Andrea Loreto University positionSir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow DepartmentsDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences InstitutesCambridge Centre for Brain Repair Home pageResearch ThemeInterestsAxon degeneration is an early feature of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma. I have recently been awarded a Sir Henry Wellcome postdoctoral fellowship to work in Professor Michael Coleman's lab. My primary area of research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms leading to axon degeneration after injury and mitochondrial dysfunction. We aim to identify regulators of axon death and eventually study their involvement in the development of neurodegenerative disorders, with a focus on Parkinson's disease. Research Focus
EquipmentCalcium imaging Cell culture Confocal microscopy Fluorescence microscopy Immunohistochemistry Live imaging Microscopy Molecular biology Recombinant protein expression Collaborators
Associated News ItemsKey publicationsLoreto A, Hill CS, Hewitt VL, Orsomando G, Angeletti C, Gilley J, Lucci C, Sanchez-Martinez A, Whitworth AJ, Conforti L, Dajas-Bailador F, Coleman MP (2019), “Mitochondrial impairment activates the Wallerian pathway through depletion of NMNAT2 leading to SARM1-dependent axon degeneration” Neurobiol Dis Di Stefano M, Loreto A, Orsomando G, Mori V, Zamporlini F, Hulse RP, Webster J, Donaldson LF, Gering M, Raffaelli N, Coleman MP, Gilley J, Conforti L (2017), “NMN Deamidase Delays Wallerian Degeneration and Rescues Axonal Defects Caused by NMNAT2 Deficiency In Vivo” Curr Biol 27(6):784-794 Loreto A, Di Stefano M, Gering M, Conforti L (2015), “Wallerian Degeneration Is Executed by an NMN-SARM1-Dependent Late Ca(2+) Influx but Only Modestly Influenced by Mitochondria” Cell Rep 13(11):2539-52 Publications2020Gilley J, Loreto A. (2020), “Microinjection of superior cervical ganglion neurons for studying axon degeneration” Methods Mol Biol Hill CS, Loreto A, Sreedharan J, Menon D, Coleman MP. (2020), “Loss of highwire protects against the deleterious effects of traumatic brain injury in Drosophila Melanogaster” Front Neurol Loreto A, Gilley J. (2020), “Axon degeneration assays in Superior Cervical Ganglion explant cultures” Methods Mol Biol Mabbitt PD, Loreto A, Déry MA, Fletcher AJ, StanleyM, Pao KC, Wood NT, Coleman MP, Virdee S. (2020), “Structural basis for RING-Cys-Relay E3 ligase activity and its role in axon integrity” Nat Chem Biol 2019Adalbert R, Kaieda A, Antoniou C, Loreto A, Yang X, Gilley J, Hoshino T, Uga K, Makhija MT, Coleman MP. (2019), “Novel HDAC6 inhibitors increase tubulin acetylation and rescue axonal transport of mitochondria in a model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2F.” ACS Chem Neurosci White MA, Lin Z, Kim E, Henstridge CM, Pena Altamira E, Hunt CK, Burchill E, Callaghan I, Loreto A, Brown-Wright H, Mead R, Simmons C, Cash D, Coleman MP and Sreedharan J (2019), “Sarm1 deletion suppresses TDP-43-linked motor neuron degeneration and cortical spine loss” Acta Neuropathol Commun 2018Rossi F, Geiszler PC, Meng W, Barron MR, Prior M, Herd-Smith A, Loreto A, Lopez MY, Faas H, Pardon MC, Conforti L. (2018), “NAD-biosynthetic enzyme NMNAT1 reduces early behavioral impairment in the htau mouse model of tauopathy.” Behav Brain Res. 26;339:140-152. 2015Di Stefano M, Nascimento-Ferreira I, Orsomando G, Mori V, Gilley J, Brown R, Janeckova L, Vargas ME, Worrell LA, Loreto A, Tickle J, Patrick J, Webster JR, Marangoni M, Carpi FM, Pucciarelli S, Rossi F, Meng W, Sagasti A, Ribchester RR, Magni G, Coleman MP, Conforti L (2015), “A rise in NAD precursor nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) after injury promotes axon degeneration” Cell Death Differ 22(5):731-42 2012Di Pasquale G, Dicembrini I, Raimondi L, Pagano C, Egan JM, Cozzi A, Cinci L, Loreto A, Manni ME, Berretti S, Morelli A, Zheng C, Michael DG, Maggi M, Vettor R, Chiorini JA, Mannucci E, Rotella CM (2012), “Sustained exendin-4 secretion through gene therapy targeting salivary glands in two different rodent models of obesity/type 2 diabetes” PLoS One 7(7):e40074 |