Virginie Sottile, PhD, P.I.
Email: virginie.sottile@unipv.it
Marta Brusa (MSc student)
Karen Soffiantini (MSc student)
Our research focuses on the biology of stem cell populations and on the mechanisms regulating their differentiation in health and disease, in order to develop new approaches for regenerative medicine. Stem cells are key to the formation, maintenance and the repair of organs. The control of stem cell self-renewal and multipotency is a pre-requisite for their fruitful therapeutic use. We study stem cells present in different tissues to investigate their regulation and their differentiation potential for biomedical applications, which include new drug screening, disease modelling, tissue engineering approaches and regenerative medicine.
Stem cells in use include human and mouse cell cultures, from healthy and disease models including cancer models. Using both 2D and 3D cell culture, we are involved in research projects including the regulation of neural stem cells present in different brain locations, the role of adipogenic stem cells in obesity and metabolic health, and the improvement of tissue repair processes through the use of novel biomaterials to support stem cell-based regeneration. We also investigate the relationship between stem cells, tissue repair and neoplasia, and the differences between cancer stem cells and their normal counterparts.
Research Lines:
- Stem cell characterisation: Analysis of progenitor cells present in tissues, study of the distribution, cell properties, markers, differentiation capacity and gene expression pattern of stem cells to determine their biological features and therapeutic potential. Development of new non-invasive techniques to monitor stem cell phenotype in vitro. Comparison of stem cells from healthy and disease models including cancer, and collaboration with the Stivala group to study the regulation of cancer stem cells.
- Stem cell models for disease modelling: Culture, characterisation and differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells from patients carrying specific genetic diseases, in order to identify the cellular defects underpinning disease phenotypes. Collaboration with the Valente group to model neurodevelopmental diseases with patients’ stem cells.
- Stem cells for tissue repair: Studying differentiation in 2D cultures and 3D organoid models, in combination with biomimetic biomaterials to drive stem cell differentiation towards specific lineages needed to promote tissue repair and regeneration.
A full and up-to-date list of our publications can be found here.
Publications (last 5 years)
Research Articles:
Macri Pellizzeri L, McLaren JS, Felfel R, Pitrolino K, Kerslake R, Scotchford C, Grant DM, Scammel BS, Sottile V. (2026) Implantation and Analysis of a Biphasic Bioinspired Osteochondral Chitosan Construct in a Large Animal Model. ACS Biomater Sci Eng (in press). doi: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.5c01821.
De Gasperi E, De Vita M, Brusa M, De Gregorio E, Solito S, Azzalin A, Pollara L, Valente EM, Sottile V. (2026) Analysis of Primary Cilium-Bearing Human Neuroprogenitors Using Flow Cytometry. Stem Cells Int, 2026:5010774. doi: 10.1155/sci/5010774.
Grossi A, Fulghieri P, Aduvaliev A, Soffiantini K, Oldrati I, Cavallo M, Biggiogera M, Pellavio G, Laforenza U, Savio M, Sottile V. (2026) Differentiation Treatment Applied to Lung Cancer Model Reduces Pathogenic Traits in Vitro. Adv Biol, 10(1):e00371. doi: 10.1002/adbi.202500371.
Bouazizi R, Bouslama L, Nouira F, Grossi A, De Vita M, Baccouri B, Jallouli S, Solito S, Savio M, Sottile V*, Abaza L. (2025) Antitumor Effects of Chemlali and Wild Olive Tree Extracts: Role in Cell Proliferation and Apoptosis in Prostate (PC3) and Breast (MDA-MB-231) Cancer Cell Lines. Biomed Res Int, 2025:4911257. doi: 10.1155/bmri/4911257.
Pollara L, De Gregorio E, Buonofiglio V, Bianca L, Stellato T, Brusa M, De Gasperi E, Ardissone A, Zanni G, Battini R, Briuglia S, Sottile V*, Valente EM*. (2025) Production and characterisation of four Joubert Syndrome patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines with mutations in either RPGRIP1L or CPLANE1 genes. Stem Cell Res, 86:103734. doi:10.1016/j.scr.2025.103734.
Livraghi V, Grossi A, Scopelliti A, Senise G, Gamboa LA, Solito S, Stivala LA, Sottile V*, Savio M*. (2024) Stilbene Treatment Reduces Stemness Features In Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Model. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 25, 10390. doi: 10.3390/ijms251910390.
Pitrolino K, Felfel R, Roberts G Scotchford C, Grant D*, Sottile V*. (2024) In vitro degradation of a chitosan-based osteochondral construct points to a transient effect on cellular viability. Biomed Mater 19:055025. doi:10.1088/1748-605X/ad6547.
De Mori R, Tardivo S, Pollara L, Giliani SC, Ali E, Giordano L, Leuzzi V, Fischetto R, Gener B, Diprima S, Morelli MJ, Monti MC, Sottile V*, Valente EM*. (2024) Joubert syndrome-derived induced pluripotent stem cells show altered neuronal differentiation in vitro. Cell Tissue Res. 396(2):255-267. doi: 10.1007/s00441-024-03876-9.
