Maria Rosaria Pinto
Research interests: From 1978 to 1999, scientific interest has been focused on gamete self-nonself recognition in the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. From 2000, the interest has been centered on the study of C. intestinalis immune system, and in particular on C3, the key component of the Complement System using different methodological approaches.
Most relevant publications:
Dishaw L.J., Flores-Torres J.A., Mueller M.G., Karrer C.R., Skapura D.P., et al. 2012. A Basal chordate model for studies of gut microbial immune interactions. Frontiers in Immunolology 3: 96.
Giacomelli S., Melillo D., Lambris J.D., Pinto M.R. 2012. Immune competence of the Ciona intestinalis pharynx: Complement system-mediated activity. Fish and Shellfish Immunol 33: 946-952.
Dishaw L.J., Giacomelli S., Melillo D., Zucchetti I., Haire R.N., Natale L., Russo N.A., De Santis R., Litman G.W., Pinto M.R. 2011. A role for variable region-containing chitin-binding proteins (VCBPs) in host gut-bacteria interactions. Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 108: 16747-52.
Zucchetti I., Marino R., Pinto M.R., Lambris J.D., Du Pasquier L. & De Santis R. 2008. ciCD94-1, an ascidian multipurpose C-type lectin-like receptor expressed in Ciona intestinalis hemocytes and larval neural structures. Differentiation 76: 267-82.
Marino R., Melillo D., Di Filippo M., Yamada A., Pinto M.R., De Santis R., Brown E.R. & Matassi G. 2007. Ammonium channel expression is essential for brain development and function in the larva of Ciona intestinalis. Journal of Comparative Neurology 503: 135-147.
Pinto M.R., Melillo D., Giacomelli S., Sfyroera G. & Lambris J.D. 2007. Ancient origin of the complement system: emerging invertebrate models. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 598: 372-388.
Melillo D., Sfyroera G., De Santis R., Graziano R., Marino R., Lambris J.D. & Pinto M.R. 2006. First identification of a chemotactic receptor in an invertebrate species: structural and functional characterization of Ciona intestinalis C3a receptor. Journal of Immunology 177: 4132-4140.
Pinto M.R., Chinnici C.M., Kimura Y., Melillo D., Marino R., Spruce L.A., De Santis R., Parrinello N. & Lambris J.D. 2003. CiC3-1a-mediated chemotaxis in the deuterostome invertebrate Ciona intestinalis (Urochordata). Journal of Immunology 171: 5521-5528.
Azumi K., De Santis R., De Tomaso A., Rigoutsos I., Yoshizaki F., Pinto M.R., Marino R., Shida K., Ikeda M., Arai M., Inoue Y., Shimizu T., Satoh N., Rokhsar D.S., Du Pasquier L., Kasahara M., Satake M. & Nonaka M. 2003. Genomic analysis of immunity in a Urochordate and the emergence of the vertebrate immune system: "waiting for Godot". Immunogenetics 55: 570-581.
Marino R., Kimura Y., De Santis R., Lambris J.D. & Pinto M.R. 2002. Complement in urochordates: cloning and characterization of two C3-like genes in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Immunogenetics 53: 1055-1064.
-
Group leaders
-
More