Keywords: cardiac progenitor cells , regenerative medicine, noncodingRNA

Cardiac muscle repair mechanisms are still unclear, and my research interest is understanding the intrinsic cardiac regenerative capacity and heart pathological remodelling mechanisms at the molecular and cellular level. The cardiovascular scientific community effort is focused on these themes, to suggest and guide the development and design of efficient new therapeutic strategies to treat cardiovascular disease.

I have been interested in basic and translational research during my training and post-doctoral experience, studying noncoding RNA expression and function in physiological as well as pathological conditions.

More recently I have expanded my interest into translational biomedical science, currently focusing on the biology and regenerative capacity of adult cardiac stromal/progenitor cells, used in cell therapy applications.

The lines of research I am currently working on involve the description of cardiac progenitor cells behaviour and biology in cardiovascular disease patients with different degree of heart failure progression, as well as with medical conditions associated with cardiovascular diseases, such as Diabetes Mellitus and Metabolic Syndrome.

My future research plan as a young PI at IBBC will span basic and translational biology approaches and include: development of multicellular 3D models for studying cardiac physiology and disease; study of the role of long noncoding RNA in cardiac progenitor cells biology and function; investigating the newly emerging cardio-oncology field.

Education:

Feb/09	PhD degree in Genetics and Molecular Bioloogy at “Sapienza” University of Rome Final dissertation: ”microRNABiosynthesis” 05/02/2009 PROTOCOL num.: 6388
Jun/05	Master Degree. Graduated with honours (summa cum laude) in Biological Sciences at “Sapienza” University of Rome Final dissertation: “The biogenesis of H/ACA snoRNAs is controlled by the coupling between transcription and assembly in ribonucleoparticles” 23/06/2005 PROTOCOL num.: 4603/26

 

 

 

Positions:

Dec/19-Present	Permanent Researcher (PI) at Italian National Council of Research (CNR), Dept. of Biomedical Science, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC).
Jun/19-Dec 19	Post-doctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, Dep. of Medical Surgical Science and   Biotechnologies, involved in different projects
Jun/18-May/19	Post-doctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, Dep. of Medical Surgical Science and   Biotechnologies. Research project: “Ruolo di MST1 nel danno endoteliale indotto da dismetabolismo e stress ossidativo. Implicazioni traslazionali nelle principali patologie cardiovascolari”. Prof. Giacomo Frati Laboratory
Jun/17- May/18	Post-doctoral researcher at Università degli Studi di Torino, Dep. of Surgical Science. Research project: “Molecular mechanisms responsible for the protective/antioxidant effect of EVLP on parenchymal lung cells”. Prof Rinaldi Mauro and under the supervision of Prof G. Frati
Apr/17- May/17	Fellowship- Post-doctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, Dep. of Medical Surgical Science and Biotechnologies.Research project: “Improving efficacy, efficiency and clinical application of normothermic ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) to improve outcome in lung transplantation setting” Dr. Isotta Chimenti Laboratory
Mar/16- Feb/17	Post-doctoral researcher at Hematology Dept. CIMR University of Cambridge. Research project: “JAK2V617F activity mediates the regulation of miRNA expression in MPNs” Prof. Tony Green Laboratory
May/14- Feb/16	Post-doctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, Dep. of Medical Surgical Science and   Biotechnologies. Research project: “Optimization of 3D cardiosphere based constructs for cardiac regenerative medicine” Dr. Isotta Chimenti Laboratory
Jan/12-Apr/14	Post-doctoral researcher at Sapienza University of Rome, Dep. of Medical Surgical Science and Biotechnologies. Research project: “The role of miR-223 in MPNs pathogenesis” Prof. Clara Nervi Laboratory
Jun/11- Nov/11	Postdoctoral researcher at University of Cambridge, Hematology Dept, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research. Research project: “microRNA expression and function in mouse definitive hematopoietic stem cells emergence” Dr Katrin Ottersbach Laboratory
Oct/09- May/11	Postdoctoral researcher at University of Cambridge, Hematology Dept, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research.Research project: “microRNA expression and function in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms” Prof Tony Green Laboratory
Nov/05-Sept/09	PhD Student at Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology. Research project “Analysis of microRNA biosynthesis “Prof. Irene Bozzoni laboratory,

 

 

 

Honours/Awards:

Sep/05

Award for Biology students held by the foundation “A. Marzullo” –Trieste University (IT)

