IRCCS - IRF Mario Negri
The Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research is a non-profit biomedical research organization, dedicated to the protection of health and human life. Its activity began in Milan in 1963, with a group of 22 people and today after 50 years, the team includes more than 900 people based on different locations (Milan, Bergamo, Ranica (BG) and S. Mary Imbaro in the province of Chieti).
In these laboratories the research activity ranges from renal physiology, characterization of the mechanisms of progression of chronic kidney disease and innovative therapeutic interventions to the immunology of transplantation and tolerance for rare genetic kidney diseases. The Mario Negri Institute in Bergamo is known worldwide for the results obtained in REIN studies - which demonstrated the efficacy of treatment with ACE inhibitors in slowing and in some cases stop the progression of renal damage, avoiding dialysis in chronic kidney disease with proteinuria – and those obatiend in BENEDICT study - which showed that it is possible in diabetic patient to prevent kidney and cardiovascular damage.
Important results have been also obtained in the characterization of the phenotype and function of lymphocytes isolated from murine models of organ transplantation and renal transplant patients taking part to innovative clinical trials of tolerance induction with cell therapy or medication. Considerable experience has also been developed within the genetics and rare diseases, including familial forms of Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome, which involve abnormalities of the complement regulatory proteins.
The research activities carried out by the Mario Negri Institute within the project Superpig are undertaken at the Clinical Research Center for Rare Diseases "Aldo e Cele Daccò" in Ranica, where the laboratories of the Department of Molecular Medicine including the laboratory Immunology and Genetics of Rare Diseases and Organ transplantation are located.
The research team involved in Superpig (subproject 2) consists of:
- Giuseppe Remuzzi, MD, FRCP, research coordinator at Mario Negri in Bergamo Laboratories and Clinical Research Center for Rare Diseases "Aldo e Cele Daccò", Director of the Department of Clinical Immunology and Transplantation, Ospedali Riuniti of Bergamo - Institute of Pharmacological Research Mario Negri. Dr. Remuzzi coordinates a group of 200 scientists, including physiologists, pharmacologists, molecular and cell biologists, and clinical pathologists particularly experienced in the study of kidney disease. He has contributed to some of the greatest achievements in the field of nephrology of the past twenty years, particularly in the interaction between platelets and endothelium, the glomerular physiology, mechanisms of progression of chronic kidney disease and innovative therapeutic approaches, immunologic tollerance and transplantation immunology, rare genetic diseases of the kidney.
- Norberto Perico, MD. Director of the Laboratory of Advanced Drug Development at the Clinical Research Center for Rare Diseases. He is an expert in renal physiology, immunology of transplantation and monitoring of drugs in transplantation. In the sub-project 2, he coordinates the comparative physiology section.
- Federica Casiraghi, Chem. Head of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Transplantation Tolerance at the Research Center for Rare Diseases. She is an expert in the field of experimental and clinical transplantation immunology with particular interest in effector/memory T-cell and regulation of the immune response. She is also involved in the sub-project 2 for the area related to the immune response of human lymphocytes T and B to pig antigens.
-Marta Todeschini, Chem. Researcher, Unit of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Transplantation Tolerance at the Research Center for Rare Diseases. She is inlvolved in the sub-project 2 for part related to the immune response of human T and B lymphocytes to pig antigens.
-Marilena Mister, Chem. Researcher, Unit of Molecular and Cellular Biology of tolerance to transplantation at the Research Center for Rare Diseases. Her expertice is in animal models of kidney disease and organ transplantation. Her contribution to the sub-project 2 is related to the comparative physiology and immune response after perfusion of the kidney in pigs with human blood.
-Flavio Gaspari, Chem. Director of the Laboratory of Pharmacokinetics and Clinical Chemistry at the Research Center for Rare Diseases. He has contributed to the development of methods for the measurement of glomerular and tubular function in animal models and in humans. He participate in sub-project 2 within the renal comparative physiology.
- Antonio Cannata, Chem. Researcher, Laboratory of Pharmacokinetics and Clinical Chemistry at the Research Center for Rare Diseases. He is involved in the sub-project 2 within the compared renal physiology.
- Sara Gastoldi, Chem. Researcher, Department of Molecular Medicine of the Mario Negri Laboratories in Bergamo. She is involved in in the subproject 2 for the section related to comparative physiology, in particular to the ability of human hormones that regulate vascular renal tone, glomerular function and homeostasis to bind specific receptors of the swine kidney.
- Susanna Tomasoni. PhD. Head of the Gene Therapy Unit, Laboratory of Molecular Medicine at the Mario Negri Laboratories in Bergamo. She is an expert in construction of vectors for cell transfection of genes and gene therapy in the context of organ transplantation. She is involved in the sub-project 2 for the part related to immunosuppressive response in vitro by gene transfection.