Current research projects are focused on the functional characterization of innate immunity molecules identified by the Laboratory, such as the long pentraxin PTX3, and IL-1R8, a negative regulator of the IL-1 receptor family, in innate responses to pathogens and in the regulation of inflammation, particularly in infections and in cancer-associated inflammation and cancer immunosurveillance. The activities of the Laboratory consist mainly of preclinical studies and are aimed at the identification of novel mechanisms involved in infections and cancer-related inflammation and at the possibility of transferring the information obtained to the clinic.

-Humoral innate immunity in the control of infections and inflammation regulation:
The laboratory contributed to define and characterize a soluble mediator of the innate immune response, the long pentraxin PTX3, a molecule involved in the recognition of pathogens and inflammation. The Laboratory characterized the biological activity of PTX3 in the context of innate immune responses to pathogens of fungal, bacterial or viral origin, and in the regulation of inflammatory responses in the presence of pathogenic microorganisms or in condition of tissue damage, such skin wound healing, and in cancer.

-Regulatory receptors of the Interleukin-1 system: The receptor IL-1R8/SIGIRR:
The Laboratory also identified and characterized IL-1R8/SIGIRR, a member of the family of Interleukin-1Receptors/Toll Like Receptors. IL-1R8 is a negative regulator of inflammatory responses triggered by other members of the family and is involved in different pathological conditions, ranging from infections and inflammation to autoimmunity and cancer. Recently we demonstrated that IL-1R8 acts as a novel checkpoint in NK cells, tuning their maturation and functional activation against solid tumors, metastasis and viral infections.