• Pagano, F., Calicchio, A., Picchio, V. & Ballarino, M. The non-coding side of cardiac differentiation and regeneration. Stem Cell Res. Ther. 15, e-pub ahead of print. (2020).
• Pagano, F. et al. The Biological Mechanisms of Action of Cardiac Progenitor Cell Therapy. Cardiol. Rep. 20, 84 (2018).
• Pagano, F. et al. Beta2-adrenergic signaling affects the phenotype of human cardiac progenitor cells through EMT modulation. Res. 127, 41–48 (2018).
• Pagano, F. et al. MicroRNA-101 expression is associated with JAK2V617F activity and regulates JAK2/STAT5 signaling. Leukemia 32, 25 (2018).
• Morlando, M., Ballarino, M., Gromak, N., Pagano, F., et al. Primary microRNA transcripts are processed co-transcriptionally. Struct. Mol. Biol. 15, 902–909 (2008).

1. Pagano, F., Calicchio, A., Picchio, V. & Ballarino, M. The non-coding side of cardiac differentiation and regeneration. Curr. Stem Cell Res. 15, (2020) e-pub ahead of print.
2. Forte, M. Bianchi, F.,Cotugno, M.,Marchitti, S.,De Falco, E.,Raffa, S.,Stanzione, R.,Di Nonno, F.,Chimenti, I., Palmerio, S., Pagano, F., et al. Sciarretta, S. Pharmacological restoration of autophagy reduces hypertension-related stroke occurrence. Autophagy (2019). doi:10.1080/15548627.2019.1687215
3. Pagano F, Picchio V, Chimenti I, Sordano A, De Falco E, Peruzzi M, Miraldi F, Cavarretta E, Zoccai GB, Sciarretta S, Frati G, Marullo AGM. On the Road to Regeneration: “Tools” and “Routes” Towards Efficient Cardiac Cell Therapy for Ischemic Cardiomyopathy. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2019 Oct 31;21(11):133. doi: 10.1007/s11886-019-1226-5. Review. PMID:31673821
4. Bordin A, Pagano F, Scaccia E, Saccucci M, Vozza I, Incerti N, Polimeni A, Cavarretta E, Chimenti I, De Falco E. Oral Plaque from Type 2 Diabetic Patients Reduces the Clonogenic Capacity of Dental Pulp-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells. Stem Cells Int. 2019 Jan 14; 2019:1516746. doi: 10.1155/2019/1516746. eCollection 2019. PubMed PMID: 30755774
5. Businaro R*, Scaccia E*, Bordin A, Pagano F, Corsi M, Siciliano C, Capoano R, Procaccini E, Salvati B, Petrozza V, Totta P, Vietri MT, Frati G, De Falco E. Platelet Lysate-Derived Neuropeptide y Influences Migration and Angiogenesis of Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Stromal Cells. Sci Rep. 2018 Sep 25;8(1):14365. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-32623-8. PMID: 30254326;
6. Nocella C, Biondi-Zoccai G, Sciarretta S, Peruzzi M, Pagano F, Loffredo L, Pignatelli P, Bullen C, Frati G, Carnevale R. Impact of Tobacco Versus Electronic Cigarette Smoking on Platelet Function. Am J Cardiol. 2018 Nov 1;122(9):1477-1481. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2018.07.029. Epub 2018 Aug 3. PMID: 30170691.
7. Pagano F, Picchio V, Angelini F, Iaccarino A, Peruzzi M, Cavarretta E, Biondi-Zoccai G, Sciarretta S, De Falco E, Chimenti I, Frati G. The Biological Mechanisms of Action of Cardiac Progenitor Cell Therapy. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2018 Aug 13;20(10):84. doi: 10.1007/s11886-018-1031-6. Review. PMID: 30105430.
8. Carnevale R, Nocella C, Cammisotto V, Bartimoccia S, Monticolo R, D’Amico A, Stefanini L, Pagano F, Pastori D, Cangemi R, Violi F. Antioxidant activity from extra virgin olive oil via inhibition of hydrogen peroxide-mediated NADPH-oxidase 2 activation. Nutrition. 2018 Nov;55-56:36-40. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2018.03.045. PMID: 29960154.
9. Pagano F, Frati G, Chimenti I. β-adrenergic receptors and cardiac progenitor cell biology: What is the real connection? J Cell Biochem. 2018 Sep;119(9):7125-7126. doi: 0.1002/jcb.27044. PMID: 29797605.
