Valeria Sogos

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Telephone: +39 070 675 4087 070 675 4063

Personal webpage: here

Main areas of expertise: neurodegeneration; neuroinflammation; neuron-glia interaction; stem cell biology.

♦ Main research topics

The main topics of our research focus on the biology of glia and their interaction with neurons in health and disease.

Glial cells, in particular microglia and astrocytes, play key roles in the neuropathology of many neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders, mostly via the activation and propagation of neuroinflammation. Therefore, regulation of the neuroinflammatory response represents a potential therapeutic strategy for neurodegeneration-related diseases. We are currently studying the possible role of dietary fatty acids on microglial and astrocytic proinflammatory responses.

Neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease are characterized by misfolding, aggregation, and accumulation of specific proteins in the brain, that leads to neuronal damage and loss. The focus of our research is to better understand pathogenic mechanism of these disorders, studying the effect of different species of misfolded proteins (oligomers, fibrils, or other aggregated species) on neuron and glial cells in vitro.

Key publications

1) MOCCI I., CASU M.A., SOGOS V., LISCIA A., ANGIUS R., CADEDDU F., FANTI M., MURONI P., TALANI G., DIANA A., COLLU M., SETZU M.D. Effects of memantine on mania-like phenotypes exhibited by Drosophila Shaker mutants. CNS Neurosci. Therapeut. 2023, DOI: 10.1111/cns.14145

2) CARIA P., PORCEDDA C., MOSTALLINO R., PIRAS F., MILIANO C., DE LUCA M.A., CASTELLI M.P. Human neuronal cell lines as an in vitro toxicological tool for the evaluation of novel psychoactive substances. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021; 22 (13):6785

3) SQUASSINA A., MANCHIA M., PISANU C., ARDAU R., ARZEDI C., BOCCHETTA A., CARIA P., COCCO C., CONGIU D., COSSU E., DETTORI T., FRAU D.V., GARZILLI M., MANCA E., MELONI A., MONTIS M.A., MURA A., NIEDDU M., NOLI B., PARIBELLO P., PINNA F., ROBLEDO R., SEVERINO G., SOGOS V., DEL ZOMPO M., FERRI G.L., CHILLOTTI C., VANNI R., CARPINIELLO B. Telomere attrition and inflammatory load in severe psychiatric disorders and in response to psychotropic medications. Neuropsychopharmacology, 2020; 45 (13), pp. 2229 – 2238

4) SABA F, SIRIGU A, PILLAI R, CARIA P, CORDEDDU L, CARTA G, MURRU E, SOGOS V*, BANNI S*. Downregulation of inflammatory markers by conjugated linoleic acid isomers in human cultured astrocytes. Nutr Neurosci. 2019; 22(3), pp. 207-214

5) CARIA P, PILLAI R, DETTORI T, FRAU DV, ZAVATTARI P, RIVA G, ROMANO G, PANI F, BENTIVEGNA A, GIOVANNONI R, PAGNI F, SOGOS V, VANNI R. Thyrospheres from B-CPAP Cell Line with BRAF and TERT Promoter Mutations have Different Functional and Molecular Features than Parental Cells. J Cancer. 2017 Jun 3;8(9):1629-1639

6) ORRÙ S, CONI P, FLORIS A, LITTERA R, CARCASSI C, SOGOS V, BRANCIA C. Reduced stress granule formation and cell death in fibroblasts with the A382T mutation of TARDBP gene: evidence for loss of TDP-43 nuclear function. Hum Mol Genet. 2016 Oct 15;25(20):4473-4483.

7) FALCHI AM, SOGOS V, SABA F, PIRAS M, CONGIU T, PILUDU M. (2013) Astrocytes shed large membrane vesicles that contain mitochondria, lipid droplets and ATP. Histochem Cell Biol.139(2):221-31.

8) REALI C, PILLAI R, SABA F, CABRAS S, MICHETTI F, SOGOS V. S100B modulates growth factors and costimulatory molecules expression in cultured human astrocytes. J Neuroimmunol. 2012 Feb 29;243(1-2):95-9

9) CROBU F, LATINI V, MARONGIU MF, SOGOS V, SCINTU F, PORCU S, CASU C, BADIALI M, SANNA A, MANCHINU MF, RISTALDI MS (2011) Differentiation of single cell derived human mesenchymal stem cells into cells with a neuronal phenotype: RNA and microRNA expression profile. Mol Biol Rep. 2012 39(4): 3995-4007

10) CABRAS S, SABA F, REALI C, SCORCIAPINO ML, SIRIGU A, TALANI G, BIGGIO G, SOGOS V. (2010). Antidepressant imipramine induces human astrocytes to differentiate into cells with neuronal phenotype. Int. J.Neuropsychopharmacol, vol. 13; p. 603-615