Full Professor of Biochemistry,
Dpartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine
Università del Piemonte Orientale Amedeo Avogadro, Novara, Italy

Born in Livorno, Italy, March 11 1958
e-mail: graziani@med.unipmn.it
Lab adress: v. Solaroli 17, 28100 Novara.
Tel 0321-660-619 or 676 Fax: 0321-620-421
Educational Traning and Employment
1982: "laurea" in Biological Science at the University of Pisa, Italy, 110/110 cum laude.
1986: diploma of "Specialist in Pharmacology Research" (PhD equivalent) by the Mario Negri Institute Pharmacology School, Milan, Italy.
1986-1990: post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Lewis C. Cantley at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Tufts University Medical School, Boston, USA.
1990-1995: Senior Scientist in the laboratory of Prof. Paolo M. Comoglio, Dept. of Biomedicine and Oncology, University of Torino Medical School, Torino, Italy.
Lecturer of "Molecular Cell Biology: molecular and cellular basis of membrane receptor function and signal transduction", University of Torino Medical School.
1996-1999: Ricercatore (instructor) of Biochemistry at the Department of Genetics, Biology and Biochemistry of the University of Torino (PI: Prof. Federico Bussolino)
2000-2006: Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Dept. of Medical Sciences, School of Medicine of the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara
2006- Full professor of Biochemistry, Dept. of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine of the University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara

Awards, grants and honours
1986-1987: EEC (European Economic Community) post-doctoral fellow.
1987-1989: American Heart Association post-doctoral fellow.
1989-1990: EORTC-NCI (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer- National Cancer Institute) post-doctoral fellow.
2007- Member of the scientific committee of the "Interdisciplinary center of Biotechnologies for Medical Applied Medicine", of the University of Piemonte Orientale A. Avogadro
Member of the Italian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SIB), the British Royal Biochemical Society, The American Endocrine Society and the Association for Cellular Biology and Differentiation (ABCD, FISV)

-1) Role of positive and negative regulation of diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs) in controlling respectively diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid signaling in receptor-mediated cell signaling:
- role of negative regulation of DGKa in Antigen-stimulated T cell activation.
- role of positive regulation of DGKa in oncogenes, growth factors and chemokines proliferative and pro-invasive signaling in vitro and in vivo.
- role of DGKa in integrin trafficking, cell migration and polarity
- role of DGKa in cancer stem cells tumorigenic, chemoresistant and invasive phenotype.
"2) role of acylated and unacylated ghrelin in skeletal and myocardial muscle:
- molecular mechanisms of its anti-atrophic and
- identification of alternative common receptors for acylated and unacylated ghrelin.
3) Collaborations on the role of lipid kinases in different aspects of cell biology

Current grants:
- Fondazione CARIPLO 2011-12: independent unit of the project "lipid signaling and endocytic circuitry in the plasticity of tumor cell migration and invasion" ( coordinated by Giorgio Scita, IFOM).
- Telethon 2011-12: role of diacylglycerol kinase alpha in SAP function: implications for T-cell mediated immune response in XLP (X-linked lymphoproliferative disease) patients and as possible pharmacological target for XLP treatment.
- AIRC 2008-2011: Role of Diacylglycerol kinase alpha in the transduction of oncogenic signaling"- PRIN 2007-10 (MIUR): Molecular mechanisms of chemoresistance and invasiveness of cancer stem cells: role of IL-4, HGF and CD44

