CURRENT POSITION
Full Professor of Microbiology and clinical microbiology (MED/07) School of Biotechnological Sciences, University of Naples Federico II.

EDUCATION:
1990: M.D. degree summa cum laude. University of Naples Federico II
1990-1994: Ph. D Postdoctoral Fellow in Cellular and Molecular Genetics
1994-1999: Residency in Clinical Pathology

PAST POSITIONS:
1997: Assistant Professor of General Microbiology, Department of Enviromental Sciences, School of Enviromental Sciences, Second Univerity of Naples
2006: Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, School of Biotechnological Sciences, University of Naples Federico II

SCIENTIFIC PROFILE: Regulation of the expression of bacterial virulence determinants by phase and antigenic variation ( N. meningitidis). Evaluation of morfhological and functional alterations of endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) after infection in vitro with human pathogens (B. henselae). Animal models of infection (N. meningitidis, B. henselae, B. fragilis).

Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) is a transient colonizer of the human nasopharynx and one of the leading causes of meningitis in particularly amoumg children and young adults. Five serogroups (A, B, C, W135) are responsible of most of the diseases worldwide. The available vaccines protects against serogroups A, C, Y and W135, while no effective vaccine is available against serogroup B, the most common cause of meningococcal disease in Europe. An early diagnosis and a proper approach are extremely important to prevent serious illness or death caused by serogroup B, but fatality rate of treated meningococcal disease is greater than 15%. The study of the pathogenesis of meningococcal disease and the development of protective therapies has been hampered by the lack of valuable and reproducible animal model of infection. In the previous project we have developed a model of meningococcal meningitis in vivo using outbred mice infected intracranially; this experimental system reproduces the pathogenesis of the disease as described in the human host. The effectiveness and utility of the mouse model was tested analyzing the new determinants of virulence of meningococcus. In particular, the virulence of meningococcus isogenic strains deficient in a ABC-type transporter system for L-glutamate, essential for the growth/survival in an in vitro infection model, has been evaluated. Glt-T-defective mutants are attenuated in virulence compared to the wild type strain, suggesting that uptake of L-glutamate is crucial for development of meningococcal meningitis in murine model.
Based on the data obtained, the general objective of the project will be the evaluation of potential new targets for the development of vaccines. The role of two component secrection system HrpB-HrpA will be evaluated in a meningococcal meningitis murine model. Moreover, the potential immunogens both of lysine and protein components of GltT transporter will be analyzed.

R. Capparelli, D. Palumbo, M. Iannaccone, I. Ventimiglia, E. Di Salle, F. Capuano, P. Salvatore and M.G. Amoroso (2006) Cloning and expression of two plant proteins: similar antimicrobial activity of native and recombinant form. Biothecnology Letters, 28 :943-9.

R. Colicchio , C. Pagliarulo, F. Lamberti, G. Vigliotta, C.B. Bruni, P. Alifano, and P. Salvatore (2006) RecB-dependent mutator phenotype in Neisseria meningitidis strains naturally defective in mismatch repair. DNA repair, 5:1428-38.

R. Capparelli, I. Ventimiglia, D. Palumbo, D. Nicodemo, P. Salvatore, M.G. Amoroso, M. Iannaccone. (2007) Expression of recombinant puroindolines for the treatment of staphylococcal skin infections (acne vulgaris). J Biotechnol. 128:606-14.

R. Capparelli, M. Parlato, G. Borriello, P. Salvatore, D. Iannelli (2007) Experimental phage therapy against Staphylococcus aureus in mice. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 51(8):2765-73.

C. Pagliarulo, P. Salvatore, C. Napoli (2008) Targeting vascular niche by parathyroid hormone. Current Medicinal Chemistry 15(28): 2984-90.

P. Salvatore, A. Casamassimi, L. Sommese, C. Fiorito, A. Ciccodicola, R. Rossiello, B Avallone, V. Grimaldi, V. Costa, R. Colicchio, S. Williams-Ignarro, C. Pagliarulo, M.E. Prudente, C. Abbondanza, A. Baroni, F. Lamberti, B. Farzati, M.A. Tufano, LJ.. Ignarro, C. Napoli (2008) Detrimental effects of Bartonella henselae are counteracted by L-arginine and nitric oxide in human endothelial progenitor cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, , 105(27):9427-32.

R. Colicchio, S. Ricci, F. Lamberti, C. Pagliarulo, C. Pagliuca, V. Braione, T. Braccini, A. Talà, D. Montanaro, S. Tripodi, M. Cintorino, G. Troncone, C. Bucci, G. Pozzi, C.B. Bruni, P. Alifano, P. Salvatore (2009) The meningococcal ABC-type L-glutamate transporter GltT is necessary for the developmental of experimental meningitidis in mice. Infection and immunity, 77(9):3578-87.

P. Salvatore, C. Pagliarulo, R. Colicchio, C. Napoli (2010) CXCR4-CXCL12-Dependent inflammatory network and endothelial progenitors. Curr. Med. Chem. 17(27): 3019-29.

V. Costa, L. Sommese, A. Casamassimi, R. Colicchio, C. Angelini, V. Marchesano, L. Milone, B. Farzati, A. Giovane, C. Fiorito, M. Rienzo, M. Picardi, B. Avallone, M.M. Corsi, B. Sarubbi, R. Calabrò, P. Salvatore, A. Ciccodicola, C. Napoli (2010) Impairment of circulating endothelial progenitore in Down sindrome. BMC Med Genomics 13;3:40.

V. Costa, C. Angelini, L. D'Apice, M. Mutarelli, A. Casamassimi, L. Sommese, M.A. Gallo, M. Aprile, R. Esposito, L. Leone, A. Donizetti, S. Crispi, M. Rienzo, B. Sarubbi, R. Calabrò, M. Picardi, P. Salvatore, T. Infante, P. De Bernardinis, C. Napoli and A. Ciccodicola (2011) Massive-Scale RNA-Seq analysis of non ribosomal transcriptome in Human Trisomy 21. PLoS ONE, 6 (4): e18493.

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