Maria Pina Serra

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Telephone: +39 070 675 4085

Personal webpage: here

Main areas of expertise: anatomy, chemical neuroanatomy, neural and synaptic plasticity, sensory systems.

Main research topics and areas of interest:

1) Chemical neuroanatomy and hodology of the nervous system.

Research focuses on chemical neuroanatomy concerning neuropeptides, markers of neuroplasticity, neurotrophic factors and their receptors in central and peripheral neuronal systems and ontogenetic variations, in human and laboratory animals.

Goals:
– Build neurochemical maps of tissue and cellular localization of specific neuronal markers.
– Know the expression variations of neuronal markers in different moments of the ontogeny.
– Typing the neurochemical phenotype of trigeminal primary sensory neurons involved in the processing of pain-sensitive information.
– Morphometric and densitometric characterization.

2) Experimental chemical neuroanatomy

In collaboration with other research groups, biochemical study and neurochemical anatomy of the cerebral cortex in animal models of brain damage induced by transient global hypoperfusion; the role of neurobiological mechanisms involved in resilience and vulnerability to stress in an experimental model of depression (Hippocampus formation; Meso-corticolimbic system); Neural plasticity in models of male sexual behaviour (Meso-cortico-limbic system; Hippocampal formation); Dynamic modifications of the expression of neuropeptides and receptors involved in algogenic transmission in experimental models of peripheral neuropathy induced by anticancer drugs (spinal sensory system).

Goals:
– Build neurochemical maps of tissue and cellular localization of specific neuronal markers.
– To correlate the expression variations of neuronal markers to neuronal lesion or depressive pathology.
– Typing the neurochemical phenotype of primary sensory neurons involved in processing pain-sensitive information.
– Morphometric and densitometric characterization.

Key Publications:

Serra MP, Sanna F, Boi M, Poddighe L, Secci L, Trucas M, Fernández-Teruel A, Corda MG, Giorgi O, Quartu M. Acute Stress Induces Different Changes on the Expression of BDNF and trkB in the Mesocorticolimbic System of Two Lines of Rats Differing in Their Response to Stressors. Int J Mol Sci, 2022, 23(23):14995. DOI: 3390/ijms232314995.
Trucas M, Kowalik MA, Boi M, Serra MP, Perra A, Quartu M. The density of hepatic autonomic innervation differs between compensatory and direct hyperplasia rat models. J Peripher Nerv Syst. 2023;28(1):98-107. DOI: 10.1111/jns.12521. Epub 2022 Nov 23.
Basile GA, Quartu M, Bertino S, Serra MP, Trucas M, Boi M, Demontis R, Bramanti A, Anastasi GP, Milardi D, Ciurleo R, Cacciola A. In vivo probabilistic atlas of white matter tracts of the human subthalamic area combining track density imaging and optimized diffusion tractography. Brain Struct Funct. 2022 Nov;227(8):2647-2665. doi: 10.1007/s00429-022-02561-3.
Sanna F, Serra MP, Boi M, Bratzu J, Poddighe L, Sanna F, Carta A, Corda MG, Giorgi O, Melis MR, Argiolas A, Quartu M. Neuroplastic changes in c-Fos, ΔFosB, BDNF, trkB, and Arc expression in the hippocampus of male Roman rats: differential effects of sexual activity. 2022 Jul;32(7):529-551. DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23448.
Serra MP, Boi M, Carta A, Murru E, Carta G, Banni S, Quartu M. Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Beta-Caryophyllene Mediated by the Involvement of TRPV1, BDNF and trkB in the Rat Cerebral Cortex after Hypoperfusion/Reperfusion. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Mar 26;23(7):3633. DOI: 10.3390/ijms23073633.
Cavaletti G, Marmiroli P, Renn CL, Dorsey SG, Serra MP, Quartu M, Meregalli C. Cannabinoids: an Effective Treatment for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neurotoxicity?Neurotherapeutics, 2021, DOI: 10.1007/s13311-021-01127-1.
Basile GA, Quartu M, Bertino S, Serra MP, Boi M, Bramanti A, Anastasi GP, Milardi D, Cacciola A. Red nucleus structure and function: from anatomy to clinical neuroscience. Brain Structure and Function, 2021, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-020-02171-x.
Sanna F, Bratzu J, Serra MP, Leo D, Quartu M, Boi M, Espinoza S, Gainetdinov RR, Melis MR, Argiolas A. Altered Sexual Behavior in Dopamine Transporter (DAT) Knockout Male Rats: A Behavioral, Neurochemical and Intracerebral Microdialysis Study. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 14, 2020, Art N.58, DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2020.00058.
Serra MP, Boi M, Poddighe L, Melis T, Lai Y, Carta G, Quartu M. Resveratrol Regulates BDNF, trkB, PSA-NCAM, and Arc Expression in the Rat Cerebral Cortex after Bilateral Common Carotid Artery Occlusion and Reperfusion. 2019 May 1;11(5). pii: E1000. doi: 10.3390/nu11051000.
Serra MP, Poddighe L, Boi M, Sanna F, Piludu MA, Sanna F, Corda MG, Giorgi O, Quartu M. Effect of Acute Stress on the Expression of BDNF, trkB, and PSA-NCAM in the Hippocampus of the Roman Rats: A Genetic Model of Vulnerability/Resistance to Stress-Induced Depression. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Nov 24;19(12). pii: E3745. doi: 10.3390/ijms19123745.