Bio
Alessandra Colombini received a Master’s Degree in Medical Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine in 2006 and the post-graduate Specialization in Clinical Biochemistry in 2011, both from Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy. From 2007 she is researcher at the I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi.
She was involved in research projects (Italian and international) for the study of intervertebral disc, cartilage and tendon degeneration, regenerative medicine in musculoskeletal field, biochemical markers in sports medicine and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. In particular, she was involved from 2009 to 2013 in the European Genodisc Project (FP7), focusing on intervertebral disc degeneration-related pathologies. Her main research interests are in the field of genetic and biochemical markers of musculoskeletal pathologies. Her dissemination activity consists in the publication of more than 50 papers in international peer-reviewed journals.
Publications
Cauci S, Viganò M, de Girolamo L, De Luca P, Perucca Orfei C, Banfi G, Lombardi G, Brayda-Bruno M, Colombini A. High Levels of Circulating Type II Collagen Degradation Marker (CTx-II) Are Associated with Specific VDR Polymorphisms in Patients with Adult Vertebral Osteochondrosis. Int J Mol Sci. 2017; 18(10). pii: E2073. doi: 10.3390/ijms18102073.
Brayda-Bruno M, Viganò M, Cauci S, Vitale JA, de Girolamo L, De Luca P, Lombardi G, Banfi G, Colombini A. Plasma vitamin D and osteo-cartilaginous markers in Italian males affected by intervertebral disc degeneration: Focus on seasonal and pathological trend of type II collagen degradation. Clin Chim Acta. 2017; 471: 87-93.
Lopa S, Ceriani C, Cecchinato R, Zagra L, Moretti M, Colombini A. Stability of housekeeping genes in human intervertebral disc, endplate and articular cartilage cells in multiple conditions for reliable transcriptional analysis. Eur Cell Mater. 2016; 31: 395-406.
Colombini A, Brayda-Bruno M, Lombardi G, Croiset SJ, Ceriani C, Buligan C, Barbina M, Banfi G, Cauci S. BsmI, ApaI and TaqI Polymorphisms in the Vitamin D Receptor Gene (VDR) and Association with Lumbar Spine Pathologies: An Italian Case-Control Study. PLoS One. 2016; 11: e0155004.
Colombini A, Lopa S, Ceriani C, Lovati AB, Croiset SJ, Di Giancamillo A, Lombardi G, Banfi G, Moretti M. In vitro characterization and in vivo behavior of human nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells in clinical-grade fibrin and collagen-enriched fibrin gels. Tissue Eng Part A. 2015; 21: 793-802.
Colombini A, Brayda-Bruno M, Lombardi G, Croiset SJ, Vrech V, Maione V, Banfi G, Cauci S. FokI polymorphism in the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) and its association with lumbar spine pathologies in the Italian population: a case-control study. PLoS One. 2014; 9: e97027.
Lopa S, Colombini A, Stanco D, de Girolamo L, Sansone V, Moretti M. Donor-matched mesenchymal stem cells from knee infrapatellar and subcutaneous adipose tissue of osteoarthritic donors display differential chondrogenic and osteogenic commitment. Eur Cell Mater. 2014; 27: 298-311.
Colombini A, Lanteri P, Lombardi G, Grasso D, Recordati C, Lovi A, Banfi G, Bassani R, Brayda-Bruno M. Metabolic effects of vitamin D active metabolites in monolayer and micromass cultures of nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells isolated from human intervertebral disc. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2012; 44: 1019-30.
Banfi G, Colombini A, Lombardi G, Lubkowska A. Metabolic markers in sports medicine. Adv Clin Chem. 2012; 56: 1-54.
Colombini A, Corsetti R, Graziani R, Lombardi G, Lanteri P, Banfi G. Evaluation of creatinine, cystatin C and eGFR by different equations in professional cyclists during the Giro d’Italia 3-weeks stage race. Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 2012; 72: 114-20.