Maria Luisa Mangoni is Full Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biochemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, where she also coordinates the PhD program in Biochemistry. Early research training included periods abroad at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm and CSIC Madrid, where she gained expertise in microbiology, immunology, and natural product bioactivity.
At Sapienza, she has advanced from Assistant Professor (2002) to Associate (2012), and since 2020, Full Professor. Internationally recognized for pioneering work on amphibian-derived AMPs and synthetic analogues, her research has revealed their unique therapeutic potential against multidrug-resistant infections, and treatment of lung pathology in cystic fibrosis. She is author of 145 peer-reviewed papers (H-index 50), obtained international patents, and coordinated numerous national and international projects.
Professor Mangoni has received several awards, including the McGraw Hill Award (2001) and the Atomium Culture Award (2011). Since 2016 she has been part of the the Scientific Committee of the Italian Peptide Society (ItPS), becoming National Representative of Italy at the European Peptide Society (EPS) in 2018, and being elected President of the ItPS in 2022. Since 2023 she has been Coordinator of the PhD course in Biochemistry at Sapienza, and since 2024 she has been a member of the Scientific Council of the EPS.
Her editorial contributions include serving as Associate Editor for Frontiers in Chemistry (since 2015), International Journal of Peptide Research and Therapeutics (since 2024); Section Editor for BBA–Biomembranes, Antibiotics, Current Protein & Peptide Science and Protein and Peptide Letters (since 2019), and Editorial Board Member of BBA–Biomembranes (since 2019).
Projects funded by FFC Ricerca as Principal Investigator
FFC#4/2022
Esculentin-derived peptides as novel therapeutic agents with antimicrobial and CFTR potentiator activities to address cystic fibrosis lung disease
FFC#8/2019
Antimicrobial peptides from amphibian skin for treatment of lung pathology in cystic fibrosis: advanced in vitro and in vivo functional characterization
FFC#15/2017
Frog skin-derived peptides for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection and bronchial epithelial repair: advanced in vitro and in vivo characterization and development of polymeric nanoparticles for lung delivery
FFC#11/2014
Development and preclinical testing of a novel antimicrobial peptide to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced lung infections
FFC#14/2011
Development of new host‐defence like peptides and lipopeptides against lung pathogens: in vitro and in vivo studies
Publications from FFC Ricerca projects
- Luca V, Stringaro A, Colone M et al. Esculentin(1-21), an amphibian skin membrane-active peptide with potent activity on both planktonic and biofilm cells of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2013 Aug;70(15):2773-86
- Di Grazia A, Cappiello F, Cohen H, et al. D-Amino acids incorporation in the frog skin-derived peptide esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2 is beneficial for its multiple functions. Amino Acids, 2015 Dec;47(12):2505-19
- Mangoni ML, Luca V, McDermott AM. Fighting microbial infections: A lesson from amphibian skin-derived esculentin-1 peptides. Peptides, 2015 Sep;71:286-95.
- Segev-Zarko L, Saar-Dover R, Brumfeld V et al. Mechanisms of biofilm inhibition and degradation by antimicrobial peptides. Biochem J. 2015 Jun 1;468(2):259-70
- Cappiello F, Di Grazia A, Segev-Zarko LA et al. Esculentin-1a-Derived Peptides Promote Clearance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Internalized in Bronchial Cells of Cystic Fibrosis Patients and Lung Cell Migration: Biochemical Properties and a Plausible Mode of Action. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2016 Nov 21;60(12):7252-7262
- Ghosh A, Bera S, Shai Y, et al. NMR structure and binding of esculentin-1a (1-21)NH2 and its diastereomer to lipopolysaccharide: Correlation with biological functions. Biochim Biophys Acta, 2016 Apr;1858(4):800-12
- Loffredo MR, Ghosh A, Harmouche N et al. Membrane perturbing activities and structural properties of the frog-skin derived peptide Esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2 and its Diastereomer Esc(1-21)-1c: Correlation with their antipseudomonal and cytotoxic activity. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2017 Dec;1859(12):2327-2339
- Chen C, Mangoni ML, Di YP. In vivo therapeutic efficacy of frog skin-derived peptides against Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced pulmonary infection. Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 17;7(1):8548
- Casciaro B, Loffredo MR, Luca V, et al., Esculentin-1a Derived Antipseudomonal Peptides: Limited Induction of Resistance and Synergy with Aztreonam. Protein Pept Lett. 2018;25(12):1155-1162
- Cappiello F, Casciaro B, Mangoni ML. A Novel In Vitro Wound Healing Assay to Evaluate Cell Migration. J Vis Exp. 2018 Mar 17;(133)
- Floriana Cappiello, Danilo Ranieri, Veronica Carnicelli, et al. Bronchial Epithelium Repair by Esculentin-1a-derived Antimicrobial Peptides: Involvement of metalloproteinase-9 and interleukin-8, and Evaluation of Peptides’ Immunogenicity. Sci Rep, 9 (1), 18988 2019 Dec 12
- Bruno Casciaro, Floriana Cappiello, Maria Rosa Loffredo, Francesca Ghirga, Maria Luisa Mangoni. The Potential of Frog Skin Peptides for Anti-Infective Therapies: The Case of Esculentin-1a(1-21)NH2. Curr Med Chem 2019 Jul 21
- Bruno Casciaro, Ivana d’Angelo, Xiaoping Zhang, et al. Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) Nanoparticles for Prolonged Therapeutic Efficacy of Esculentin-1a-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lung Infection: in Vitro and in Vivo Studies. Biomacromolecules 2019, 20, 5, 1876-1888
- Bruno Casciaro, Qiao Lin, Sergii Afonin, et al. Inhibition of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Biofilm Formation and Expression of Virulence Genes by Selective Epimerization in the Peptide Esculentin-1a(1-21)NH 2. FEBS J, 286 (19), 3874-3891
- Maria Luisa Mangoni, Bruno Casciaro, Ivana d’Angelo, Xiaoping Zhang, Floriana Cappiello, Mariarosa Loffredo, Peter Y. Di, Francesca Ungaro. Frog skin-derived peptides for treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection and bronchial epithelial repair: advanced in vitro and in vivo characterization and development of polymeric nanoparticles for lung delivery. The Proceedings of the 16th Italian Convention of Investigators in Cystic Fibrosis. Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine, 2019, 14 (Suppl 1):5
Patents
Patent No. 102019000018938. “Esculentin and its derivatives for use in the treatment of cystic fibrosis”. Ownership: Sapienza University; Italian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; G. Gaslini Hospital. National phases of the international application No. PCT/EP2020/078394.