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Dive into the research topics where Milena Alù is active.

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Featured researches published by Milena Alù.


Nature Medicine | 2003

Post-transplant Kaposi sarcoma originates from the seeding of donor-derived progenitors.

Patrizia Barozzi; Mario Luppi; Fabio Facchetti; Cristina Mecucci; Milena Alù; Ronit Sarid; Valeria Rasini; Luisa Ravazzini; Elisa Rossi; Silvana Festa; Barbara Crescenzi; Dana G. Wolf; Thomas F. Schulz; Giuseppe Torelli

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is a vascular tumor that can develop in recipients of solid tissue transplants as a result of either primary infection or reactivation of a gammaherpesvirus, the KS- associated herpesvirus, also known as human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8). We studied whether HHV-8 and the elusive KS progenitor cells could be transmitted from the donor through the grafts. We used a variety of molecular, cytogenetic, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence methods to show that the HHV-8–infected neoplastic cells in post-transplant KS from five of eight renal transplant patients harbored either genetic or antigenic markers of their matched donors. These data suggest the use of donor-derived HHV-8–specific T cells for the control of post-transplant KS.


International Journal of Legal Medicine | 2009

Forensic botany: species identification of botanical trace evidence using a multigene barcoding approach

Gianmarco Ferri; Milena Alù; Beatrice Corradini; Giovanni Beduschi

AbstactForensic botany can provide significant supporting evidence during criminal investigations. However, it is still an underutilized field of investigation with its most common application limited to identifying specific as well as suspected illegal plants. The ubiquitous presence of plant species can be useful in forensics, but the absence of an accurate identification system remains the major obstacle to the present inability to routinely and correctly identify trace botanical evidence. Many plant materials cannot be identified and differentiated to the species level by traditional morphological characteristics when botanical specimens are degraded and lack physical features. By taking advantage of a universal barcode system, DNA sequencing, and other biomolecular techniques used routinely in forensic investigations, two chloroplast DNA regions were evaluated for their use as “barcoding” markers for plant identification in the field of forensics. We therefore investigated the forensic use of two non-coding plastid regions, psbA-trnH and trnL-trnF, to create a multimarker system for species identification that could be useful throughout the plant kingdom. The sequences from 63 plants belonging to our local flora were submitted and registered on the GenBank database. Sequence comparison to set up the level of identification (species, genus, or family) through Blast algorithms allowed us to assess the suitability of this method. The results confirmed the effectiveness of our botanic universal multimarker assay in forensic investigations.


European Journal of Human Genetics | 2009

J1-M267 Y lineage marks climate-driven pre-historical human displacements.

Sergio Tofanelli; Gianmarco Ferri; Kazima Bulayeva; Laura Caciagli; Valerio Onofri; Luca Taglioli; Oleg Bulayev; Ilaria Boschi; Milena Alù; Andrea Berti; Cesare Rapone; Giovanni Beduschi; Donata Luiselli; Alicia M Cadenas; Khalid Dafaallah Awadelkarim; Renato Mariani-Costantini; Nasr Eldin Elwali; Fabio Verginelli; Elena Pilli; Rene J. Herrera; Leonor Gusmão; Giorgio Paoli; Cristian Capelli

The present day distribution of Y chromosomes bearing the haplogroup J1 M267*G variant has been associated with different episodes of human demographic history, the main one being the diffusion of Islam since the Early Middle Ages. To better understand the modes and timing of J1 dispersals, we reconstructed the genealogical relationships among 282 M267*G chromosomes from 29 populations typed at 20 YSTRs and 6 SNPs. Phylogenetic analyses depicted a new genetic background consistent with climate-driven demographic dynamics occurring during two key phases of human pre-history: (1) the spatial expansion of hunter gatherers in response to the end of the late Pleistocene cooling phases and (2) the displacement of groups of foragers/herders following the mid-Holocene rainfall retreats across the Sahara and Arabia. Furthermore, J1 STR motifs previously used to trace Arab or Jewish ancestries were shown unsuitable as diagnostic markers for ethnicity.


International Journal of Legal Medicine | 2006

Subtyping mtDNA haplogroup H by SNaPshot minisequencing and its application in forensic individual identification

Pierangela Grignani; G. Peloso; Alessandro Achilli; Chiara Turchi; Adriano Tagliabracci; Milena Alù; Giovanni Beduschi; Ugo Ricci; L Giunti; Carlo Robino; Sarah Gino; C. Previderè

Sequence variation of the hypervariable segments (HVS) I/II of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the haplogroup affiliation were determined in a sample of 271 Italian subjects. This analysis showed that 42% of the individuals could be ascribed to H, the most frequent haplogroup in European Caucasian populations. This fraction was then screened for specific single nucleotide polymorphisms located in the coding region to identify H subclades H1–H15. We set up two multiplex polymerase chain reactions and specific SNaPshot assays to investigate the frequency distribution of these subgroups in our population sample and to examine their usefulness in discriminating among commonly shared HVS I/II sequences. This allowed the assignment of a large portion of the mtDNAs (∼70%) to specific subhaplogroups, with H1 and H5 being the most represented. About two-thirds of the individuals sharing common HVS I/II sequences were subdivided and ascribed to specific H subhaplogroups with a significant reduction of the frequencies of the most common mtDNA haplotypes. Haplogroup H subtyping could thus be extremely useful in forensic identification when many samples have to be analysed and compared, avoiding excessive time-consuming and labor-intensive sequencing analysis.


Forensic Science International-genetics | 2015

Forensic botany II, DNA barcode for land plants: Which markers after the international agreement?

G. Ferri; B. Corradini; F. Ferrari; Anna Laura Santunione; Federica Palazzoli; Milena Alù

The ambitious idea of using a short piece of DNA for large-scale species identification (DNA barcoding) is already a powerful tool for scientists and the application of this standard technique seems promising in a range of fields including forensic genetics. While DNA barcoding enjoyed a remarkable success for animal identification through cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) analysis, the attempts to identify a single barcode for plants remained a vain hope for a longtime. From the beginning, the Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) showed a lack of agreement on a core plant barcode, reflecting the diversity of viewpoints. Different research groups advocated various markers with divergent set of criteria until the recent publication by the CBOL-Plant Working Group. After a four-year effort, in 2009 the International Team concluded to agree on standard markers promoting a multilocus solution (rbcL and matK), with 70-75% of discrimination to the species level. In 2009 our group firstly proposed the broad application of DNA barcoding principles as a tool for identification of trace botanical evidence through the analysis of two chloroplast loci (trnH-psbA and trnL-trnF) in plant species belonging to local flora. Difficulties and drawbacks that were encountered included a poor coverage of species in specific databases and the lack of authenticated reference sequences for the selected markers. Successful preliminary results were obtained providing an approach to progressively identify unknown plant specimens to a given taxonomic rank, usable by any non-specialist botanist or in case of a shortage of taxonomic expertise. Now we considered mandatory to update and to compare our previous findings with the new selected plastid markers (matK+rbcL), taking into account forensic requirements. Features of all the four loci (the two previously analyzed trnH-psbA+trnL-trnF and matK+rbcL) were compared singly and in multilocus solutions to assess the most suitable combination for forensic botany. Based on obtained results, we recommend the adoption of a two-locus combination with rbcL+trnH-psbA plastid markers, which currently best satisfies forensic needs for botanical species identification.


Forensic Science International | 2001

Y-chromosome haplotypes in Italy: the GEFI collaborative database

Silvano Presciuttini; Alessandra Caglià; Milena Alù; Alessio Asmundo; Loredana Buscemi; Luciana Caenazzo; E. Carnevali; E. Carra; Z. De Battisti; F. De Stefano; Ranieri Domenici; Al Piccinini; Nicoletta Resta; Ugo Ricci; Vincenzo Lorenzo Pascali

A sample of 1176 males from 10 Italian regions have been typed for DYS19, DYS389-I, DYS389-II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, and DYS385. Individual haplotype data are available on line. A low degree of variation is present among regions. Use of this database is specifically recommended for forensic applications in Italy.


PLOS ONE | 2014

An Ancient Mediterranean Melting Pot: Investigating the Uniparental Genetic Structure and Population History of Sicily and Southern Italy

Stefania Sarno; Alessio Boattini; Marilisa Carta; Gianmarco Ferri; Milena Alù; Daniele Yang Yao; Graziella Ciani; Davide Pettener; Donata Luiselli

Due to their strategic geographic location between three different continents, Sicily and Southern Italy have long represented a major Mediterranean crossroad where different peoples and cultures came together over time. However, its multi-layered history of migration pathways and cultural exchanges, has made the reconstruction of its genetic history and population structure extremely controversial and widely debated. To address this debate, we surveyed the genetic variability of 326 accurately selected individuals from 8 different provinces of Sicily and Southern Italy, through a comprehensive evaluation of both Y-chromosome and mtDNA genomes. The main goal was to investigate the structuring of maternal and paternal genetic pools within Sicily and Southern Italy, and to examine their degrees of interaction with other Mediterranean populations. Our findings show high levels of within-population variability, coupled with the lack of significant genetic sub-structures both within Sicily, as well as between Sicily and Southern Italy. When Sicilian and Southern Italian populations were contextualized within the Euro-Mediterranean genetic space, we observed different historical dynamics for maternal and paternal inheritances. Y-chromosome results highlight a significant genetic differentiation between the North-Western and South-Eastern part of the Mediterranean, the Italian Peninsula occupying an intermediate position therein. In particular, Sicily and Southern Italy reveal a shared paternal genetic background with the Balkan Peninsula and the time estimates of main Y-chromosome lineages signal paternal genetic traces of Neolithic and post-Neolithic migration events. On the contrary, despite showing some correspondence with its paternal counterpart, mtDNA reveals a substantially homogeneous genetic landscape, which may reflect older population events or different demographic dynamics between males and females. Overall, both uniparental genetic structures and TMRCA estimates confirm the role of Sicily and Southern Italy as an ancient Mediterranean melting pot for genes and cultures.


Forensic Science International | 2003

Allele sharing in first-degree and unrelated pairs of individuals in the Ge.F.I. AmpFlSTR® Profiler Plus™ database

Silvano Presciuttini; Francesca Ciampini; Milena Alù; N. Cerri; M. Dobosz; Ranieri Domenici; G. Peloso; Susi Pelotti; A. Piccinini; E. Ponzano; Ugo Ricci; Adriano Tagliabracci; J.E Baley-Wilson; Francesco De Stefano; Vincenzo Lorenzo Pascali

Eleven Italian forensic laboratories participated in a population study based on the AB Profiler Plus loci with proficiency testing. The validated database, including 1340 individuals, is available on-line. Tests for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, gametic unbalance, and heterogeneity of gene frequency were generally not significant. Gene frequencies at each locus were consistent with those of two previously published Italian studies, but different from a third. Individuals of each subsample were paired, and the total number of alleles shared across the nine loci was determined in each pair. The analysis was replicated over the total sample. In addition, two samples of mother-child pairs (N=315) and full-sib pairs (N=91) were subjected to allele sharing analysis. The resulting distributions were sufficiently distinct from the sample of unrelated pairs as to be of practical usefulness.


Forensic Science International-genetics | 2009

Multiplex mtDNA coding region SNP assays for molecular dissection of haplogroups U/K and J/T.

Pierangela Grignani; Chiara Turchi; Alessandro Achilli; G. Peloso; Milena Alù; Ugo Ricci; Carlo Robino; Susi Pelotti; E. Carnevali; Ilaria Boschi; Adriano Tagliabracci; C. Previderè

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) U/K and J/T are sister haplogroups within the superhaplogroup R. They are both common in Europe, with a combined overall frequency similar to the one reported for H, the most common European haplogroup (40-50%). In this study, we selected 159 Italian subjects, already ascribed to U/K and J/T by RFLP typing, and assigned each mtDNA to specific clades/subclades by investigating at least one diagnostic coding region SNP. For each sister haplogroup, one multiplex PCR and one SNaPshot minisequencing reaction were set up targeting 16 U/K and 7 J/T coding region SNPs. Each mtDNA sample was clearly assigned to a specific subclade, which could be further subdivided into several minor sub-branches according to peculiar HVS I/II motifs. Such a molecular dissection of haplogroups U/K and J/T could be extremely useful to reduce the overall analysis time and labor intensive sequencing procedures in high volume forensic casework, for example when it is important to rapidly exclude samples in order to restrict the number of suspects.


PLOS ONE | 2013

Detecting Genetic Isolation in Human Populations: A Study of European Language Minorities

Marco Capocasa; Cinzia Battaggia; Paolo Anagnostou; Francesco Montinaro; Ilaria Boschi; Gianmarco Ferri; Milena Alù; Valentina Coia; Federica Crivellaro; Giovanni Destro Bisol

The identification of isolation signatures is fundamental to better understand the genetic structure of human populations and to test the relations between cultural factors and genetic variation. However, with current approaches, it is not possible to distinguish between the consequences of long-term isolation and the effects of reduced sample size, selection and differential gene flow. To overcome these limitations, we have integrated the analysis of classical genetic diversity measures with a Bayesian method to estimate gene flow and have carried out simulations based on the coalescent. Combining these approaches, we first tested whether the relatively short history of cultural and geographical isolation of four “linguistic islands” of the Eastern Alps (Lessinia, Sauris, Sappada and Timau) had left detectable signatures in their genetic structure. We then compared our findings to previous studies of European population isolates. Finally, we explored the importance of demographic and cultural factors in shaping genetic diversity among the groups under study. A combination of small initial effective size and continued genetic isolation from surrounding populations seems to provide a coherent explanation for the diversity observed among Sauris, Sappada and Timau, which was found to be substantially greater than in other groups of European isolated populations. Simulations of micro-evolutionary scenarios indicate that ethnicity might have been important in increasing genetic diversity among these culturally related and spatially close populations.

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Gianmarco Ferri

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

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Giovanni Beduschi

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

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Ugo Ricci

University of Florence

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Adriano Tagliabracci

Marche Polytechnic University

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Beatrice Corradini

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

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