10. Pagano F, Comoglio F, Grinfeld J, Li J, Godfrey A, Baxter J, Silber Y, Green AR. MicroRNA-101 expression is associated with JAK2V617F activity and regulates JAK2/STAT5 signaling. Leukemia. 2018 Aug;32(8):1826-1830. doi: 10.1038/s41375-018-0053-9. PMID: 29483713.
11. Pagano F, Angelini F, Siciliano C, Tasciotti J, Mangino G, De Falco E, Carnevale R, Sciarretta S, Frati G, Chimenti I. Beta2-adrenergic signaling affects the phenotype of human cardiac progenitor cells through EMT modulation. Pharmacol Res. 2018 Jan 15. pii: S1043-6618(16)30624-7. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2017.01.016. PMID: 28099883
12. Straface E, Gambardella L, Pagano F, Angelini F, Ascione B, Vona R, Falco E, Cavarretta E, Russa R, Malorni W, Frati G, Chimenti I Sex Differences of Human Cardiac Progenitor Cells in the Biological Response to TNF-α Stem Cells Int. 2017;2017:4790563. doi: 10.1155/2017/4790563. PMID:29104594.
13. Angelini F, Pagano F, Bordin A, Picchio V, De Falco E, Chimenti I. Getting Old through the Blood: Circulating Molecules in Aging and Senescence of Cardiovascular Regenerative Cells. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2017 Oct 6;4:62. doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2017.00062. eCollection 2017. Review. PMID:29057227.
14. Forte E, Chimenti I, Rosa P, Angelini F, Pagano F, Calogero A, Giacomello A, Messina E. EMT/MET at the Crossroad of Stemness, Regeneration and Oncogenesis: The Ying-Yang Equilibrium Recapitulated in Cell Spheroids. Cancers (Basel). 2017 Jul 29;9(8). pii: E98. doi: 10.3390/cancers9080098. Review.PMID:28758926.
15. Schirone L, Forte M, Palmerio S, Yee D, Nocella C, Angelini F, Pagano F, Schiavon S, Bordin A, Carrizzo A, Vecchione C, Valenti V, Chimenti I, De Falco E, Sciarretta S, Frati G.A Review of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Development and Progression of Cardiac Remodeling. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017; 2017:3920195. doi:10.1155/2017/3920195. Review.PMID:28751931.
16. Pagano F, Angelini F, Castaldo C, Picchio V, Messina E, Sciarretta S, Maiello C, Biondi -Zoccai G, Frati G, Meglio FD, Nurzynska D, Chimenti I. Normal versus Pathological Cardiac Fibroblast-Derived Extracellular Matrix Differentially Modulates Cardiosphere-Derived Cell Paracrine Properties and Commitment. Stem Cells Int. 2017;2017:7396462. doi: 10.1155/2017/7396462. PMID:28740514.
17. De Falco E, Bordin A, Scaccia E, Pagano F, Ibrahim M, Schirone L, Angelini F, Palmerio S, Madonna M, Fianchini L, Chimenti I, Sciarretta S, Frati G. Histone acetylation favours the cardiovascular commitment of adipose tissue-derived stromal cells. Int J Cardiol. 2017 Sep 15;243:421-423. doi: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.05.112. PMID: 28610961.
18. Angelini F, Pagano F, Bordin A, Milan M, Chimenti I, Peruzzi M, Valenti V, Marullo A,Schirone L, Palmerio S, Sciarretta S, Murdoch CE, Frati G, De Falco E. The Impact of Environmental Factors in Influencing Epigenetics Related to Oxidative States in the Cardiovascular System Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:2712751. doi: 10.1155/2017/2712751. Epub 2017 May 14. Review. PMID: 28607629.
19. Chimenti I, Pagano F, Sciarretta S, Marullo AG, Greco E, Tonelli E, Peruzzi M, Cavarretta E, Biondi-Zoccai G, Frati G. Cardiac Recovery Dyring Long-Term LVAD. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017 Apr 11;69(14):1880-1881. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2016.11.092. PMID:28385324.
20. Pagano F*, Nocella C*, Sciarretta S, Fianchini L, Siciliano C, Mangino G, Ibrahim M, De Falco E, Carnevale R, Chimenti I, Frati G. Cytoprotective and antioxidant effects of steen solution on human lung spheroids and human endothelial cells. Am J Transplant. 2017 Jul;17(7):1885-1894. doi: 10.1111/ajt.14278. PMID:28322021.
