Genetics and cell biology
Osteoporosis and Bone and Mineral Metabolism
The Osteoporosis and Bone and Mineral Metabolism Unit is a translational unit that combines the research activity with a large outpatients care, dedicated to the study and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone and mineral diseases. The ultimate goal of the unit is to translate research knowledge into the improvement of clinical practice in the large scenario of bone loss syndromes.
Research activity
The research results constitute innovative contributions to the physiopathology of bone and mineral metabolism, particularly in the fields of bone involvement in mineral homeostasis, pathogenesis of osteoporosis e subsequent bone fragility, endocrine regulation of osteoblast activity, and biochemical markers of bone turnover. Moreover, the Unit has a long-standing experience in pharmacological trials for drugs development and validation, and has notably contributed to the characterization of several animal models associated to skeletal defects.
Bolamperti S, Villa I, Spinello A, Manfredini G, Mrak E, Mezzadri U, Ometti M, Fraschini G, Guidobono F and Rubinacci A. Evidence for altered canonical Wnt signaling in the trabecular bone of elderly postmenopausal women with fragility femoral fracture. Biomed Research International. 2016; 2016:8169614.
Besio R, Maruelli S, Gioia R, Villa I, Grabowski P, Gallagher O, Bishop N, Foster S, De Lorenzi E, Colombo R, Dapena Diaz JL, Moore-Barton H, Deshpand C, Aydin HI, Tokatli A, Kwiek B, Kasapkara CS, Adisen EO, Gurer, MA, Di Rocco M, Phang JM, Gunn TM, Tenni R, Rossi A, Forlino A. Lack of prolidase causes a bone phenotype both in human and in mouse. Bone. 2015 72 (3):53-64.
Margonato A, Gorla R, Macchi A, Buzzetti F, Franzoni I, Pedrigi MC, Rosa I, Sirtori M, Villa I, Rubinacci A. Role of plaque calcification regulators osteoprotegerin and matrix Gla-proteins in stable angina and acute myocardial infarction. J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown). 2015 Mar;16(3):156-62.
Eskenazi B, Warner M, Sirtori M, Fuerst T, Rauch SA, Brambilla P, Mocarelli P, Rubinacci A. Serum Dioxin Concentrations and Bone Density and Structure in the Seveso Women’s Health Study. Environ Health Perspect. 2014 Jan;122(1): 51- 7.
Bolamperti S, Mrak E, Moro GL, Sirtori P, Fraschini G, Guidobono F, Rubinacci A, Villa I. 17β-Estradiol Positively Modulates Growth Hormone Signalling through the Reduction of SOCS2 Negative Feedback in Human Osteoblasts. Bone 2013; 55: 84-92
Rubinacci A, Tresoldi D, Scalco E, Villa I, Moro G, Fraschini GF, Rizzo G. Comparative high resolution pQCT analysis of femoral neck indicates different bone mass distribution in osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. Osteoporos Int. 2012; 23: 1967-1975.
Tarroni P, Villa I, Mrak E, Zolezzi F, Mattioli M, Gattuso C, Rubinacci A. Microarray analysis of 1,25(OH)2D3 regulated gene expression in human primary osteoblasts. Cell Biochem. 2012 Feb;113(2):640-9.
Gioia R, Panaroni C, Besio R, Palladini G, Merlini G, Giansanti V, Scovassi I, Villani S, Villa I, Villa A, Vezzoni P, Marini JC, Tenni R, Rossi A, Forlino A. Impaired Osteoblastogenesis in a Murine Model of Dominant Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), A New Target for OI Pharmacological Therapy. Stem Cells 30(7):1465-76, 2012
Rossini A, Lanzi R, Losa M, Sirtori M, Gatti E, Madaschi S, Molinari C, Scavini M, Villa I, Rubinacci A. Predictors of bone responsiveness to growth hormone replacement in adult GH-deficient patients. Calcif Tissue Int. 2011; 88: 304-313.
Mrak E, Guidobono F, Moro G, Fraschini G, Rubinacci A, Villa I. Calcitonin gene- related peptide (CGRP) inhibits apoptosis in human osteoblasts by β-catenin stabilization. J Cell Physiol. 2010; 225: 701-708.