Ballerini

Patrizia Ballerini (patrizia.ballerini@unich.it), Head of the Molecular Pharmacology and Pharmacogenetics Laboratory, is Full Professor of Pharmacology (BIOS-11/A) at the Department of Innovative Technologies in Medicine & Dentistry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara.

The research group, led by Professor Ballerini, includes Annalisa Bruno, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, BIOS-11/A, Melania Dovizio, Assistant Professor/RTD-B, BIOS-11/A, Cristina Milillo, Scientific Laboratory Technician, as well as PhD students and undergraduate students. The laboratory conducts translational research by integrating in vitro cellular models, murine models, and clinical studies. Its main research areas include: i) identification of novel disease biomarkers, including extracellular vesicles; ii) development of innovative therapeutic approaches to control inflammation, tumorigenesis, and metastasis using both two-dimensional (monolayer) and three-dimensional in vitro models; iii) investigation of mesenchymal stem cells as a potential therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases.

Another major area of expertise is pharmacogenetics, with particular emphasis on the analysis of genetic variants in genes involved in the metabolism of drugs used to treat chronic diseases, including anticancer agents, anticoagulants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and antiepileptic drugs.

More recently, the laboratory has expanded its research activities to investigate the potential pathophysiological effects of environmental pollutants, such as ozone and airborne particulate matter, contributing to a better understanding of the impact of environmental pollution on human health.

In addition, the research group has expertise in evaluating the impact of therapeutic strategies on both clinical and economic outcomes through real-world evidence studies.

