Andrea Battistoni
Andrea Battistoni
e-mail:
affiliation: Università di Roma Tor Vergata
research area(s): Chemical Biology, Immunity And Infection
Course: Cell and Molecular Biology
University/Istitution: Università di Roma Tor Vergata
Education and Training
1984−1986: undergraduate student -CNR Center for the Study of Nucleic Acids, University of Rome La Sapienza

1986: Biology degree: 110/110 cum laude. The thesis work was carried out under the supervision of Dr. Luisa Leoni.
Thesis title: kinetic persistence of cruciform structures and preferential positioning of nucleosomes in some regions of plasmids pBR322 and ColE1

1991: PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology. The PhD work was carried out in the laboratories of the Department of Biology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, under the supervision of Prof. Giuseppe Rotilio.
Thesis: Analysis of factors influencing the expression of Xenopus laevis Cu,Zn superoxide dismutases in Escherichia coli.

1991−1992: IRBM (Istituto di Ricerche in Biologia Molecolare − Pomezia −Roma) Fellow − Studies on yeast proteins.

Employment and Research Experience
1993−2001: University researcher in the Biochemistry group at the Department of Biology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.

2001−present: Associate professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biology of the University of Rome Tor Vergata (Scientific sector BIO/10-Biochemistry).

At present he teaches in the degree course of Biotechnology where he hold the following courses: General and Industrial Biochemistry, Biochemistry Methods in Biochemistry; Protein Engineering for Industrial Purposes.

MAIN RESEARCH INTERESTS DURING THE LAST TEN YEARS:
1)investigation of the structural properties, of the mechanism of action and of the biological function of superoxide dismutases, with special interest for the structural properties and role in pathogenesis of the bacterial Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase;
2) Analysis of the role of transition metals and metalloproteins in bacterial virulence.
3) Metal and antioxidants in Cystic Fibrosis pathogenesis.


MAIN CONTRIBUTIONS IN THESE FIELDS:
a) characterization of the first monomeric Cu,ZnSOD and demonstration that the dimeric structure affects both stability and activity of Cu,ZnSODs,
b) exploration of the structural and functional variability of bacterial Cu,ZnSODs;
c) Engineering of hyper−efficient Cu,ZnSODs;
d) demonstration that periplasmic Cu,ZnSOD modulates bacterial survival in phagocytes as well as in epithelial cells;
e) Identification of the ZnuABC transporter as a virulence factor in Gram-negative bacteria and demonstration of the role of zinc in the host-Salmonella interaction

