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Research Projects Isolation and characterization of stem cells from the human heart
The scope of this project is that of isolating and characterize progenitor cells that may be used for heart repair following acute or chronic ischemia. In this project the features of adult human heart-derived stem cells will be assessed in vitro by immunophenotyping and molecular analyses. Further, a correlation between clonogenicity of heart-derived stem cells and occurrence of risk factors in donor patients will be performed.
Histone deacetylase activity, stemness control and endothelial programming of cord blood and bone marrow-derived uncommitted progenitors
The scope of this project is that of understanding how epigenetic modifications, like those elicited by treatment with drugs inhibiting the cellular histone deacetylase (HDAC inhibitors), contribute to programming and reprogramming of endothelial phenotype in uncommitted progenitor cells. Starting from assessment of stemness of HDACi-treated cells in culture, the project will unravel the possible phenotypic changes as well as the preclinical relevance of HDACi treatment for induction of angiogenesis. Besides unravelling regulatory networks involved in stemness control and differentiation, this project, if successful will lead to important advancement in cellular therapies of ischemic diseases, such as critical limb ischemia and heart ischemic disease.
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