficking of endosomal innate sensors and type-I interferon production in myeloid cells.
Description of Research
The lab has a major interest in the mechanisms that regulate priming of T cell responses by dendritic cells (DCs), under normal and pathological conditions. By combining immune phenotyping to cell-sorting, functional assays and gene expression profiling we aim to identify the network of cellular and molecular interactions that cause loss of the capacity of present tumor-associated antigens in lung cancer. A second important lab’s objective is to decipher the causes of excessive type-I interferon responses in autoimmune diseases, with a special focus on the actin-related primary immune deficiency Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. We apply a cell biology approach to understand the role of cytoskeletal proteins in initiation and termination of signals emanating from toll-like receptors in response to endogenous ligands.
The lab also runs one of ICGEB’s Core Facilities: flow cytometry
Recent Publications
Cervantes-Luevano, K.E., Caronni, N., Castiello, M.C., Fontana, E., Piperno, G., Naseem, A., Uva, P., Bosticardo, M., Marcovecchio, G.E., Notarangelo, L.D., Cicalese, M.P., Aiuti, A., Villa, A., Benvenuti, F. 2018. Neutrophils drive type-I interferon production and autoantibodiesin Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. J Allergy Clin Immunol pii:S0091-6749(18)30207-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.11.063. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed link
Caronni, N., Simoncello, F., Stafetta, F., Guarnaccia, C., Ruiz-Moreno, J.S., Opitz, B., Galli, T., Proux-Gillardeaux, V., Benvenuti, F. 2017. Downregulation of membrane trafficking proteins and lactate conditioning determine loss of dendritic cell function in lung cancer. Cancer Res. 2018 Jan 23. pii: canres.1307.2017. doi:
10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-1307. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed link
Campaner, E., Rustighi, A., Zannini, A., Cristiani, A., Piazza, S., Ciani, Y., Kalid, O., Golan, G., Baloglu, E., Shacham, S., Valsasina, B., Cucchi, U., Pippione, A.C., Lolli, M.L., Giabbai, B., Storici, P., Carloni, P., Rossetti, G., Benvenuti, F., Bello, E., D’Incalci, M., Cappuzzello, E., Rosato, A., Del Sal, G. 2017. A covalent PIN1 inhibitor selectively targets cancer cells by a dual mechanism of action. Nat Commun 9, 15772 PubMed link
Cervantes-Luevano, K.E., Caronni, N., Castiello, M.C., Fontana, E., Piperno, G., Naseem, A., Uva, P., Bosticardo, M., Marcovecchio, G.E., Notarangelo, L.D., Cicalese, M.P., Aiuti, A., Villa, A., Benvenuti, F. 2018. Neutrophils drive type-I interferon production and autoantibodiesin Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. J Allergy Clin Immunol pii:S0091-6749(18)30207-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.11.063. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed linkCaronni, N., Simoncello, F., Stafetta, F., Guarnaccia, C., Ruiz-Moreno, J.S., Opitz, B., Galli, T., Proux-Gillardeaux, V., Benvenuti, F. 2017. Downregulation of membrane trafficking proteins and lactate conditioning determine loss of dendritic cell function in lung cancer. Cancer Res. 2018 Jan 23. pii: canres.1307.2017. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-1307. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed link
Caronni, N., Simoncello, F., Stafetta, F., Guarnaccia, C., Ruiz-Moreno, J.S., Opitz, B., Galli, T., Proux-Gillardeaux, V., Benvenuti, F. 2017. Downregulation of membrane trafficking proteins and lactate conditioning determine loss of dendritic cell function in lung cancer. Cancer Res. 2018 Jan 23. pii: canres.1307.2017. doi:
10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-1307. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed link
Campaner, E., Rustighi, A., Zannini, A., Cristiani, A., Piazza, S., Ciani, Y., Kalid, O., Golan, G., Baloglu, E., Shacham, S., Valsasina, B., Cucchi, U., Pippione, A.C., Lolli, M.L., Giabbai, B., Storici, P., Carloni, P., Rossetti, G., Benvenuti, F., Bello, E., D’Incalci, M., Cappuzzello, E., Rosato, A., Del Sal, G. 2017. A covalent PIN1 inhibitor selectively targets cancer cells by a dual mechanism of action. Nat Commun 9, 15772 PubMed link
Castiello, M.C., Pala, F., Sereni, L., Draghici, E., Inverso, D., Sauer, A.V., Schena, F., Fontana, E., Radaelli, E., Uva, P., Cervantes-Luevano, K.E., Benvenuti, F., Poliani, P.L., Iannacone, M., Traggiai, E., Villa, A., Bosticardo, M. 2017. In Vivo Chronic Stimulation Unveils Autoreactive Potential of Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein-Deficient B Cells. Front Immunol 2, 490 PubMed link
Benvenuti, F. 2016. The Dendritic Cell Synapse: A Life Dedicated to T Cell Activation. Frontiers in immunology 7, 70 PubMed link
Chiaruttini, G., Piperno, G.M., Jouve, M., De Nardi, F., Larghi, P., Peden, A.A., Baj, G., Müller, S., Valitutti, S., Galli, T., Benvenuti, F. 2016. The SNARE VAMP7 regulates exocytic trafficking of Interleukin-12 in dendritic cells. Cell Rep 14, 2624-2636 PubMed link