
Biosketch and CV
1994: Degree, Biological Sciences, University of Florence, Italy.
1996: Visiting Scientist award at the IMM, Imperial Cancer Research Fund University of Oxford, UK.
1997: Visiting Scientist award at the, GBF, Dept. Gene-expression, Germany.
1996-2000: Ph.D. Student, University of Florece, Italy.
2001-2007: Post-Doc position at the University of Siena, Dep. of Molecular Biology, Italy.
2001: Visiting Scientist at the U.T. South Western Medical School, Dallas, TX USA.
2004: Investigator Scientist at the MRC, Toxicologic Unit, University of Leicester, UK.
2007-present: Assistant Professor at the University of Siena, Dep. of Life Sciences, Siena, Italy.
Research Interests
- Characterization of the involvement of inflammatory mediators (prostanoids) in the evolution of angiogenesis-dependent diseases as tumor growth and metastasis;
- Preclinical development of drugs active on angiogenesis and inflammation;
- New therapeutic strategies for senile dementia: role of beta amyloid on microcirculation;
- Evaluation of PKC agonists and antagonists in modulating angiogenesis;
- Pharmacogenetic studies.
Research Group
Federica Finetti
Erika Terzuoli
Raffaella Solito
Chiara Lucchetti
Lorenzo Bazzani
Teaching Activities
- Drugs OTC and Pharmacovigilance (Single cycle degree in Pharmacy)
- Pharmacology (Specialization School of Genetic Medicine)
- Pharmacology (Specialization School of Alimentary Sciences)
Selected Publications
- Solito R, Corti F, Chen CH, Mochly-Rosen D, Giachetti A, Ziche M, Donnini S. Mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 activation prevents β amyloids induced endothelial cell dysfunction and restores angiogenesis. J Cell Sci., (2013)
- Finetti F, Terzuoli E, Bocci E, Coletta I, Polenzani L, Mangano G, Alisi MA, Cazzolla N, Giachetti A, Ziche M, Donnini S. Pharmacological inhibition of microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 suppresses epidermal growth factor receptor-mediated tumor growth and angiogenesis. PLoS One,7(7):e40576 (2012)
- Donnini S, Finetti F, Terzuoli E, Giachetti A, Iñiguez MA, Hanaka H, Fresno M, Rådmark O, Ziche M. EGFR signaling upregulates expression of microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 in cancer cells leading to enhanced tumorigenicity. Oncogene, 31(29):3457-66 (2012)
- Terzuoli E, Donnini S, Giachetti A, Iñiguez MA, Fresno M, Melillo G, Ziche M. Inhibition of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha by dihydroxyphenylethanol, a product from olive oil, blocks microsomal prostaglandin-E synthase-1/vascular endothelial growth factor expression and reduces tumor angiogenesis. Clin. Cancer Res., 16(16):4207-16 (2010)
- Monti M, Donnini S, Giachetti A, Mochly-Rosen D, Ziche M. deltaPKC inhibition or varepsilonPKC activation repairs endothelial vascular dysfunction by regulating eNOS post-translational modification. J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol., 48(4):746-56 (2010)
- Donnini S, Solito R, Cetti E, Corti F, Giachetti A, Carra S, Beltrame M, Cotelli F, Ziche M. A{beta} peptides accelerate the senescence of endothelial cells in vitro and in vivo, impairing angiogenesis. FASEB J., 24(7):2385-95 (2010)
- Finetti F, Donnini S, Giachetti A, Morbidelli L, Ziche M. Prostaglandin E(2) primes the angiogenic switch via a synergic interaction with the fibroblast growth factor-2 pathway. Circ. Res., 105(7):657-66 (2009)
- Finetti F, Solito R, Morbidelli L, Giachetti A, Ziche M, Donnini S. Prostaglandin E2 regulates angiogenesis via activation of fibroblast growth factor receptor-1. J. Biol. Chem., 283(4):2139-46 (2008)
- Donnini S, Finetti F, Solito R, Terzuoli E, Sacchetti A, Morbidelli L, Patrignani P, Ziche M. EP2 prostanoid receptor promotes squamous cell carcinoma growth through epidermal growth factor receptor transactivation and iNOS and ERK1/2 pathways. FASEB J., 21
- Donnini S, Cantara S, Morbidelli L, Giachetti A, Ziche M. FGF-2 overexpression opposes the beta amyloid toxic injuries to the vascular endothelium. Cell Death Differ., 13(7):1088-96 (2006).