Luigi Franchi, Ph.D.
e-mail address: luigif@umich.edu

Mentor: Gabriel Nunez, M.D.

Techniques Used:
mouse models of bacteria infection, common technique in molecular biology and cell biology

Research Description:

Publications:

Malisan F, Franchi L, Tomassini B, Ventura N, Condo I, Rippo MR, Rufini A, Liberati L, Nachtigall C, Kniep B, Testi R. Acetylation suppresses the proapoptotic activity of GD3 ganglioside. J Exp Med. 2002;196:1535-41.

Franchi L, Testi R. Is it cytotoxicity or apoptosis which causes cell death in autoimmunity? Springer Semin Immunopathol. 2002;24:331-41.

Franchi L, Condò I, Tomassini B, Nicolò C, Testi R. A caspase-like activity is triggered by LPS and is required for survival of human dendritic cells. Blood 2003 Oct 15;102(8):2910-5.

Tomassini B, Malisan F, Franchi L, Nicolo C, Calvo GB, Saito T, Testi R. Calnexin suppresses GD3 synthase-induced apoptosis. FASEB J. 2004 Oct;18(13):1553-5.

Franchi L, Malisan F, Tomassini B, Testi R. Ceramide catabolism critically controls survival of human dendritic cells. J Leukoc Biol. 2006 Jan;79(1):166-72.

Monteleone G, Franchi L*, Fina D, Caruso R, Vavassori P, Monteleone I, Calabrese E, Naccari GC, Bellinvia S, Testi R, Pallone F. Silencing of SH-PTP2 defines a crucial role in the inactivation of epidermal growth factor receptor by 5-aminosalicylic acid in colon cancer cells. Cell Death Differ. 2006 Feb;13(2):202-11.

Fina D, Franchi L*, Caruso R, Peluso I, Naccari GC, Bellinvia S, Testi R, Pallone F, Monteleone G. 5-Aminosalicylic acid enhances anchorage-independent colorectal cancer cell death. Eur J Cancer. 2006 Oct;42(15):2609-16

Ozoren N, Masumoto J, Franchi L, Kanneganti TD, Body-Malapel M, Erturk I, Jagirdar R, Zhu L, Inohara N, Bertin J, Coyle A, Grant EP, Nunez G. Distinct roles of TLR2 and the adaptor ASC in IL-1beta/IL-18 secretion in response to Listeria monocytogenes. J Immunol. 2006 Apr 1;176(7):4337-42.

Kanneganti TD, Ozoren N, Body-Malapel M, Amer A, Park JH, Franchi L, Whitfield J, Barchet W, Colonna M, Vandenabeele P, Bertin J, Coyle A, Grant EP, Akira S, Nunez G. Bacterial RNA and small antiviral compounds activate caspase-1 through cryopyrin/Nalp3. Nature. 2006 Mar 9;440(7081):233-6.

Franchi L, Amer A, Body-Malapel M, Kanneganti TD, Ozoren N, Jagirdar R, Inohara N, Vandenabeele P, Bertin J, Coyle A, Grant EP, Nunez G. Cytosolic flagellin requires Ipaf for activation of caspase-1 and interleukin 1beta in salmonella-infected macrophages. Nat Immunol. 2006 Jun;7(6):576-82.

Franchi L, McDonald C, Kanneganti TD, Amer A, Nunez G. Nucleotide-Binding Oligomerization Domain-Like Receptors: Intracellular Pattern Recognition Molecules for Pathogen Detection and Host Defense. J Immunol. 2006 Sep 15;177(6):3507-3513.

Amer A, Franchi L*, Kanneganti TD, Body-Malapel M, Ozören N, Brady G, Meshinchi S, Jagirdar R, Gewirtz A, Akira S, Núñez G. Regulation of Legionella phagosome maturation and infection through flagellin and host Ipaf. J Biol Chem. 2006 Nov 17;281(46):35217-23.

Kanneganti TD, Body-Malapel M, Amer A, Park JH, Whitfield J, Franchi L, Taraporewala ZF, Miller D, Patton JT, Inohara N, Núñez G. Critical role for Cryopyrin/Nalp3 in activation of caspase-1 in response to viral infection and double-stranded RNA. J Biol Chem. 2006 Dec 1;281(48):36560-8.

Kanneganti TD, Lamkanfi M, Kim YG, Chen G, Park JH, Franchi L, Vandenabeele P, Núñez G. Pannexin-1-mediated recognition of bacterial molecules activates the cryopyrin inflammasome independent of Toll-like receptor signaling. Immunity. 2007 Apr;26(4):433-43.

