Morpho-functional Lab

Morpho-functional Lab (ex Q150-065 lato B)
Responsible Prof. Andrea Frontini

The Morpho-functional lab includes the topics of Anatomy and Physiology.
The laboratory is equipped with the entire supply chain for the preparation of histological speciments and to perform techniques such as immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. In detail, the equipments are the following: shaker, vortex, hot-plate, Pasteur pipettes, graduated micro-pipettes, glassware and various sets of trails for classic histological staining. The laboratory also has a separate refrigerator and freezer and an optical microscope with a set of objectives up to 100x oil immersion

Research Activities

Anatomy: The research topics of Anatomy focus mainly on the study of the biology of adipose tissue in various physiopathological conditions. In particular, the laboratory has recently turned its attention to the characterization of the molecules involved in the communication between skeletal muscle and adipocytes through the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs). The activity of EVs on target cells (3T3-L1 in-vitro model of murine adipocyte) is evaluated through a morpho-functional approach mainly by imaging with confocal microscope and the use of several probes for the differential activity of mitochondria, lipid droplet trafficking and other energy metabolism related aspects.
Physiology: The research in Physiology concerns the study of factors that can modulate the physiological process of aging, such as physical activity and nutrition, analyzing, with immunohistochemical techniques, the effects caused on the central nervous system (CNS) in a mouse model with accelerated aging.

Equipment

CONFOCAL MICROSCOPE (Lab: Advance Research Instrumentation)