Andrea Battistoni’s researches have received support from CNR, MURST, the Italian Ministry of Health and the Italian Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis Research (FFC). He is co−author of nearly 90 papers published in international Journals indexed by Pub-Med and has been invited as a speaker in several international congresses of the Biochemistry and Microbiology areas.
Since many years our group is involved in researches on metalloproteins and redox processes, with special focus on the relationships between metals, reactive oxygen species and bacterial virulence.
In particular, we are now focusing on the characterization of the mechanisms of zinc and manganese uptake in enteric bacteria and their relevance to the host-pathogen interaction.
Moreover, we are interested in understanding the relationships between the alterations in glutathione (GSH) homeostasis in Cystic Fibrosis patients and the pulmonary infections typical of this disease.
1. Ilari A, Alaleona F, Petrarca P, Battistoni A, Chiancone E. The X-ray Structure of the Zinc Transporter ZnuA from Salmonella enterica Discloses a Unique Triad of Zinc-Coordinating Histidines. J.Mol.Biol. (2011) 409, 630-641
2. Gabbianelli R, Scotti R, Ammendola S, Petrarca P, Nicolini L, Battistoni A. Role of ZnuABC and ZinT in Escherichia coli O157:H7 zinc acquisition and interaction with epithelial cells. BMC Microbiol (2011) 11:36
3. Pesciaroli M, Aloisio F, Ammendola S, Pistoia C, Petrucci P, Tarantino M, Francia M, Battistoni A, Pasquali P. An attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain lacking the ZnuABC transporter induces protection in a mouse intestinal model of Salmonella infection. Vaccine (2011) 29, 1783-1790
4. Ciavardelli D, Ammendola S, Ronci M, Consalvo A, Marzano V, Lipoma M, Sacchetta P, Federici G, Di Ilio C, Battistoni A, Urbani A. Phenotypic profile linked to inhibition of the major Zn influx system in Salmonella enterica: proteomics and ionomics investigations. Mol Biosyst (2011) 7, 608-619
4. D'Angelo P, Zitolo A, Pacello F, Mancini G, Proux O, Hazemann JL, Desideri A, Battistoni A. Fe-heme structure in Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase from Haemophilus ducreyi by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Arch Biochem Biophys (2010) 498, 43-49
6. Petrarca P, Ammendola S, Pasquali P, Battistoni A. The Zur-regulated ZinT protein is an auxiliary component of the high affinity ZnuABC zinc transporter that facilitates metal recruitment during severe zinc shortage. J Bacteriol (2010) 192, 1553-1564
7. D’Orazio M, Cervoni L, Giartosio A, Rotilio G, Battistoni A. Thermal stability and redox properties of M tuberculosis Cu-superoxide dismutase Insights into the role of the zinc ion in Cu,Zn superoxide dismutases. Arch Biochem Biophys (2009) 486, 119–124
8. Ammendola S, Lembo A, Battistoni A, Tagliatesta P, Ghisalberti C, Desideri A. The hydroxamate derivative of the undecylenic acid has a broad antimicrobial activity through a mechanism that limits iron availability. FEMS Microbiol Lett (2009) 294, 61-67
9. Törő I, Petrutz C, Pacello F, D'Orazio M, Battistoni A, Djinović-Carugo K. Structural Basis of Heme Binding in the Cu,Zn Superoxide Dismutase from Haemophilus ducreyi. J Mol Biol (2009) 386, 406-418
10. D’Orazio M, Scotti R, Nicolini L, Cervoni L, Rotilio G, Battistoni A, Gabbianelli R. Regulatory and structural properties differentiating the chromosomal and the bacteriophage-associated Escherichia coli O157:H7 Cu,Zn superoxide dismutases. BMC Microbiol 2008 Oct 1;8:166
11. Mori M, Jiménez B, Piccioli M, Battistoni A, Sette M. The Solution Structure of the Monomeric Copper, Zinc Superoxide Dismutase from Salmonella enterica: Structural Insights to Understand the Evolution toward the Dimeric Structure. Biochemistry 47, 12954–12963
12. Paksi Z, Jancsó A, Pacello F, Nagy N, Battistoni A, Gajda, T. Copper and zinc binding properties of the N-terminal histidine-rich sequence of Haemophilus ducreyi Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase. J InorgBiochem (2008) 102, 1700-1710
13. Pasquali P, Ammendola S, Pistoia C, Petrucci P, Tarantino M, Valente C, Rotilio G, Battistoni, A. Attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium lacking the ZnuABC transporter confers immune-based protection against challenge infections in mice. Vaccine (2008) 26, 3421-3426
14. Vos M, Battistoni A, Lechauve C, Kiger L, Marden M, Desbois A, Pilet E, de Rosny E, Liebl U. Ultrafast heme-residue bond formation in six-coordinate heme proteins: implications for functional ligand exchange. Biochemistry (2008) 47, 5718-5723
15. Ammendola S, Pasquali P, Pacello F, Rotilio G, Castor M ,Libby SJ, Figueroa-Bossi N, Bossi L, Fang FC, Battistoni, A. Regulatory and Structural Differences in the Cu,Zn-Superoxide Dismutases of Salmonella enterica and their Significance for Virulence. J Biol Chem (2008) 283, 13688-13699
16. Berlutti F, Superti F, Nicoletti M, Morea C, Frioni A, Ammendolia MG, Battistoni A, Valenti P. Bovine lactoferrin inhibits the efficiency of invasion of respiratory A549 cells of different iron-regulated morphological forms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cenocepacia. Int J Immunopath Pharmacol (2008) 21, 51-59
17. Pacello F, Ceci P, Ammendola S, Pasquali P, Chiancone E, Battistoni A. Periplasmic Cu,Zn superoxide dismutase and cytoplasmic Dps concur in protecting Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium from extracellular reactive oxygen species. Biochim Biophys Acta (2008) 1780, 226-232
18. Ammendola S, Pasquali P, Pistoia C, Petrucci P, Petrarca P, Rotilio G, Battistoni A. The high affinity Zn2+ uptake system ZnuABC is required for bacterial zinc homeostasis in intracellular environments and contributes to virulence of Salmonella enterica. Infect Immun (2007) 75, 5867-5876

Patents: Ammendola S., Battistoni A., Pasquali. P. Salmonella enterica strains with reduced pathogenicity, method for their preparation and uses therof. PCT/IT2007/000410
No projects are available to students for the current accademic year.