Maria Pia RIGOBELLO
Title: Associate Professor
Telephone: 049 827-6138
E-mail: mariapia.rigobello@unipd.it
Group Website: [link]
Current Position
Associate professor of Biochemistry in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, SSD BIO/10 (from 2015)
Biography and Education
Research Undergraduate Student in the Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova: 1975-1976. Laurea summa cum laude in Biological Sciences from University of Padova in 1976.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova: 1980-1983.
Research Assistant in the Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova: 1984-2001.
Research Professor (tenure) in the Dept. of Biological Chemistry, University of Padova: from 2001 to 2014.
2017- National Scientific Qualification (Abilitazione) as full professor (I Fascia) for the recruitment sector 05/E1 (SSD BIO/10). ABILITATO: VALIDO DAL 26/07/2017 AL 26/07/2026 (art. 16, comma 1, Legge 240/10
Teaching courses:
- "Chemistry and Biological Chemistry", at the School of Medicine, University of Padova (from 2000 up to now);
- "Biochemistry and Cellular Biochemistry" in Postgraduate Specialization Schools of "Clinical Pathology and Clinical Biochemistry", "Nutritional Sciences" and "Microbiology and Virology".
- Coordinator and teacher in the Master course (II level) in "Population Nutrition and food safety", University of Padova, from 2008 to 2010.
- Director and teacher in the Master course (I Level) in "People Nutrition, Food and Safety Education", Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, from 2010 to 2019.
- Director and teacher in the Master course (II Level) in "Human Nutrition, Food and Safety Education", Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Padova, 2019- up to now.
Supervisor of:
- over 50 Master theses for Degrees in Biology, Pharmacy, Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies, for Specialization Degree in Clinical Pathology and Clinical Biochemistry and for Master Courses;
- 3 PhD students in the PhD School in Biomedical Sciences, and Member of the Faculty of the same PhD School.
Reviewer of International Scientific Journals related to her research field.
Bibliometric Indicators
- Publications: more than 108 publications in peer-reviewed international biochemical journals (52 times first author or corresponding author) and 110 Congress Communication. Number of publications in the last 10 years (2010-2020) = 40
- From WEB OF SCIENCE, times Cited: 5012; h-index 38 (January 2022).
Scientific Dissemination
- Author of 12 textbooks for the secondary school of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Life Sciences.
- Member of Research Projects of C.N.R., M.I.U.R and Participant to COST 2012 European Cooperation in Science and Technology CM1105, WG1, "Functional metal complexes that bind to biomolecules"
- Member of Society for Free Radicals Research.
Main research interest:
Research interests are mainly referred to oxidative stress, thiol redox regulation in normal and tumor cells. In particular, the studies are developed on mitochondrial redox regulation especially in relation to glutathione and thioredoxin systems. The functions of the Thioredoxin system- thioredoxin, thioredoxin reductase and peroxiredoxins- are analyzed in the redox signaling pathways. Inhibitors of thioredoxin reductase such as metal complexes are evaluated and consequently the redox state of the protein targets are investigated. Glutathione system is formed by glutathione, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidases and glutaredoxins. These latter enzymes are crucial in the interplay between glutathione and thioredoxin systems and are strictly related to the de/glutathionylation process. Our investigation deals with the analysis of their role in different pathophysiological conditions.
Antioxidant bioactive peptides from different food matrices such as milk, fermented milk, soy and oat, sunflower protein isolate and their mechanism of action. The role of antioxidant peptides is studied in a cell environment, following the mechanism of activation of the Keap1 /Nrf2 pathway. In addition, the relationship between Keap1 /Nrf2 and NF-kB pathways is a topic that we are actively
Main International Collaborations
- Research group of Dr, Lucia Coppo, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet (Solna, Stockholm, Sweden) on the role of Grx2 (glutaredoxin mitochondrial isoform) in a mouse model.
- Research group of Prof.s Anne Vessières and Gérard Jouen, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Laboratoire de Chimie et Biochimie des Complexes Moleculaires, UMR CNRS 7576, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Paris, for studies on metallocifens compounds derived from tamoxifen able to target thioredoxin system leading to cancer cells death.
- Research group of Prof. Angela Casini, now at Department of Chemistry Technical University of Munich (TUM), in the recent past Group Leader, at the Pharmacokinetics, Toxicology and Targeting Research Institute of Pharmacy, University of Groeningen and then, Chair of Medicinal and Bioinorganic Chemistry, at the School of Chemistry Cardiff University, UK. The collaboration has grown up on the effects of gold complexes as potential antitumor drugs on cancer cells.
- Research group of Prof. Mikael Björnstedt, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet Stockholm, Sweden, from 2007 to 2012. The collaboration has been developed on the selenoenzymes and their role in tumoral cell lines.
1. Hyeraci M, Scalcon V, Folda A, Labella L, Marchetti F, Samaritani S, Rigobello MP. *Dalla Via L*, (2021) New Platinum(II) Complexes Affecting Different Biomolecular Targets in Resistant Ovarian Carcinoma Cells. ChemMedChem 16(12):1956-1966. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.202100075
2. Moretto L, Tonolo F, Folda A, Scalcon V, Bindoli A, Bellamio M, Feller E, Rigobello MP. (2021) Comparative analysis of the antioxidant capacity and lipid and protein oxidation of soy and oats beverages. Food Production, Processing And Nutrition 3 (1) doi:10.1186/s43014-020-00046-6.
