1) Musculoskeletal Oncology

1.1. Study of the peritumoral microenvironment in sarcoma tumors.
1.2. Evaluation of biomarkers in sarcoma tumours and bone metastases.
1.3. In vitro study of new potential therapeutic molecules for sarcoma tumours treatment on cell lines and 3-D cultures.

2) Physiopathology of musculoskeletal diseases 

2.1. Exploring the role of joint tissues (cartilage, meniscus, synovial membrane, infrapatellar fat pad, etc.) in osteoarthritis.
2.2. Evaluation of therapeutic effects of different molecules (hyaluronic acid and its derivates, etc.) on primary cells isolated from osteoarthritic tissues.
2.3. Evaluation of diseases biomarkers in osteoarthritis.
2.4. Skeletal muscle in physiological and pathological conditions.


3) Biomechanics

3.1 Biological and biomechanical characterization of human tissues in musculoskeletal pathologies.
3.2 Image Analysis for Morphometric Evaluation of human tissues.


4) Regenerative Medicine in musculoskeletal diseases

Isolation and characterization of stem cells from different joint tissues and evaluation of their differentiation potential.


5) Immunology in musculoskeletal diseases

5.1   Evaluation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) circulating and from bone marrow of healthy and pathologic subjects.
5.2   Role of the immune microenvironment in chondrosarcoma.


6) Biological monitoring of patients with implanted devices

Study of metals release in patients with metal total hip arthroplasty.

Publications

Trovarelli G, Sbaraglia M, Angelini A, Bellan E, Pala E, Belluzzi E, Pozzuoli A, Borga C, Dei Tos AP, Ruggieri P. Are IDH1 R132 Mutations Associated With Poor Prognosis in Patients With Chondrosarcoma of the Bone? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2024 Jan 3. doi: 10.1097/CORR.0000000000002960.

Pettenuzzo S, Berardo A, Belluzzi E, Pozzuoli A, Ruggieri P, Carniel EL, Fontanella CG. Mechanical insights into fat pads: a comparative study of infrapatellar and suprapatellar fat pads in osteoarthritis. Connect Tissue Res. 2025 May 9:1-12. doi: 10.1080/03008207.2025.2502591. Epub ahead of print.

Marchioretti C, Zanetti G, Pirazzini M, Gherardi G, Nogara L, Andreotti R, Martini P, Marcucci L, Canato M, Nath SR, Zuccaro E, Chivet M, Mammucari C, Pacifici M, Raffaello A, Rizzuto R, Mattarei A, Desbats MA, Salviati L, Megighian A, Sorarù G, Pegoraro E, Belluzzi E, Pozzuoli A, Biz C, Ruggieri P, Romualdi C, Lieberman AP, Babu GJ, Sandri M, Blaauw B, Basso M, Pennuto M. Defective excitation-contraction coupling and mitochondrial respiration precede mitochondrial Ca2+ accumulation in spinobulbar muscular atrophy skeletal muscle. Nat Commun. 2023 Feb 6;14(1):602. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36185-w.

Pettenuzzo S, Belluzzi E, Pozzuoli A, Macchi V, Porzionato A, Boscolo-Berto R, Ruggieri P, Berardo A, Carniel EL, Fontanella CG. Mechanical Behaviour of Plantar Adipose Tissue: From Experimental Tests to Constitutive Analysis. Bioengineering (Basel). 2023 Dec 31;11(1):42. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering11010042.

Pozzuoli A, Berizzi A, Crimì A, Belluzzi E, Frigo AC, Conti G, Nicolli A, Trevisan A, Biz C, Ruggieri P. Metal Ion Release, Clinical and Radiological Outcomes in Large Diameter Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Arthroplasty at Long-Term Follow-Up. Diagnostics (Basel). 2020 Nov 12;10(11):941. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10110941.

Funding:

Integrated project for DiSCOG interdepartmental research, BIRD 2020 call (BIRD205407).
Project title “New approaches and concepts in bone metastases: from bone remodelling markers to clinical implications in oligometastases”. € 50.000 (2020-2022)
DOR 2022-2025 Elisa Belluzzi.

People involved:

RUGGIERI PIETRO, MD, PhD - Full Professor
ANGELINI ANDREA, MD, PhD - Associate Professor
TROVARELLI GIULIA, MD, PhD - Associate Professor
BELLUZZI ELISA, PhD, Assistant Professor

Group members:

POZZUOLI ASSUNTA, Master of Science, Executive Biologist, Laboratory Manager