The Hematopathology Unit’s research focuses on two main areas of investigation.
The first area seeks to characterize the biological processes that transform blood progenitor and stem cells into leukemic cells, driving the progression of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) in humans. The Unit’s studies specifically aim to define the functional roles of molecular and epigenetic pathways frequently altered in T-ALL during the early stages of T-cell transformation, as well as in the maintenance and development of leukemic stem cells. To identify novel therapeutic targets that could improve current treatments and enable new strategies for personalized medicine, the Unit employs an integrated experimental approach. This includes animal models, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) cell lines, multiparametric flow cytometry, ChIP-seq, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq), and genetic manipulation using lentiviral transduction and CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing.
The second area of research focuses on the identification of novel extracellular markers uniquely expressed in tumor cell populations enriched with leukemic stem cells in T-ALL patients, aiming to develop innovative Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-based therapies. This research specifically targets:
- Characterizing the cellular heterogeneity of phenotypically defined subclones in response to conventional therapies using flow cytometry and scRNA-Seq.
- Identifying molecular and cellular mediators responsible for aggressive clinical behavior.
Developing CAR-expressing cells targeting extracellular markers uniquely expressed in leukemic stem cell-enriched populations that are resistant to standard treatments.
Equipe
Post-dottorato: Dott. Mattia Miroballo
Lab Manager: Elisabetta De Santis
Student: Mattia Colucci
Student: Miriana Marino
Student: Beatrice Totti
Student: Sabrina Pennelli
Student: Gaja Bruno
Student: Emanuele Murgo
- Biostatistic unit
- Bioinformatics Research Unit
- Cell reprogramming unit
- Medical genetics laboratory
- Functional genomics laboratory
- Huntington research and care unit
- Hemostasis and thrombosis laboratory
- Diabetes and endocrinology research laboratory
- Gastroenterology laboratory
- Hepatology laboratory
- Geriatrics laboratory
- Oncology laboratory
- Cancer Stem Cells unit
- Cancer Biomarkers unit
- Hematopathology unit
- Tissue engineering unit
- Advanced Therapies Production Unit