3. Tonolo F.; Moretto L, Grinzato A; Fiorese F; Folda A; Scalcon V; Ferro S; Arrigoni G, Bindoli A, Feller E, Bellamio M, Marin O*, Rigobello MP*. (2020). Fermented soy-derived bioactive peptides selected by a molecular docking approach show antioxidant properties involving the Keap1/Nrf2 pathway. doi:10.3390/antiox9121306. pp.1-21. Antioxidants-: 2076-3921 vol. 9 (12)
4. Antonucci S; Di Sante, M; Tonolo F; Pontarollo L; Scalcon V, Alanova P, Menabò R, Carpi A, Bindoli A, Rigobello MP., Giorgio M, Kaludercic N, Di Lisa F. (2020). The Determining Role of Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Generation and Monoamine Oxidase Activity in Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling 1;34(7):531-550.- doi:10.1089/ars.2019.7929.
5. Hyeraci M, Colalillo M, Labella L, Marchetti F, Samaritani S, Scalcon V, Rigobello MP, Dalla Via L. (2020) Platinum(II) complexes bearing triphenylphosphine and chelating oximes: antiproliferative effect and biological profile in resistant cells. ChemMedChem 15(15):1464-147 Doi: 10.1002/cmdc.202000165
6. Tonolo F, Fiorese F, Moretto L, Folda A, Scalcon V, Grinzato A, Ferro S, Arrigoni G, Bindoli A, Feller E, Bellamio M, Marin O*, Rigobello MP*. (2020) Identification of new peptides from fermented milk showing antioxidant properties: Mechanism of action. Antioxidants 9(2),117, doi:10.3390/antiox9020117
7. Tonolo F, Folda A, Cesaro L, Scalcon V, Marin O, Ferro S, Bindoli A, Rigobello MP*. Milk-derived bioactive peptides exhibit antioxidant activity through the Keap1-Nrf2 signaling pathway, (2020), Journal of Functional Foods 64,103696, doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2019.103696
8. Tonolo F, Salmain M, Scalcon V, Siden Top, Pigeon P, Folda A, Caron B, Mcglinchey MJ, Bindoli A, Jaouen G, Vessières A*, Rigobello MP*. (2019) Small Structural Differences Between Two Ferrocenyl Diphenols Determine Large Discrepancies of Reactivity And Biological Effects. ChemMedChem. 14(19):1717-1726. doi: 10.1002/cmdc.201900430.
9. Scalcon V, Tonolo F, Folda A, Bindoli A, Rigobello MP*. Dimers of glutaredoxin 2 as mitochondrial redox sensors in selenite-induced oxidative stress (2019) Metallomics, 11 (7), 1241-1251. DOI: 10.1039/c9mt00090a
10. Tonolo F, Moretto L, Ferro S, Folda A, Scalcon V, Sandre M, Fiorese F, Marin O, Bindoli A, Rigobello, MP*. Insight into antioxidant properties of milk-derived bioactive peptides in vitro and in a cellular model. (2019) Journal of Peptide Science, 25 (5), e3162, doi: 10.1002/psc.3162
11. Tonolo F, Moretto L, Folda A, Scalcon V, Bindoli A, Bellamio M, Feller E, Rigobello MP*. (2019) Antioxidant Properties of Fermented Soy during Shelf Life. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition, doi: 10.1007/s11130-019-00738-6
12. Scalcon V, Bindoli A, Rigobello MP*. (2018) Significance of the mitochondrial thioredoxin reductase in cancer cells: an update on role, targets and inhibitors, Free Radic Biol and Med., 127, 62- 79 doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2018.03.043.
13. Tonolo F, Sandre M, Ferro S, Folda A, Scalcon V, Scutari G, Feller E, Marin O, Bindoli A, Rigobello MP*. (2018) Milk-derived bioactive peptides protect against oxidative stress in a Caco-2 cell model. Food Funct. 9(2):1245-1253. doi: 10.1039/c7fo01646h.
14. Citta A, Folda A, Scalcon V, Scutari G, Bindoli A, Bellamio M, Feller E, Rigobello MP*. (2017) Oxidative changes in lipids, proteins, and antioxidants in yogurt during the shelf life. Food Sci Nutr. 5(6):1079-1087. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.493. eCollection 2017.
15. Karaca Ö, Scalcon V, Meier-Menches Sm, Bonsignore R, Brouwer Jmjl, Tonolo F, Folda A, Rigobello MP*, Kühn Fe*, Casini A* (2017) Characterization of Hydrophilic Gold(I) N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) Complexes as Potent TrxR Inhibitors Using Biochemical and Mass Spectrometric Approaches. Inorg Chem. 56(22): 14237-14250. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.7b02345.
16. Jürgens S, Scalcon V, Estrada-Ortiz N, Folda A, Tonolo F, Jandl C, Browne Dl, Rigobello MP, Kühn Fe, Casini A. (2017) Exploring the C^N^C theme: Synthesis and biological properties of tridentate cyclometalated gold(III) complexes. Bioorg Med Chem. 5(20):5452-5460. doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2017.08.001.
17. Scalcon V, Salmain M, Folda A, Top S, Pigeon P, Shirley Lee Hz, Jaouen G, Bindoli A, Vessières A, Rigobello MP. (2017) Tamoxifen-like metallocifens target the thioredoxin system determining mitochondrial impairment leading to apoptosis in Jurkat cells. Metallomics. 19;9(7):949-959. doi: 10.1039/c7mt00121e.