21. Chimenti I, Pagano F, Angelini F, Siciliano C, Mangino G, Picchio V, De Falco E, Peruzzi M, Carnevale R, Ibrahim M, Biondi-Zoccai G, Messina E, Frati G. Human Lung Spheroids as In Vitro Niches of Lung Progenitor Cells with Distinctive Paracrine and Plasticity Properties. Stem Cells Transl Med. (2017) Mar;6(3):767-777. doi: 10.5966/sctm.2015-0374.PMID: 28297570.
22. Chimenti I*, Pagano F*, Cavarretta E, Angelini F, Peruzzi M, Barretta A, Greco E, De Falco E, Marullo AG, Sciarretta S, Biondi-Zoccai G, Frati G. β-blockers treatment of cardiac surgery patients enhances isolation and improves phenotype of cardiosphere-derived cells. Sci Rep. (2016) Nov 14;6:36774. doi: 10.1038/srep36774. PMID: 27841293 (*equal contribution).
23. De Falco E, Carnevale R, Pagano F, Chimenti I, Fianchini L, Bordin A, Siciliano C, Monticolo R, Equitani F, Carrizzo A, Peruzzi M, Vecchione C, Rubattu S, Sciarretta S, Frati G. Role of NOX2 in mediating doxorubicin-induced senescence in human endothelial progenitor cells. Mech Ageing Dev. (2016) Oct;159:37-43. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2016.05.004.PMID 27181082.
24. Angelini F, Ionta V, Rossi F, Pagano F, Chimenti I, Messina E, Giacomello A. Exosomes isolation protocols: facts and artifacts for cardiac regeneration. Front Biosci (Schol Ed). (2016) Jun 1;8:303-11. PMID: 27100708.
25. Godfrey AL, Chen E, Massie CE, Silber Y, Pagano F, Bellosillo B, Guglielmelli P, Harrison CN, Reilly JT, Stegelmann F, Bijou F, Lippert E, Boiron JM, Döhner K, Vannucchi AM, Besses C, Green AR. STAT1 activation in association with JAK2 exon 12 mutations. Haematologica. (2016) Jan;101(1):e15-9. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2015.128546. Epub 2015 Dec 3. PMID: 26635038.
26. Di Masi A, Leboffe L, De Marinis E, Pagano F, Cicconi L, Rochette-Egly C, Lo-Coco F, Ascenzi P, Nervi C. Retinoic acid receptors: from molecular mechanisms to cancer therapy. Mol Aspects Med. (2015) Feb;41:1-115. doi: 10.1016/j.mam.2014.12.003. Epub 2014 Dec 25. PMID: 25543955.
27. Pagano F*, De Marinis E*, Grignani F, Nervi C. Epigenetic role of miRNAs in normal and leukemic hematopoiesis. Epigenomics. 2013 Oct;5(5):539-52. doi: 10.2217/epi.13.55. PMID: 24059800. (*equal contribution).
28. Godfrey AL, Chen E, Pagano F, Silber Y, Campbell PJ, Green AR. Clonal analyses reveal associations of JAK2V617F homozygosity with hematologic features, age and gender in polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia. Haematologica. 2013 May;98(5):718-21. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2012.079129. PMID: 23633544.
29. Godfrey AL, Chen E, Pagano F, Ortmann CA, Silber Y, Bellosillo B, Guglielmelli P, Harrison CN, Reilly JT, Stegelmann F, Bijou F, Lippert E, McMullin MF, Boiron JM, Döhner K, Vannucchi AM, Besses C, Campbell PJ, Green AR. JAK2V617F homozygosity arises commonly and recurrently in PV and ET, but PV is characterized by expansion of a dominant homozygous subclone. Blood. 2012 Sep 27;120(13):2704-7. Epub 2012 Aug 16. PMID: 22898600.
30. Ballarino M*, Pagano F*, Girardi E, Morlando M, Cacchiarelli D, Marchioni M, Proudfoot NJ, Bozzoni I. Coupled RNA processing and transcription of intergenic primary microRNAs. Mol Cell Biol. 2009 Oct;29(20):5632-8. doi:10.1128/MCB.00664-09. Epub 2009 Aug 10. PMID: 19667074. (*equal contribution).
31. Morlando M, Ballarino M, Gromak N, Pagano F, Bozzoni I, Proudfoot NJ. Primary microRNA transcripts are processed co-transcriptionally. Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2008 Sep;15(9):902-9.  PMID: 19172742.
32. Ballarino M, Morlando M, Pagano F, Fatica A, Bozzoni I. The cotranscriptional assembly of snoRNPs controls the biosynthesis of H/ACA snoRNAs in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Mol Cell Biol. 2005 Jul;25(13):5396-403. PMID: 1