Traslational physiology and nutrition

Dr. Enzo Spisni, Dr. Chiara Valerii, Dr. Elena Cavazza, Dr. Luigia de Fazio, Dr. Alessio Papi, Dr. Antonietta Comparone

Main objective is the understanding of the physiology of the digestive tract, and the complex interactions between nutrients and the cells of the intestinal wall. In particular, studies are focused on the pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory properties of single nutrients and single foods. The research on these issues was held in Bologna in close collaboration with the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Unit, Hospital S. Orsola Malpighi, and includes in vitro and in vivo studies, including clinical trials enrolling patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The close collaboration with the Spinoff “Targeting Gut Disease” extends the research to the study of plant extracts and functional food active compounds able to modulate inflammation and intestinal microbiome. The group also carries out applied studies on the evaluation and validation of new biomarkers for chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. The techniques used are the multiplex analysis of cytokine and chemokines (Luminex method), proteomic techniques (Immunoproteomics, 2DE) in addition to PCR and qPCR, Western blotting, mass spectrometry, optical microscopy (immunohistochemistry) and confocal microscopy.