E. Scala

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Major clinical interests: Internal Medicine in general, with particular reference to Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Dermatology: diagnosis and treatment of allergic rhino-conjunctivitis and bronchial asthma, food allergy and drug allergy (particularly to beta-lactam antibiotics), evaluation of food allergy cross-reactivities, systemic mastocytosis, Cutaneous T cell Lymphomas (mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome) .Major laboratory experience: Flow cell Cytometry Tissue culture, Molecular biology, immuno-histo-chemistry, Microarray (both genomic and proteomic) technology.

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RGDS peptide inhibits activation of lymphocytes and adhesion of activated lymphocytes to human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro

Immunology and Cell Biology, 2005

The Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif is known to mediate cell adhesion to several extracellular matrix com... more The Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif is known to mediate cell adhesion to several extracellular matrix components as well as cell-cell interactions. In the present study, we investigated whether the RGDS peptide interferes with cell-cell recognition-based events such as allogeneic activation of PBMC and PBMC adhesion to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). We show here for the first time, to our knowledge, that RGDS significantly inhibits adhesion of activated PBMC to HUVEC; in addition, RGDS inhibits PBMC allogenenic activation in human mixed lymphocyte reaction assays. Caspases played a pivotal role in both events, because preventing their activation abolished or strongly reduced the observed inhibitory effect. The RGDS antirecognition effect was strongly increased by pretreatment of HUVEC with RGDS, which affected mostly T lymphocyte adhesion to HUVEC. These results indicate that PBMC allogeneic activation, as well as reciprocal recognition between activated PBMC and endothelial cells, are RGDS-dependent events that occur through a dual effect involving anti-adhesive and caspase-dependent mechanisms. These data suggest a potential role of RGDS in cell-mediated immunity, inflammation and organ transplantation.

Exploring Current and Novel Methods for the Detection and Diagnosis of Food Allergy: the Clinical Approach

Food Allergy, 2006

Lipid Transfer Protein sensitization: reactivity profiles and clinical risk assessment in an Italian cohort

Allergy, 2015

Nonspecific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) represent a major cause of systemic food allergic re... more Nonspecific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) represent a major cause of systemic food allergic reactions in the Mediterranean area. This study investigate hierarchical patterns and cluster relationships of IgE sensitization to different nsLTPs, and the relationship to clinical allergy in a large Italian cohort. A total of 568 nsLTP-positive subjects after IgE ImmunoCAP-ISAC microarray analysis with Ara h 9, Art v 3, Cor a 8, Jug r 3, Pla a 3, Pru p 3 and Tri a 14 allergens were studied. IgE inhibition experiments were carried out with mugwort and plane tree pollen extracts. Eighty-two per cent of nsLTP-positive participants (94% if &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;6 years old) were Pru p 3(pos) , and 71% were Jug r 3(pos) . Participants who reacted to &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;5 nsLTPs reported a higher incidence of food-induced systemic reactions. Only Art v 3 and Pla a 3 (mugwort and plane tree nsLTPs, respectively) were associated with respiratory symptoms, and a correlation was observed between sensitization to pollen and plant food nsLTPs, particularly between Pla a 3 and tree nut/peanut nsLTPs. Co-sensitization to Par j 2 and PR-10 or profilin pan-allergens was associated with a lower prior prevalence of severe food-induced reactions. In inhibition assays, plane and mugwort pollen extracts inhibited 50-100% of IgE binding to food nsLTPs in microarrays. Testing IgE reactivity to a panel of nsLTP allergens unveils important associations between nsLTP sensitization profiles and clinical presentation and allows the identification of novel cluster patterns indicating likely cross-reactivities and highlighting potential allergens for nsLTP immunotherapy.

Molecule-based diagnosis and allergen immunotherapy

European annals of allergy and clinical immunology, 2013

Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) represents the only way to modify the natural history of allergic di... more Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) represents the only way to modify the natural history of allergic diseases. Unfortunately, AIT is not always followed by a reduction in symptoms. The main reasons for such failure can be inadequate diagnosis and/or the poor treatment. In both cases, an incomplete or insufficient understanding of the component(s) responsible for the IgE sensitization on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the lack of a steady and reliable allergen mixture to be used for the desensitization process, could explain unsuccessful treatment. A more comprehensive IgE reactivity profile evaluation of the patient can be achieved by means of a molecule-based diagnostic approach, in order to distinguish genuine from panallergen-driven antigen recognition. At the same time, a better delineation of AIT products by means of molecular dissection, can allow a stronger correlation between diagnostic findings and immunotherapeutic intervention, thus facilitating the right prescription to...

E. Scala

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