OggioniLab - prof. Oggioni
Research Fields
Host-pathogen interaction in translational models and microbial epigenetics
Research projects carried out at CRBA
- “Interaction of bacteria with tissue macrophages”
We have two main lines of research which are relative to host-microbe interaction before the start of invasive disease and the evaluation of epigenetic gene regulation in bacteria.
Prof. Oggioni currently chief investigator of two clinical trials for perfuse ex vivo and infect human spleens and liver segments at the University of Leicester. With Prof. Ravaioli they have applied for a similar project in Bologna. This experimental set-up is unique in the world and aims to define the key molecular and cellular events involved in efficiently removed of pathogens from the blood stream by innate cellular immunity and what goes wrong in rare cases when invasive infection might develop.
On the other hand, we explore how DNA methylation influences bacterial gene expression in a panel of model organisms by monitoring reporter gene expression of methylated and non-methylated promoters. The aim of this second project is to evidence how methylation systems, and in particular phase-variable methylation systems, influence microbial diversity and fitness.