Federica Benvenuti

Group Leader: 
Cellular Immunology
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Padriciano 99
34149 Trieste, Italy
E-mail: [email protected] 
Tel: +39-040-3757389

Facilities:
Flow Cytometry (FACS)

Education

University of Trieste, MSc in Molecular Biology, 1995
International School for Advanced Studies, ICGEB, PhD in Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology, 2000

Career History

Since January 2010, Group Leader, Cellular Immunology, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Trieste, Italy.
2005-2009, Postdoc, ICGEB Trieste, Italy
2001-2004, Postdoc, Institut Curie, Paris, France
1996-2000, PhD student, ICGEB Trieste, Italy
1990-1995, Undergraduate student, Faculty of Science, University of Trieste

Scientific Activity

The lab focus is on cell biology of phagocytes and antigen presenting cells in healthy conditions and in pathological conditions like cancer and immune dysregulation. A major research line is dedicated to understanding how tumors cripple antigen presentation and myeloid functions in tissues. A second research line is dedicated to study cytoskeletal remodeling in phagocytes and its impact on innate signaling pathway using Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome as a disease model.

F. Benvenuti serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals and Grant Award Committees for the ANR (France) and ERC. She is regularly involved in PhD award committee at several national and international Institutions (IST, Vienna; Universite’ Paris IIV and Paris Descartes; Open University).

Selected Publications

Bugatti M, Bergamini M, Missale F, Monti M, Laura A, Pezzali I, Picinoli S, Caronni N, Missolo-Koussou Y, Helft J, Benvenuti F, Vermi W. “A population of TIM4+FOLR2+ macrophages localized in tertiary lymphoid structures correlates to an active immune infiltrate across several cancer types”. Cancer Immunol Res. 2022 Sep 19:CIR-22-0271. doi: 10.1158/2326-6066.CIR-22-0271. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36122412.

Simoncello F, Piperno GM, Caronni N, Amadio R, Cappelletto A, Canarutto G, Piazza S, Bicciato S, Benvenuti F. “CXCL5-mediated accumulation of mature neutrophils in lung cancer tissues impairs the differentiation program of anticancer CD8 T cells and limits the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors”. Oncoimmunology. 2022 Apr 7;11(1):2059876. doi: 10.1080/2162402X.2022.2059876. PMID: 35402081; PMCID: PMC8993093.

Caronni N, Piperno GM, Simoncello F, Romano O, Vodret S, Yanagihashi Y, Dress R, Dutertre CA, Bugatti M, Bourdeley P, Del Prete A, Schioppa T, Mazza EMC, Collavin L, Zacchigna S, Ostuni R, Guermonprez P, Vermi W, Ginhoux F, Bicciato S, Nagata S, Benvenuti F. “TIM4 expression by dendritic cells mediates uptake of tumor-associated antigens and anti-tumor responses”. Nat Commun. 2021 Apr 14;12(1):2237. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-22535-z. PMID: 33854047; PMCID: PMC8046802.

Cervantes-Luevano KE, Caronni N, Castiello MC, Fontana E, Piperno G, Naseem A, Uva P, Bosticardo M, Marcovecchio GE, Notarangelo LD, Cicalese MP, Aiuti A, VillaA, Benvenuti F. Neutrophils drive type-I interferon production and autoantibodies in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2018 Feb 12. pii: S0091-6749(18)30207-0. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.11.063. PubMed PMID: 29447842.

Caronni N, Simoncello F, Stafetta F, Guarnaccia C, Ruiz-Moreno JS, Opitz B, Galli T, Proux-Gillardeaux V, Benvenuti F. 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. PubMed PMID: 29363545.

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 AC, Lolli ML, Giabbai B, Storici P, Carloni P, Rossetti G, Benvenuti F, Bello E, D’Incalci M, Cappuzzello E, Rosato A, Del Sal G. “A covalent PIN1 inhibitor selectively targets cancer cells by a dual mechanism of action”. Nat Commun 2017. Jun 9;8:15772. doi: 10.1038/ncomms15772.

Castiello MC, Pala F, Sereni L, Draghici E, Inverso D, Sauer AV, Schena F, Fontana E, Radaelli E, Uva P, Cervantes-Luevano KE, Benvenuti F, Poliani PL, Iannacone M, Traggiai E, Villa A, Bosticardo M. “In Vivo Chronic Stimulation Unveils Autoreactive Potential of Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein-Deficient B Cells”. Front Immunol. 2017 May 2;8:490. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00490.

Ottaviani G, Martinelli V, Rupel K, Caronni N, Naseem A, Zandon√† L, Perinetti, G, Gobbo M, Di Lenarda R, Bussani R, Benvenuti F, Giacca M, Biasotto M, Zacchigna S. “Laser Therapy Inhibits Tumor Growth in Mice by Promoting Immune Surveillance and Vessel Normalization”. EBioMedicine. 2016 Sep;11:165-172. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2016.07.028. Epub 2016 Jul 25.

Benvenuti F. “The dendritic cell synapse: a life dedicated to T cell activation”. Front Immunol. 2016 Mar 7,7:70. Doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2016.00070.eCollection 2016.

Chiaruttini, G., Piperno, G.M., Jouve, M., De Nardi, F., Larghi, P., Peden, A.A., Baj, G., Müller, S., Valitutti, S., Galli, T., and Benvenuti, F. “The SNARE VAMP7 regulates exocytic trafficking of Interleukin-12 in dendritic cells. Cell Rep. 2016. 14. 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.02.055.

MarinoKallikourdis , Antonella Viola A, Federica Benvenuti. “Human Immunodeficiencies Related to Defective APC/T Cell Interaction”. Front Immunology. 2015. 6:433. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2015.00433.

Savino, B., M. G. Castor, N. Caronni, A. Sarukhan, A. Anselmo, C. Buracchi, F. Benvenuti, V. Pinho, M. M. Teixeira, A. Mantovani, M. Locati, and R. Bonecchi.. “Control of murine Ly6C(high) monocyte traffic and immunosuppressive activities by atypical chemokine receptor D6”. Blood. 2012. 119:5250-5260.