Cowie RM, Macri-Pellizzeri L, McLaren J, Sanderson WJ, Felfel RM, Scotchford CA, Scammell BE, Grant DM, Sottile V, Jennings LM. (2024) Functional performance of a bi-layered chitosan-nano-hydroxyapatite osteochondral scaffold: a pre-clinical in vitro tribological study. R Soc Open Sci. 11(1):230431. doi: 10.1098/rsos.230431.
Velickovic K, Lugo Leija HA, Kosic B, Sacks H, Symonds ME, Sottile V*. (2023) Leptin deficiency impairs adipogenesis and browning response in mouse mesenchymal progenitors. Eur J Cell Biol. 102(3):151342. doi: 10.1016/j.ejcb.2023.151342.
Vaghi P, Oldani A, Fulghieri P, Pollara L, Valente EM, Sottile V*. (2023) Simultaneous labelling of adipogenic and osteogenic differentiating stem cells for live confocal analysis. Methods Mol Biol. 2566:53-62. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2675-7_5.
Savio M, Ferraresi A, Corpina C, Vandenberghe S, Scarlata C, Sottile V, Morini L, Garavaglia B, Isidoro C, Stivala LA. (2022) Resveratrol and Its Analogue 4,4′-Dihydroxy-Trans-Stilbene Inhibit Lewis Lung Carcinoma Growth In Vivo through Apoptosis, Autophagy and Modulation of the Tumour Microenvironment in a Murine Model. Biomedicines 10(8):1784. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10081784
Marsh S, Constantin-Teodosiu T, Chapman V, Sottile V*. (2022) In vitro exposure to inflammatory mediators affects the differentiation of mesenchymal progenitors. Frontiers Bioeng Biotechnol 10:908507. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.908507.
Pitrolino KA*, Felfel RM, Macri Pellizzeri L, McLaren J, Popov AA, Sottile V*, Scotchford CA, Scammell BE, Roberts GAF, Grant DM. (2022) Development and In Vitro Assessment of a Bi-layered Chitosan-Nano-Hydroxyapatite Osteochondral Scaffold. Carbohydr Polym 282:119126. doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119126.
Salih S, Nizamudeen ZA, De Melo N, Chakrabarti L, Sottile V*. (2022) Sox-positive cell population in the adult cerebellum increases upon tissue degeneration. Exp Neurol 348, 113950. doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2021.113950.
Nizamudeen ZA, Xerri R, Parmenter C, Suain K, Markus R, Chakrabarti L, Sottile V*. (2021) Low-power sonication can alter extracellular vesicle size and properties. Cells 10(9), 2413. doi:10.3390/cells10092413.
Surrati A, Evseev S, Jourdan F, Kim DH, Sottile V. (2021) Osteogenic response of human mesenchymal stem cells analysed using combined intracellular and extracellular metabolomic monitoring. Cell Physiol Biochem 55(3):311-326. doi: 10.33594/000000377.
Gupta D, Hossain KMZ, Roe M, Smith E, Ahmed I, Sottile V*, Grant D*. (2021) Long term culture of stem cells on phosphate-based glass microspheres: synergistic role of chemical formulation and 3D architecture. ACS Appl. Bio Mater. 4(8): 5987–6004. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.1c00120.
Islam MT, Macri-Pellizzeri L, Sottile,V, Ahmed I. (2021) Rapid Conversion of Highly Porous Borate Glass Microspheres into Hydroxyapatite. Biomaterials Sci. 9:1826-1844 doi: 10.1039/d0bm01776k.
De Melo N, Murrell L, Islam M T, Titman JJ, Macri-Pellizzeri L, Ahmed I, Sottile V. (2021) Tailoring pyro- and orthophosphate species to enhance stem cell adhesion to phosphate glasses. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 22, 837. doi: 10.3390/ijms22020837.
Literature Reviews:
Bloise N, Montagna G, Fassina L, Sottile V, Visai L. (2022) Bioprinting for skeletal tissue regeneration: from current trends to future promises, in ‘Bioprinting - From Multidisciplinary Design to Emerging Opportunities’ Conti M, Marino M (eds) Acdemic Press. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-85430-6.00008-X.
Savio M, Minoia V, Fulghieri P, Stivala LA*, Sottile V*. (2022) Resveratrol-related compounds: potential for cancer and beyond. BioCell 46(12):2525-2530. doi: 10.32604/biocell.2022.022924.
Pollara L, Sottile V*, Valente EM*. (2022) Patient-derived cellular models of primary ciliopathies. J Med Gen 59(6):517-527. doi:10.1136/jmedgenet-2021-108315.
Fulghieri P, Stivala LA, Sottile V (2021). Modulating cell differentiation in cancer models. Biochem Soc Trans 49 (4): 1803–1816. doi: 10.1042/BST20210230.