- Baldanzi G, Pighini A, Rainero E, Bettio V, Traini S, Chianale F, Proporato P, Filigheddu N, Mesturini R, Song S, Schweighoffer T, van Blitterswijk W, Rubio I., Sinigaglia F., Nichols K., Zhong XP, Parolini O, Graziani A. SAP-mediated inhibition of diacylglcyerol kinase alpha regulates TCR-induced diacylglcyerol signaling. J. Immunol. ,2011, in press
- Filigheddu N., Sampietro S., Porporato PE, Gaggianesi M., Chianale F., Rainero E., ..., Baldanzi GL, Graziani A*, Surico N.* Diacylglycerol kinase α mediates 17-β-estradiol-induced proliferation, motility and anchorage-independent growth of Hec-1A endometrial cancer cell line
Cellular Signaling, 2011, in press
-Baldanzi G, Pietronave S, ...Porporato P, Chianale F, Albini A, Graziani A*, Prat M* Diacylglycerol kinases are essential for HGF-dependent proliferation and motility of Kaposi's Sarcoma cells. Cancer Science, 2011, in press
- Chianale F, Rainero E, Cianflone C, Bettio V, Pighini A, Porporato PE, Filigheddu N, Serini G, Sinigaglia F, Baldanzi G, Graziani A. Diacylglycerol kinase alpha mediates HGF-induced Rac activation and membrane ruffling by regulating atypical PKC and RhoGDI.
PNAS U S A. 2010 Mar 2;107(9):4182-7
- Baldanzi G, ... , van Blitterswijk WJ, Albano E, Graziani A*, Carini R.* Negative regulation of diacylglycerol kinase theta mediates adenosine-dependent hepatocyte preconditioning.
Cell Death Differ. 2010 Jun;17(6):1059-68
- Rubio I, ..., Graziani A, Wittig U, Kliche S. TCR-induced activation of Ras proceeds at the plasma membrane and requires palmitoylation of N-Ras. J Immunol. 2010, 185(6):3536-43.
- Erriquez J,... Filigheddu N, Graziani A, Distasi C. Calcium signals activated by ghrelin and D-Lys(3)-GHRP-6 ghrelin antagonist in developing dorsal root ganglion glial cells.
Cell Calcium. 2009 Sep;46(3):197-208.
- Yang JS, .... , Baldanzi G, Graziani A, Bourgoin S., Frohman MA, Luini A and Hsu VW. COPI vesicle fission: a role for phosphatidic acid and insight into Golgi maintenance
Nature Cell Biol (2008) 10:1146-53
- Baldanzi G, Cutrupi S, Chianale F, Rainero E, Porporato P, Gnocchi V, Filigheddu N, Blitterswijk WJ, Parolini O, Bussolino F, Sinigaglia F, Graziani A. Diacylglycerol kinase-α phosphorylation by Src on Tyr 335 is required for activation, membrane recruitment and HGF induced cell motility
Oncogene (2008) 27, 942-956
- Guidetti GF, ...., Baldanzi G, Graziani A, Balduini C, Torti M. The Gi-coupled P2Y12 receptor regulates diacylglycerol-mediated signaling in human platelets.
J Biol Chem. (2008) 283:28795-805
- Chianale F., Cutrupi S., Rainero E., Baldanzi GL., Porporato P.E., Traini S., Filigheddu N., Gnocchi V., Santoro M., Parolini O., Sinigaglia F., Graziani A. Diacylglycerol kinase-α mediates HGF-induced epithelial cell scatter by regulating Rac activation and membrane ruffling.
Mol.Biol.Cell (2007) 18, 4859-4871
- Filigheddu N, Gnocchi V, .... Muccioli GP, Crepaldi T, Graziani A Ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin promote differentiation and fusion of c2c12 skeletal muscle cells Mol.Biol.Cell (2007) 18:986-94
- Carini R. Alchera, Baldanzi G., .... Saraceni, Graziani A., Albano E. Role of p38 MAPK in Glycine-induced hepatocyte resistance to hypoxic injury Journal of Hepatology (2007) 6:692-9
- Filigheddu N, Cutrupi S., Porporato P.E., Riboni F., Baldanzi G., Chianale F.,....., Graziani A., Surico N. Diacylglycerol Kinase α is Required for HGF-induced Invasiveness and Anchorage-independent Growth of MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells. Anticancer Res. (2007) 27:1489-92.

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