Neuro-Immuno-Pharmacology

Principal Investigator: Prof. Massimo Collino

Group members

• Massimo Collino (Full Professor)
• Ilaria Bertocchi (Assistant Professor RTDB of pharmacology)
• Alessandra Oberto (Assistant Professor RU of pharmacology)
• Alessandra Lodi (research fellow)
• Lorenzo Cifarelli (PhD student)
• Enrica Marzani (PhD student)

Address and contacts

• Massimo Collino, 011-6706861, massimo.collino@unito.it
• Ilaria Bertocchi, 011-6706611, ilaria.bertocchi@unito.it

External website

Main research activities of the research group

Using in vivo preclinical experimental models, we study the effects of pharmacological treatments targeting key mediators and signaling pathways involved in the inflammatory response at a central and peripheral level, which can be dysregulated by insults to the nervous system (e.g. ischemia), by genetics, but also by particular life-styles (e.g. diet, stress). Furthermore, we study genotype-phenotype correlation in models of neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, also investigating the role of molecules involved in the control of brain plasticity, with the aim of identifying new, more effective therapeutic interventions.

List of 10 main publications

• Bertocchi I, Cifarelli L, Oberto A, Eva C, Sprengel R, Mirza NR, Muglia P (2024). Radiprodil, a selective GluN2B negative allosteric modulator, rescues audiogenic seizures in mice carrying the GluN2A(N615S) mutation. Br J Pharmacol. 2024. IF: 9.473
• Bertocchi I, Rocha-Almeida F, Romero-Barraga ́ MT, Cambiaghi M, Carretero-Guille ́ A, Botta P, Dogbevia GK, Trevino M, Mele P, Oberto A, Larkum ME, Gruart A, Sprengel R, Delgado-Garcıa JM and Hasan MT (2023). Pre- and postsynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors are required for sequential printing of fear memory engrams. iScience, Volume 26, Issue 11, 17 November 2023, 108050.
• Almasri F, Collotta D, Aimaretti E, Sus N, Aragno M, Dal Bello F, Eva C, Mastrocola R, Landberg R, Frank J, Collino M. Dietary Intake of Fructooligosaccharides Protects against Metabolic Derangements Evoked by Chronic Exposure to Fructose or Galactose in Rats. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2024;68(4): e2300476. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.202300476.
• Collotta D, Bertocchi I, Chiapello E, Collino M (2023). Antisense oligonucleotides: a novel frontier in pharmacological strategy. Front. Pharmacol. 14:1304342.
• Oberto A, Bertocchi I, Longo A, Bonzano S, Paterlini S, Meda C, Della Torre S, Palanza P, Maggi A and Eva C (2022). Hypothalamic NPY-Y1R Interacts with Gonadal Hormones in Protecting Female Mice against Obesity and Neuroinflammation. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jun 6;23(11):6351.
• Alves GF, Stoppa I, Aimaretti E, Monge C, Mastrocola R, Porchietto E, Einaudi G, Collotta D, Bertocchi I, Boggio E, Gigliotti CL, Clemente N, Aragno M, Fernandes D, Cifani C, Thiemermann C, Dianzani C, Dianzani U, Collino M. 2022 ICOS-Fc as innovative immunomodulatory approach to counteract inflammation and organ injury in sepsis. Front Immunol. 2022 Sep 2;13:992614.
• Alves GF, Aimaretti E, Einaudi G, Mastrocola R, de Oliveira JG, Collotta D, Porchietto E, Aragno M, Cifani C, Sordi R, Thiemermann C, Fernandes D, Collino M. 2022 Pharmacological Inhibition of FAK-Pyk2 Pathway Protects Against Organ Damage and Prolongs the Survival of Septic Mice. Front Immunol. 2022;13:837180.
• Di Pasqua LG, Berardo C, Cagna M, Verta R, Collotta D, Nicoletti F, Ferrigno A, Vairetti M., Collino M 2021 Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor Blockade Reduces Preservation Damage in Livers from Donors after Cardiac Death. Int J Mol Sci. 2021; 22(5):2234.
• Bertocchi I, Foglietta F, Collotta D, Eva C, Brancaleone V, Thiemermann C, Collino M (2020). The hidden role of NLRP3 inflammasome in obesity-related COVID-19 exacerbations: Lessons for drug repurposing. Br J Pharmacol. 2020 Nov;177(21):4921-4930. doi: 10.1111/bph.15229. Epub 2020 Aug 26. PMID: 32776354; PMCID: PMC7436458. IF: 9.473
• Mastrocola R, Collotta D, Gaudioso G, Le Berre M, Cento AS, Ferreira Alves G, Chiazza F, Verta R, Bertocchi I, Manig F, Hellwig M, Fava F, Cifani C, Aragno M, Henle T, Joshi L, Tuohy K, Collino M 2020 Effects of Exogenous Dietary Advanced Glycation End Products on the Cross-Talk Mechanisms Linking Microbiota to Metabolic Inflammation. Nutrients. 2020 Aug 19;12(9):E2497.