Corrado Garbi
Corrado Garbi
e-mail:
affiliation: Università di Napoli Federico II
research area(s): Cell Biology, Molecular Biology
Course: Molecular Pathology and Pathophysiology
University/Istitution: Università di Napoli Federico II
Academic Career:
1977: Medical Doctor Degree summa cum laude in Medicine and Surgery, University of Naples Federico II.
1984: University Researcher. Dpt. Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e Molecolare, University of Naples
1985: Residency in Clinical Pathology
1992: Associate Professor of Cell Biology at the Medical School, University of Naples.
2004: Full Professor of Cell Biology Dpt. Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e Molecolare, Medical School, University of Naples.

Present position:
Full Professor of Cell Biology. Medical School, University of Naples Federico II
Teacher of Cell Biology at the Medical School, Nursery School, and Faculty of Biotechnology.

Scientific Activity:
1979-1983
Fogarty Fellow at the Cell Organization Section, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA. directed by Prof. Ira Pastan. In the laboratory directed by Prof Sy Wollman he made contributions to studies on the properties of thyroid follicles in supension culture. He started a research project centered on the interactions between cells and extracellular matrix and the role tha the extracellular matrix might have in the control of cell polarity.
1984-till today
The scientific activity of the Responsible of the Research Unit has been conducted at the Dipartimento di Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e Molecolare di Napoli. He established a research group and continued his research project on thyroid cells properties. By using thyroid derived epithelial cell lines as a model system several biological aspects were investigated such as polarized secretion of proteins, factors regulating the organization of the cytoskeleton e and extracellular matrix deposition. Two topics were investigated in detail: the mechanisms that control the generation and mantainance of cell polarity and the aspects of the interaction between cells and ECM in thyroid epithelium.
The role of members of the integrin family of ECM receptors was studied in detail. Data were obtained showing that by the binding to α1β1 collagen can interact directly with the cell plasma membrane and, at least in vitro, members of the β1 sub-group of integrins can be expressed, in addition to the basolateral surface, also on the apical domain in a certain number of cultured cells.
Subsequent data evidenced the role of the β1 integrin sub-unit in the control of certain properties of thyroid cells in culture. The phenotypic changes induced by transfecting thyroid cells with a β1 variant, β1B, that differs from the ubiquitous β1A in the terminal portion of the cytosolic domain were evaluated. β1B expressing cells showed a great reduction in the amount of fibronectin fibrils associated to the cell surface, attached and spread less efficiently and did not form follicular structures in suspension culture. It was demonstrated that RhoA activity is required for fibronectin assembly and counteracts β1B effect in epithelial cells. He also analyzed morphological changes in the cadherin/catenin complex in trasformed thyroid epithelial cells evidencing that the β1 integrin subunit may act as functional modulator of intercellular adhesion complexes. Prof. Garbi have also made important contributions in the research project leaded by his colleagues Prof Avvedimento and Prof Feliciello in the same Department on the expression, localization and functional role of the c-AMP-dependent protein Kinase and AKAP (A-kinase anchor protein) proteins in normal and trasformed thyroid cells.
More recently the research group have started a study concerning the role of the small GTPase Rac1 molecule in regulating the acquisition and mantainace of cell polarity in an epithelial cell system made by thyroid cells in culture.
1. Control of PKA stability and signalling by the RING ligase praja2.
Lignitto L, Carlucci A, Sepe M, Stefan E, Cuomo O, Nisticò R, Scorziello A, Savoia C, Garbi C, Annunziato L, Feliciello A. (2011) Control of PKA stability and signalling by the RING ligase praja2. Nat Cell Biol (4):412-22.

2. Carlucci A, Porpora M, Garbi C, Galgani M, Santoriello M, Mascolo M, di Lorenzo D, Altieri V, Quarto M, Terracciano L, Gottesman ME, Insabato L, Feliciello A. (2010) PTPD1 supports receptor stability and mitogenic signaling in bladder cancer cells. J Biol Chem. 285(50):39260-70.

3. Perrino C, Feliciello A, Schiattarella GG, Esposito G, Guerriero R, Zaccaro L, Del Gatto A, Saviano M, Garbi C, Carangi R, Di Lorenzo E, Donato G, Indolfi C, Avvedimento VE, Chiariello M. (2010) AKAP121 downregulation impairs protective cAMP signals, promotes mitochondrial dysfunction, and increases oxidative stress. Cardiovasc Res. 88(1):101-10.

4. Cassano S, Agnese S, D'Amato V, Papale M, Garbi C, Castagnola P, Ruocco MR, Castellano I, De Vendittis E, Santillo M, Amente S, Porcellini A, Avvedimento EV. (2010) Reactive oxygen species, Ki-Ras, and mitochondrial superoxide dismutase cooperate in nerve growth factor-induced differentiation of PC12 cells. J Biol Chem. 285(31):24141-53.

5. De Felice B, Garbi C, Santoriello M, Santillo A, Wilson RR.(2009) Differential apoptosis markers in human keloids and hypertrophic scars fibroblasts. Mol Cell Biochem. 327(1-2):191-201.

6. Manduca P, Castagnino A, Lombardini D, Marchisio S, Soldano S, Ulivi V, Zanotti S, Garbi C, Ferrari N, Palmieri D. (2009) Role of MT1-MMP in the osteogenic differentiation. Bone 44(2):251-65.

7. Carlucci A, Gedressi C, Lignitto L, Nezi L, Villa-Moruzzi E, Avvedimento EV, Gottesman M, Garbi C, Feliciello A.(2008) Protein-tyrosine phosphatase PTPD1 regulates focal adhesion kinase autophosphorylation and cell migration. J Biol Chem. 283(16):10919-29.

8. Ulianich L, Garbi C, Treglia AS, Punzi D, Miele C, Raciti GA, Beguinot F, Consiglio E, Di Jeso B. (2008) ER stress is associated with dedifferentiation and an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-like phenotype in PC Cl3 thyroid cells. J Cell Sci. 121(Pt 4):477-86.

9. Salvatore G, Nappi TC, Salerno P, Jiang Y, Garbi C, Ugolini C, Miccoli P, Basolo F, Castellone MD, Cirafici AM, Melillo RM, Fusco A, Bittner ML, Santoro M. (2007) A cell proliferation and chromosomal instability signature in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. Cancer Res. 67(21):10148-58.

10. Pentimalli F, Palmieri D, Pacelli R, Garbi C, Cesari R, Martin E, Pierantoni GM, Chieffi P, Croce CM, Costanzo V, Fedele M, Fusco A. (2008) HMGA1 protein is a novel target of the ATM kinase. Eur J Cancer. 44(17):2668-79.

11. De Felice B, Ciarmiello LF, Mondola P, Damiano S, Seru R, Argenziano C, Nacca M, Santoriello M, Garbi C. (2007) Differential p63 and p53 expression in human keloid fibroblasts and hypertrophic scar fibroblasts. DNA Cell Biol. 26(8):541-7.
Project Title:
Morphological and molecular changes evoked by Rac1 activity inhibition in thyroid epithelial cells.