Physiopathology of neural stem cells

Principal Investigator: Annalisa Buffo

Group members:

• Annalisa Buffo (Principal Investigator)
• Enrica Boda (Principal Investigator)
• Roberta Parolisi (PostDoc)
• Valentina Cerrato (PostDoc)
• Giulia Nato (PostDoc)
• Gabriela Berenice Gómez-González (PostDoc)
• Marta Ribodino (PhD Student)
• Maryam Khastkhodaei Ardakani (PhD Student)

Address and contacts:

• Annalisa Buffo, +39 011 6706614, annalisa.buffo@unito.it
• Enrica Boda, +39 011 6706615, enrica.boda@unito.it

External website link

• https://www.nico.ottolenghi.unito.it/Ricerca/Gruppi-di-ricerca/Fisiopatologia-delle-cellule-staminali-cerebrali

Main research activities of the research group
The capacity of the adult central nervous system to self repair and recover from trauma,  stroke, or neurodegenerative diseases is limited. Our research is focused on discovering  new approaches to enhance deficits resulting from damage. This involves exploring brain  development to understand how stem cells function and how different types of cells are  specified and integrated. We utilize this knowledge to create models of cell replacement for  conditions like cerebellar ataxia and Huntington's chorea. We also investigate the potential  of glia and neural progenitors in activating their reparative properties in diseases such as  stroke and multiple sclerosis. Additionally, we study the mechanisms that regulate the  ability of neurons to remodel their own connections, and the role of experience and  rehabilitation in regulating these processes and in the recovery of functions that have been  impaired due to damage.

List of 10 main publications

• Enrica Boda, Martina Lorenzati, Roberta Parolisi, Brian Harding, Gianmarco Pallavicini, Luca Bonfanti, Amanda Moccia, Stephanie Bielas, Ferdinando Di Cunto, Annalisa Buffo  (2022) Molecular and functional heterogeneity in dorsal and ventral  oligodendrocyte progenitor cells of the mouse forebrain in response to DNA damage. Nat Comm 28 April 2022; doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30010-6
• Lorenzati M, Boda E, Parolisi R, Bonato M, Borsello T, Herdegen T, Buffo A*, Vercelli A*. c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) modulates oligodendrocyte progenitor cell architecture, proliferation and myelination. Sci Rep 2021 11:7264. *co-last authors
• Besusso D*#, Schellino R#, Boido M, Belloli S, Parolisi R, Conforti P, Faedo A, Cernigoj M, Campus I, Laporta A, Dickinson Bocchi V, Murtaj V, Parmar M, Spaiardi P, Talpo F,  Maniezzi C, Toselli MG, Biella G, Moresco RM, Vercelli A, Buffo A* and Cattaneo  E*.(2020) Stem Cell-Derived Human Striatal Progenitors Innervate Striatal Targets  and Alleviate Sensorimotor Deficit in a Rat Model of Huntington Disease. Stem  Cell Reports. 2020 Apr 8. pii: S2213-6711(20)30108-9. doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.03.018.  *corresponding authors; #co-first authors.
• Mitoma H, Buffo A, Gelfo F, Guell X, Fucà E, Kakei S, Lee J, Manto M, Petrosini L, Shaikh AG, Schmahmann JD. (2020) Consensus Paper. Cerebellar Reserve: From Cerebellar  Physiology to Cerebellar Disorders. Cerebellum. 19(1):131-153. doi: 10.1007/s12311- 019-01091-9.
• Cerrato V, Parmigiani E, Figueres-Oñate M, Betizeau M, Aprato J, Nanavaty I, Berchialla P, Luzzati F, de'Sperati C, López-Mascaraque L, Buffo A. Multiple  origins and modularity in the spatiotemporal emergence of cerebellar astrocyt eheterogeneity (2018). PLoS Biol. 2018 Sep 27;16(9):e2005513.  doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2005513
• Cerrato V, Mercurio S, Leto K, Fucà E, Hoxha E, Bottes E, Pagin M, Milanese M, Chew-Yee Ngan, Concina G, Ottolenghi S, Chia-Lin Wei, Bonanno G, Pavesi G,  Tempia F, Buffo A and Nicolis KS. Sox2 conditional mutation in mouse causes  ataxic symptoms, cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, and postnatal defects of  Bergmann glia (2018). Glia. 2018 May 6. doi: 10.1002/glia.23448
• Kempf A, Boda E, Kwok JCF, Fritz R, Grande V, Kaelin AM, Ristic Z, Schmandke A, Schmandke A, Tews B, Fawcett JW, Pertz O, Buffo A, Schwab ME. Control of   Cell Shape, Neurite Outgrowth, and Migration by a Nogo-A/HSPG  Dev Cell. 2017 Oct 9;43(1):24-34.e5. doi:  10.1016/j.devcel.2017.08.014.
• Fucà E, Guglielmotto M, Boda E, Rossi F, Leto K, Buffo A. Preventive motor training but not progenitor grafting ameliorates cerebellar ataxia and  deregulated autophagy in tambaleante mice. Neurobiol Dis. 2017 Feb 22.
• Parmigiani E, Leto K, Rolando C, Figueres-Oñate M, López-Mascaraque L, Buffo A, Rossi F (2015) Heterogeneity and Bipotency of Astroglial-Like Cerebellar  Progenitors along the Interneuron and Glial Lineages . J Neurosci 35:7388- 7402.
• Boda E, Di Maria S, Rosa P, Taylor V, Abbracchio MP, Buffo A (2015) Early phenotypic asymmetry of sister oligodendrocyte progenitor cells after  mitosis and its modulation by aging and extrinsic factors. Glia 63:271-286.