Egidio Stigliano

Publications (27) View all

• Article: Haemophagocytic syndrome associated with mucormycosis infection.

  V Arena, F De-Giorgio, I Pennacchia, R Manna, G Vetrugno, E Stigliano, N Milic, G Gasbarrini, L Abenavoli
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  ABSTRACT: Several clinical forms of mucormycosis are recognized. The tendency of mucoraceous zygomycetes to invade the blood vessels often produces a disseminated infection. A case of a disseminated mucormycosis complicated by a haemophagocytic syndrome (HS) in a 32-year-old Caucasian male is reported in this article. Few cases of infection-associated HS (IAHS), involving infections caused by fungi, have been reported. In all the recorded cases, the fungal infection coexists with malignant lymphoma, immunodeficiency and a long-term steroid therapy for renal transplant or Crohn’s disease. This is the second described case of the HS due to mucormycosis.
  International journal of immunopathology and pharmacology 07/2012; 25(3):751-5. · 2.99 Impact Factor
• Article: Increased expression of CD133 and reduced dystroglycan expression are strong predictors of poor outcome in colon cancer patients.

  Claudio Coco, Gian F Zannoni, Emanuele Caredda, Stefano Sioletic, Alma Boninsegna, Mario Migaldi, Gianluca Rizzo, Luca R Bonetti, Giannicola Genovese, Egidio Stigliano, Achille Cittadini, Alessandro Sgambato
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  ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Expression levels of CD133, a cancer stem cell marker, and of the alpha-subunit of the dystroglycan (alpha-DG) complex, have been previously reported to be altered in colorectal cancers. METHODS: Expression levels of CD133 and alpha-DG were assessed by immunohistochemistry in a series of colon cancers and their prognostic significance was evaluated. RESULTS: Scattered cells positive for CD133 were rarely detected at the bases of the crypts in normal colonic mucosa while in cancer cells the median percentage of positive cells was 5% (range 0--80). A significant correlation was observed with pT parameter and tumor stage but not with tumor grade and N status. Recurrence and death from disease were significantly more frequent in CD133-high expressing tumors and Kaplan-Meier curves showed a significant separation between high vs low expressor groups for both disease-free (p = 0.002) and overall (p = 0.008) survival.Expression of alpha-DG was reduced in a significant fraction of tumors but low alpha-DG staining did not correlated with any of the classical clinical-pathological parameters. Recurrence and death from the disease were significantly more frequent in alpha-DG-low expressing tumors and Kaplan-Meier curves showed a significant separation between for both disease-free (p = 0.02) and overall (p = 0.02) survival. Increased expression of CD133, but not loss of alpha-DG, confirmed to be an independent prognostic parameters at a multivariate analysis associated with an increased risk of recurrence (RR = 2.4; p = 0.002) and death (RR = 2.3; p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Loss of alpha-DG and increased CD133 expression are frequent events in human colon cancer and evaluation of CD133 expression could help to identify high-risk colon cancer patients.
  Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 09/2012; 31(1):71. · 2.15 Impact Factor
• Article: Rapamycin reduces clinical signs and neuropathic pain in a chronic model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

  L Lisi, P Navarra, R Cirocchi, A Sharp, E Stigliano, D L Feinstein, C Dello Russo
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  ABSTRACT: Current treatments used in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are partly effective in the early stages of the disease but display very limited benefits in patients affected by progressive MS. One possible explanation is that these therapies are unable to target the inflammatory component most active during the progressive phase of the disease, and compartmentalized behind the blood-brain barrier. Our findings show that Rapamycin ameliorates clinical and histological signs of chronic EAE when administered during ongoing disease. Moreover, Rapamycin significantly reduced the hyperalgesia observed before clinical development of EAE which, in turn, is completely abolished by the administration of the drug.
  Journal of neuroimmunology 02/2012; 243(1-2):43-51. · 2.84 Impact Factor
• Article: Ex vivo-transduced autologous skin fibroblasts expressing human Lim mineralization protein-3 efficiently form new bone in animal models.

  W Lattanzi, C Parrilla, A Fetoni, G Logroscino, G Straface, G Pecorini, E Stigliano, A Tampieri, R Bedini, R Pecci, F Michetti, A Gambotto, P D Robbins, E Pola
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  ABSTRACT: Local gene transfer of the human Lim mineralization protein (LMP), a novel intracellular positive regulator of the osteoblast differentiation program, can induce efficient bone formation in rodents. To develop a clinically relevant gene therapy approach to facilitate bone healing, we have used primary dermal fibroblasts transduced ex vivo with Ad.LMP-3 and seeded on a hydroxyapatite/collagen matrix prior to autologous implantation. Here, we demonstrate that genetically modified autologous dermal fibroblasts expressing Ad.LMP-3 are able to induce ectopic bone formation following implantation of the matrix into mouse triceps and paravertebral muscles. Moreover, implantation of the Ad.LMP-3-modified dermal fibroblasts into a rat mandibular bone critical size defect model results in efficient healing, as determined by X-rays, histology and three-dimensional microcomputed tomography (3DmuCT). These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the non-secreted intracellular osteogenic factor LMP-3 in inducing bone formation in vivo. Moreover, the utilization of autologous dermal fibroblasts implanted on a biomaterial represents a promising approach for possible future clinical applications aimed at inducing new bone formation.
  Gene therapy 10/2008; 15(19):1330-43. · 4.75 Impact Factor
• Article: Ischemic injury activates PTHrP and PTH1R expression in human ventricular cardiomyocytes

  Giovanni Monego, Vincenzo Arena, Sandra Pasquini, Egidio Stigliano, Roberta Fiaccavento, Ornella Leone, Giorgio Arpesella, Luciano Potena, Franco Oreste Ranelletti, Paolo Di Nardo, Arnaldo Capelli
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  ABSTRACT: The PTHrP/PTH1R signalling system induces calciotropic and myorelaxant effects on the vascular system and plays critical roles in the development of the cardiovascular system. In animal models, PTHrP exerts important effects on heart rate and contractility, particularly under ischemic conditions, while, in human hearts, the expression of PTHrP by cardiomyocytes remains to be defined in both normal and ischemic conditions. The present study has been conducted on 101 autoptical cases and confirmed on nine explanted hearts in order to analyze the expression of the PTHrP/PTH1R system by ventricular myocardium in respect to morphological aspects of the myocardial ischemic damage, myofiber hypertrophy and disarray, coronarosclerosis, age and sex. Immunohistochemistry showed positive cytoplasmic immunostaining for both PTHrP and PTH1R in ventricular cardiomyocytes. The expression levels of the PTHrP/PTH1R system resulted significantly increased (P=0.0008 and P<0.0001, respectively) in association with the myocardial ischemic damage and the presence of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy (P=0.02 and P=0.009 respectively). Conversely, increased expression levels of PTHrP alone were observed in myofiber disarray (P=0.04), whereas PTH1R was augmented in coronarosclerosis (P=0.004) and age (P=0.001). Taken together, these results demonstrate that human ventricular cardiomyocytes express PTHrP and PTH1R and suggest that the activation of the PTHrP/PTH1R system could represent an aspect of the embryonic gene program typically reactivated by the myocardium when subjected to ischemia and/or hypertrophy.
  Archiv für Kreislaufforschung 04/2012; 104(4):427-434. · 7.35 Impact Factor