Lamkanfi M, Kanneganti TD, Franchi L, Núñez G. Caspase-1 inflammasomes in infection and inflammation. J Leukoc Biol. 2007 Aug;82(2):220-5

Franchi L, Kanneganti TD, Dubyak GR, Núñez G. Differential requirement of P2X7 receptor and intracellular K+ for caspase-1 activation induced by intracellular and extracellular bacteria. J Biol Chem. 2007 Jun 29;282(26):18810-8.

Qu Y, Franchi L, Nunez G, Dubyak GR. Nonclassical IL-1 beta secretion stimulated by P2X7 receptors is dependent on inflammasome activation and correlated with exosome release in murine macrophages. J Immunol. 2007 Aug 1;179(3):1913-25.

Suzuki T, Franchi L, Toma C, Ashida H, Ogawa M, Yoshikawa Y, Mimuro H, Inohara N, Sasakawa C, Nuñez G. Differential regulation of caspase-1 activation, pyroptosis, and autophagy via Ipaf and ASC in Shigella-infected macrophages. PLoS Pathog. 2007 Aug 10;3(8):e111.

Franchi L, Stoolman J, Kanneganti TD, Verma A, Ramphal R, Núñez G. Critical role for Ipaf in Pseudomonas aeruginosa-induced caspase-1 activation. Eur J Immunol. 2007 Nov;37(11):3030-9.

Franchi L, Park JH, Shaw MH, Marina-Garcia N, Chen G, Kim YG, Núñez G. Intracellular NOD-like receptors in innate immunity, infection and disease. Cell Microbiol. 2008 Jan;10(1):1-8. Epub 2007 Oct 18.

Kim YG, Park JH, Shaw MH, Franchi L, Inohara N, Núñez G. The cytosolic sensors Nod1 and Nod2 are critical for bacterial recognition and host defense after exposure to Toll-like receptor ligands. Immunity. 2008 Feb;28(2):246-57.

Marina-García N, Franchi L, Kim YG, Miller D, McDonald C, Boons GJ, Núñez G. Pannexin-1-mediated intracellular delivery of muramyl dipeptide induces caspase-1 activation via cryopyrin/NLRP3 independently of Nod2. J Immunol. 2008 Mar 15;180(6):4050-7.

Franchi L, Núñez G. The Nlrp3 inflammasome is critical for aluminium hydroxide-mediated IL-1beta secretion but dispensable for adjuvant activity. Eur J Immunol. 2008 Aug;38(8):2085-9.

Franchi L, Warner N, Viani K, Nuñez G. Function of Nod-like receptors in microbial recognition and host defense. Immunol Rev. 2009 Jan;227(1):106-28.

Sanders CJ, Franchi L, Yarovinsky F, Uematsu S, Akira S, Núñez G, Gewirtz AT. Induction of adaptive immunity by flagellin does not require robust activation of innate immunity. Eur J Immunol. 2009 Feb;39(2):359-71.

Franchi L, Eigenbrod T, Muñoz-Planillo R, Nuñez G. The inflammasome: a caspase-1-activation platform that regulates immune responses and disease pathogenesis. Nat Immunol. 2009 Mar;10(3):241-7.

Marina-García N, Franchi L*, Kim YG, Hu Y, Smith DE, Boons GJ, Núñez G. Clathrin- and dynamin-dependent endocytic pathway regulates muramyl dipeptide internalization and NOD2 activation. J Immunol. 2009 Apr 1;182(7):4321-7.

Qu Y, Ramachandra L, Mohr S, Franchi L, Harding CV, Nunez G, Dubyak GR. P2X7 receptor-stimulated secretion of MHC class II-containing exosomes requires the ASC/NLRP3 inflammasome but is independent of caspase-1. J Immunol. 2009 Apr 15;182(8):5052-62.

Samavati L, Rastogi R, Du W, Hüttemann M, Fite A, Franchi L. STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation is critical for interleukin 1 beta and interleukin-6 production in response to lipopolysaccharide and live bacteria. Mol Immunol. 2009 May;46(8-9):1867-77.

Franchi L, Eigenbrod T., and Nunez G. TNF-ÿÿMediate Sensitization to ATP and Silica via the NLRP3 Inflammasome in the Absence of Microbial Stimulation. CUTTING EDGE J Immunol. 183(2):792-6

* First author with equal contribution

Honors and Awards: