Luca Varani
Structural Biology
Group Leader
Via Vela, 6
6500 Bellinzona,
Switzerland
- luca.varani@irb.usi.ch
- +41 91 820 0321
- +41 91 820 0305
| Bio |
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Luca Varani graduated in chemistry at the University of Milan (Italy) with a thesis in structural biology. He then moved to the MRC-Laboratory of Molecular Biology and obtained a PhD degree at the University of Cambridge (UK) in 2000. His PhD research focused on the role of RNA and protein interactions in the regulation of gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, culminating in the determination of the largest NMR structure and one of only three RNA-protein complexes available at the time. He also contributed to show the role of RNA structure in dementia, proving the viability of RNA as a therapeutic target. After a brief spell in Florence, he moved to Stanford University (USA) as a postdoctoral fellow and was awarded an “EMBO Fellow” in 2003. |
| Projects |
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| Prediction and characterization of antibody-protein interactions in Dengue virus |
| Characterization of antibody-protein interactions in Diphtheria Toxin |
| Publications |
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HMGB1 promotes recruitment of inflammatory cells to damaged tissues by forming a complex with CXCL12 and signaling via CXCR4 M. Schiraldi, A. Raucci, L. M. Munoz, E. Livoti, B. Celona, E. Venereau, T. Apuzzo, F. De Marchis, M. Pedotti, A. Bachi, M. Thelen, L. Varani, M. Mellado, A. Proudfoot, M. E. Bianchi, M. Uguccioni in J Exp Med (2012) vol. 209 pp551-63 |
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Computational docking of antibody-antigen complexes, opportunities and pitfalls illustrated by influenza hemagglutinin M. Pedotti, L. Simonelli, E. Livoti, L. Varani in Int J Mol Sci (2011) vol. 12 pp226-51 |
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The human immune response to Dengue virus is dominated by highly cross-reactive antibodies endowed with neutralizing and enhancing activity M. Beltramello, K. L. Williams, C. P. Simmons, A. Macagno, L. Simonelli, N. T. Quyen, S. Sukupolvi-Petty, E. Navarro-Sanchez, P. R. Young, A. M. de Silva, F. A. Rey, L. Varani, S. S. Whitehead, M. S. Diamond, E. Harris, A. Lanzavecchia, F. Sallusto in Cell Host Microbe (2010) vol. 8 pp271-83 |
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Rapid structural characterization of human antibody-antigen complexes through experimentally validated computational docking L. Simonelli, M. Beltramello, Z. Yudina, A. Macagno, L. Calzolai, L. Varani in J Mol Biol (2010) vol. 396 pp1491-507 |
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The Diversity of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy C. W. Liu, V. Y. Alekseyev, J. R. Allwardt, A. J. Bankovich, B. J. Cade-Menun, R. W. Davis, L. S. Du, K. C. Garcia, D. Herschlag, C. Khosla, D. A. Kraut, Q. Li, B. Null, J. D. Puglisi, P. A. Sigala, J. F. Stebbins, L. Varani in Biophysics and the Challenges of Emerging Threats (2009) pp65-81 |
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Solution mapping of T cell receptor docking footprints on peptide-MHC L. Varani, A. J. Bankovich, C. W. Liu, L. A. Colf, L. L. Jones, D. M. Kranz, J. D. Puglisi, K. C. Garcia in Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2007) vol. 104 pp13080-5 |
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Elucidation of the interleukin-15 binding site on its alpha receptor by NMR N. A. Hanick, M. Rickert, L. Varani, A. J. Bankovich, J. R. Cochran, D. M. Kim, C. D. Surh, K. C. Garcia in Biochemistry (2007) vol. 46 pp9453-61 |
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Nuclear magnetic resonance methods to study structure and dynamics of RNA-protein complexes M. Allen, L. Varani, G. Varani in Methods Enzymol (2001) vol. 339 pp357-76 |
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Nuclear magnetic resonance methods to study RNA-protein complexes P. Bayer, L. Varani, G. Varani in Methods Enzymol (2000) vol. 317 pp198-220 |
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A novel mutation at position +12 in the intron following exon 10 of the tau gene in familial frontotemporal dementia (FTD-Kumamoto) M. Yasuda, J. Takamatsu, I. D'Souza, R. A. Crowther, T. Kawamata, M. Hasegawa, H. Hasegawa, M. G. Spillantini, S. Tanimukai, P. Poorkaj, L. Varani, G. Varani, T. Iwatsubo, M. Goedert, D. G. Schellenberg, C. Tanaka in Ann Neurol (2000) vol. 47 pp422-9 |
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The NMR structure of the 38 kDa U1A protein - PIE RNA complex reveals the basis of cooperativity in regulation of polyadenylation by human U1A protein L. Varani, S. I. Gunderson, I. W. Mattaj, L. E. Kay, D. Neuhaus, G. Varani in Nat Struct Biol (2000) vol. 7 pp329-35 |
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Structural basis for recognition of the RNA major groove in the tau exon 10 splicing regulatory element by aminoglycoside antibiotics L. Varani, M. G. Spillantini, M. Goedert, G. Varani in Nucleic Acids Res (2000) vol. 28 pp710-9 |
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Changes in side-chain and backbone dynamics identify determinants of specificity in RNA recognition by human U1A protein A. Mittermaier, L. Varani, D. R. Muhandiram, L. E. Kay, G. Varani in J Mol Biol (1999) vol. 294 pp967-79 |
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Refinement of the structure of protein-RNA complexes by residual dipolar coupling analysis P. Bayer, L. Varani, G. Varani in J Biomol NMR (1999) vol. 14 pp149-55 |
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Structure of tau exon 10 splicing regulatory element RNA and destabilization by mutations of frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 L. Varani, M. Hasegawa, M. G. Spillantini, M. J. Smith, J. R. Murrell, B. Ghetti, A. Klug, M. Goedert, G. Varani in Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (1999) vol. 96 pp8229-34 |
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RNA-protein interactions and protein-protein interactions during regulation of eukaryotic gene expression L. Varani, A. Ramos, P. Cole, D. Neuhaus, G. Varani in J Korean Magnetic Resonance Soc (1998) vol. 2 pp152-157 |
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Partially folded structure of monomeric bovine beta-lactoglobulin H. Molinari, L. Ragona, L. Varani, G. Musco, R. Consonni, L. Zetta, H. L. Monaco in FEBS Lett (1996) vol. 381 pp237-43 |