Experimental Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (LEBMB)
Director: Prof. Giovanni Lombardi
OVERVIEW
Our laboratory studies the physiological mechanisms governing the responses to external stimulation of the musculoskeletal apparatus and the molecular mechanisms involved in its pathological modifications. With an integrative view, we study how the pathophysiological response of the musculoskeletal apparatus, to a specific stimulation, modulates/modifies the function/activity of other organs and tissues. In other words, we study the endocrine function of the musculoskeletal apparatus and hence the molecular ways by which it signals its metabolic/activation status to the rest of the body. A specific field of application for these studies is represented by sport and exercise physiology, an ambit in which we are internationally recognized as leaders.
Our group is also involved in the BioBank project, drawn with the aim of making available human specimens obtained from orthopaedic surgeries.
The research team encompasses different expertises working together synergistically: medical biotechnologists, industrial biotechnologists, and biologists bring expertises in biochemistry, molecular and cellular biology, endocrinology, and nutrition allowing the investigation of multiple research aspects as well as the capability to receipt and develop clinical questions.
The activity of the team is based on the application of the most up-to-date techniques: establishment/propagation of primary and in line in vitro cell cultures from human/animal tissues; prokaryotic cultures; biochemical analyses of cell viability and metabolic activity; molecular analyses by PCR, RT-PCR, real-time PCR; molecular cloning and nucleic acids purification and analysis; overexpression/silencing techniques; molecule detection by single and multiplex immunoassays, and western-blot; histological analysis of human specimens and cell cultures.
Several national and international collaborations are currently active, making our laboratory very well included in the global panorama of the endocrinology of bone and skeletal muscle. The lab is an active member of the EATRIS (European Infrastructure for Translational Medicine) for the Biomarker platform, and partner of Trialect, Inc. for worldwide students training.