ERC Starting Grant 2022 awarded to Serena Sanna at the IRGB
“SEMICYCLE” the project conceived by Serena Sanna, of the Institute of genetic and biomedical research (Irgb) of the National Research Council of Cagliari, was funded under the Starting Grants 2022 program of the European Research Council (ERC) for a total of 1.5 million euros. The project is aimed at understanding the interactions between female sex hormones and the microbiota for an efficient personalized medicine in cardiometabolic disorders in women: in particular, it responds to the need to improve knowledge on the biological mechanisms responsible for these pathologies, which today represent one of the leading causes of female mortality.
In addition to the Cnr-Irgb research group (formed by the coordinator Serena Sanna, researchers Fabio Busonero, Francesca Crobu, Andrea Maschio, and two other researchers who will be recruited specifically for the project), staff from the Burlo-Garofolo Hospital in Trieste and of the Groningen Microbiome Center of the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands […]
The hidden gene-microbes communication
In a new study, a group of researchers from the University of Groningen who have joined forces as the Groningen Microbiome Team have shown that your genes influence the composition of your gut microbiome. Dr. Serena Sanna, now Director of Research at the IRGB-CNR Institute has coordinated this study together with [...]
The Human δ-globin gene as a therapeutic tool for β-hemoglobinopathies
A grant recently approved will evaluate a possible approach to the treatment of β-hemoglobinopathies based on the enhancement of HbA2 expression. […]
A Sardinian founder mutation in glycoprotein Ib platelet subunit beta (GP1BB) that impacts thrombocytopenia
A study recently published in British Journal of Haematology described a novel missense mutation (p.Pro27Ser) in the GP1BB gene associated with platelets count reduction. […]
Systematic Prioritization of Candidate Genes in Disease Loci Identifies TRAFD1 as a Master Regulator of IFNγ Signaling in Celiac Disease
The only cure for celiac disease is lifelong adherence to a strict gluten-free diet. IRGB Researchers and collaborators of the University of Groningen have identified a master regulator gene that is a potential drug target for an alternative cure. […]
Complex genetic signatures in immune cells underlie autoimmunity and inform therapy.
A new high-resolution genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Italy has revealed genetic variations that can affect autoimmune disease propensity. The research has increased the number of genetic variants known to be involved in the regulation of specific immune cell types, and identified novel targets for treatment. [...]
Mendelian randomization while jointly modeling cis genetics identifies causal relationships between gene expression and lipids.
A study published in the Nature Communications journal propose an MR method, MR-link, that accounts for unobserved pleiotropy and LD by leveraging information from individual-level data, even when only one eQTL variant is present. Inference of causality between gene expression and complex traits using Mendelian randomization (MR) is [...]
LinDA
LinDA is a tool that, for a given variant, determines all the variants in Linkage Disequilibrium and whether they intersect with other association studies. A large manually curated collection of QTL and association studies can be easily interrogated and results are displayed with interactive plots and tables. LinDA offers [...]
Discovery of a gene variant that confers risk of multiple sclerosis and lupus
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports an important new mechanism of predisposition to two autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis (MS) and systemic lupus erythematosus (Lupus). The study, supported by the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM) and the National Institute on Aging of the NIH, was carried [...]