Developed skills and lines of research

Cristina Cigana is a Research Associate at the Infections and Cystic Fibrosis Unit of the I.R.C.C.S. Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan. Her main research interest is the pathogenesis of lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. She is involved in projects aimed at analyzing in detail the host’s innate and adaptive immune responses, to study the inflammatory reaction and tissue remodeling caused by infection, and to identify novel mechanisms responsible for lung damage, using in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo models. In parallel, she has investigated the evolution and adaptation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in lung infections characteristic of cystic fibrosis and, more recently, the impact of CFTR modulators on this pathogen. She is the author of over 40 international publications.

Projects funded by FFC Ricerca as Principal Investigator

FFC#16/2021
Linking elexacaftor/tezacaftor/ivacaftor to infections in cystic fibrosis lung disease

FFC#15/2018
Off-target effects of CFTR-modulators in preclinical infection models

FFC#18/2016
Interfering with glycosaminoglycans during Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic lung infection: pre-clinical exploitation of a novel therapeutic strategy for cystic fibrosis

FFC#14/2013
Pathophysiological relevance of glycosaminoglycans in Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronic lung infections and validation of new therapeutic approaches to modulate inflammation and tissue remodeling

FFC#20/2011
Host Response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa adaptation during airway chronic infection

Publications from FFC Ricerca projects

Yonker LM, Cigana C, Hurley BP, Bragonzi A., Host-pathogen interplay in the respiratory environment of cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis 2015, 14(4):431-9

Lorè NI, Cigana C, Riva C, et al., IL-17A impairs host tolerance during airway chronic infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Scientific Reports 2016, 6:25937

Cigana C, Lorè NI, Riva C, et al., Tracking the immunopathological response to Pseudomonas aeruginosa during respiratory infections. Scientific Reports 2016, 6:21465

Cigana C, Lorè NI, Bernardini ML, Bragonzi A., Dampening Host Sensing and Avoiding Recognition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pneumonia. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology 2011, 2011:852513

Lorè NI, Cystic Fibrosis-Niche adaption of Pseudomonas aeruginosa reduces virulence in multiple infection hosts. PLoS ONE 2012, 7(4):e35648

Lorè NI, Bragonzi A, Cigana C., The IL-17A/IL-17RA axis in pulmonary defence and immunopathology. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 2016, 30:19-27

Lorè NI, Veraldi N, Riva C, et al., Synthesized Heparan Sulfate Competitors Attenuate Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lung Infection. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Jan 9;19(1). pii: E207. doi: 10.3390/ijms19010207