Claudia Bagni
Molecular Neurobiology
VIB Department of Molecular and Developmental Genetics, K.U.Leuven

PhD: University of Rome, Italy, '92 Postdoc: CNRS, France, '91-'93 Postdoc : Harvard Univ, Cambridge US, '93-'94 Postdoc : EMBL, Germany, '94-'96 Associate Prof : University of Rome " Tor Vergata ", Italy, since 2002 VIB Group leader since 2008

e-mail phone +32 16 33 09 44 ADDRESS

Current team members
Group leader: Claudia Bagni
Postdoctoral scientists: Andrea Buzzi, Antonella Borreca, Bing Yan, Silvia De Rubeis
Ph.D. Students: Emanuela Pasciuto, Hermina Nedelescu, Michele Averna, Rossella Lucà, Tiziana Girardi
Visiting young scientist: Giorgio La Fata
Support personnel: Eliane Cherretté, Katrien Gobien, Nele Vanbekbergen

Keywords
mRNA localization - local protein synthesis - synaptic plasticity - spine dysmorphogenesis - fragile X Syndrome

Science
Cellular and Molecular Studies of Synaptic Plasticity in the context of the Fragile X Syndrome

One of the big tasks in neurobiology is to understand how a neuronal cell can store previous experience and change its output accordingly: the basis of learning and memory. A crucial contribution comes from regulated local protein synthesis in the dendrites and axons of the neuronal cell. To understand how this process contributes to learning and memory processes, three broad questions have to be addressed: (i) How are the necessary components of the protein synthesis machinery transported to the dendrites/axons? (ii) What triggers local protein synthesis? (iii) What downstream processes are affected by regulated translation?
My lab has extensively studied the molecular basis of the Fragile X syndrome (FXS) that is caused by the absence of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein, FMRP.
FMRP is implicated in mRNA metabolism at synapses, and the study of the protein and of its mRNA offers a major inroad into the understanding of the learning and memory processes. We will use this approach further to obtain a complete understanding of the regulation of synaptic protein synthesis. Finally, Autistic Spectrum Disorder is linked to the Fragile X Syndrome; in fact, FXS is the monogenic Syndrome with the highest incidence of Autism. Both the Fragile X Syndrome and Autism are still without an effective cure. We will therefore use the knowledge obtained from these lines of research to identify, in collaboration with clinical researchers, possible pharmacological approaches and strategies

Press release
See also press release (19/09/2008): Revealing the regulating mechanism behind signal transduction in the brain - based on a publication in Cell (Napoli et al., Cell, 2008).

Di Penta A, Mercaldo V, Florenzano F, Munck S, Ciotti M, Zalfa F, Mercanti D, Molinari M, Bagni C, Achsel T
Dendritic LSm1/CBP80-mRNPs mark the early steps of transport commitment and translational control
J CELL BIOL 184, 423-35, 2009



Napoli I, Mercaldo V, Boyl P, Eleuteri B, Zalfa F, De Rubeis S, Di Marino D, Mohr E, Massimi M, Falconi M, Witke W, Costa-Mattioli M, Sonenberg N, Achsel T, Bagni C
The fragile X syndrome protein represses activity-dependent translation through CYFIP1, a new 4E-BP
CELL 134, 1042-54, 2008



Zalfa F, Eleuteri B, Dickson K, Mercaldo V, De Rubeis S, Di Penta A, Tabolacci E, Chiurazzi P, Neri G, Grant S, Bagni C
A new function for the fragile X mental retardation protein in regulation of PSD-95 mRNA stability
NAT NEUROSCI 10, 578-87, 2007



Restivo L, Ferrari F, Passino E, Sgobio C, Bock J, Oostra B, Bagni C, Ammassari-Teule M
Enriched environment promotes behavioral and morphological recovery in a mouse model for the fragile X syndrome
P NATL ACAD SCI USA 102, 11557-62, 2005



Zalfa F, Giorgi M, Primerano B, Moro A, Di Penta A, Reis S, Oostra B, Bagni C
The fragile X syndrome protein FMRP associates with BC1 RNA and regulates the translation of specific mRNAs at synapses
CELL 112, 317-27, 2003

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