1. Milillo C., Bruno A., D’Ascanio F., Gatta M., Battistelli M., Burattini S., Di Carlo P., Parrón-Ballesteros J., Niccolai E., Dovizio M., Lanuti P., Batanero E., Amedei A., Ballerini P. Polystyrene nanoplastics impair epithelial barrier establishment and modulate extracellular vesicle release in human bronchial cells cultured at the air-liquid interface. Toxicology 2026, 526, 154533. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2026.154533
2. Dovizio M., Fink D., Gatta M, Bruno, Milillo C., D’Ascanio, F., Ameen F., Di Carlo P., Chiacchiaretta P., Lanuti P., Amedei A., Ballerini P. Micro-Nanoplastic Exposure and Lung Cancer Biomarkers: The Role of Extracellular Vesicle-Mediated Intercellular Communication. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27, 4887 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27114887
3. Esmail T, Porro S, D'Ascanio F, De Bellis D, Aquilini-Mummolo A, Colasante G, Simeone P, Younas A, Balaha M, Filoso M, D'Onofrio L, Dovizio M, Aruffo E, Di Carlo P, Secondi L, Flamminii F, Pietrangelo T, Porro C, Ballerini P, Cichelli A, Lanuti P.J Flow Cytometry Role in Unlocking New Frontiers for Nanomedicine Applications of Plant-Derived Vesicles. J Extracell Biol. 2026 Mar 16;5(3):e70121. doi: 10.1002/jex2.70121. eCollection 2026
4. Tommolini ML, Zucchelli M, Frisco A, Ferrante R, Dufrusine B, Palmarini C, Natale L, Ballerini P, Stuppia L, Federici L, Pieragostino D, Cicalini I. Phenotyping and genotyping for the dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase test in Italy: a precise diagnostic strategy to detect rare variants and improve drug administration. Clin Biochem. 2025 Dec;140:111010. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2025.111010.
5. Yang J, Yamashita-Kanemaru Y, Morris BI, Contursi A, Trajkovski D, Xu J, Patrascan I, Benson J, Evans AC, Conti AG, Al-Deka A, Dahmani L, Avdic-Belltheus A, Zhang B, Okkenhaug H, Whiteside SK, Imianowski CJ, Wesolowski AJ, Webb LV, Puccio S, Tacconelli S, Bruno A, Di Berardino S, De Michele A, Welch HCE, Yu IS, Lin SW, Mitra S, Lugli E, van der Weyden L, Okkenhaug K, Saeb-Parsy K, Patrignani P, Adams DJ, Roychoudhuri R. Aspirin prevents metastasis by limiting platelet TXA₂ suppression of T cell immunity. Nature. 2025;640:1052-1061
6. Dovizio M, Rossi C, Pesce M, Candeloro G, Pica V, Bruno A, De Laurenzi V, Ballerini P, Sommer D, Sacco PL. A single-arm pilot study to assess salivary metabolites in facilitators tested with Pre-Texts arts-literacy intervention (2025) The Arts in Psychotherapy 96, 102367, doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2025.102367
7. Gatta M, Dovizio M, Milillo C, Ruggieri AG, Sallese M, Antonucci I, Trofimov A, Khavinson V, Trofimova S, Bruno A, Ballerini P. The Antioxidant Tetrapeptide Epitalon Enhances Delayed Wound Healing in an in Vitro Model of Diabetic Retinopathy. (2025) Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2025 Aug;21(6):1822-1834. doi: 10.1007/s12015-025-10911-x.
8. Dovizio M, Castelletti D, Luraghi P, Losi S, Gervasi A, Risi M, Leogrande M, Degli Esposti L, Procopio G. Real-World Treatment Patterns and Overall Survival (OS) of Patients with Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer in Italy. Pragmat Obs Res. 2025, 16:189-199.
9. Fumagalli S, Dovizio M, Mazzoni S, Degli Esposti L, Santamaria E, Spanalatte G, Fumagalli C, Cagnoni C, Tariello A, Cerbai E, Marchionni N. Ranolazine in patients with chronic coronary syndromes: real-world data provide new evidence on the antiarrhythmic properties of the drug. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Pharmacother. 2025;11(8):674-681.
10. Dovizio M, Nugnes M, Iacolare B, Nappi C, Saragoni S, Andretta M, Barbieri A, Bartolini F, Chinellato G, Cillo M, Dell'Orco S, Grego S, Lavalle A, Procacci C, Re D, Degli Esposti L. Evaluation of biochemical and economic outcomes in patients treated with PCSK9 inhibitors in a real clinical practice setting. Minerva Cardiol Angiol. 2025;73(4):422-431.
11. Puggina A, Dovizio M, Domnich A, Marijam A, Veronesi C, Rizzo C, Vicentini M, Degli Esposti L, Calabrò GE, Fonseca MJ. Healthcare Resource Utilization and Economic Outcomes of RSV-Hospitalized Patients Aged ≥ 60 Years: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Diseases. 2025;13(3):68
12. Puggina A, Dovizio M, Domnich A, Marijam A, Veronesi C, Rizzo C, Vicentini M, Degli Esposti L, Calabrò GE, Fonseca MJ. Demographics and clinical burden of disease among RSV-hospitalized older adults in Italy: A retrospective cohort study. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2025;21(1):2479334.
13. Bruno A, Dovizio M, Milillo C, Aruffo E, Pesce M, Gatta M, Chiacchiaretta P, Di Carlo P, Ballerini P. Orally Ingested Micro- and Nano-Plastics: A Hidden Driver of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colorectal Cancer. (2024) Cancers (Basel), 16(17):3079. doi: 10.3390/cancers16173079.
14. Upadhyaya P, Milillo C, Bruno A, Anaclerio F, Buccolini C, Dell'Elice A, Angilletta I, Gatta M, Ballerini P, Antonucci I. Nicotine-induced Genetic and Epigenetic Modifications in Primary Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells. (2024) Curr Pharm Des. 30(25):1995-2006. doi: 10.2174/0113816128305232240607084420
15. Milillo C, Aruffo E, Di Carlo P, Patruno A, Gatta M, Bruno A, Dovizio M, Marinelli L, Dimmito MP, Di Giacomo V, Paolini C, Pesce M, Ballerini P. Polystyrene nanoplastics mediate oxidative stress, senescence, and apoptosis in a human alveolar epithelial cell line. (2024) Front Public Health. 10;12:1385387. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1385387. eCollection 2024.
16. Dovizio M, Veronesi C, Bartolini F, Cavaliere A, Grego S, Pagliaro R, Procacci C, Ubertazzo L, Bertizzolo L, Muzii B, Parisi S, Perrone V, Baraldi E, Bozzola E, Mosca F, Esposti LD. Clinical and economic burden of respiratory syncytial virus in children aged 0-5 years in Italy. Ital J Pediatr. 2024; 50:57.
17. Dovizio M, Hartz S, Buzzoni C, Redondo I, Nedeljkovic Protic M, Birra D, Perrone V, Veronesi C, Degli Esposti L, Armuzzi A. Real-World Treatment Patterns and Healthcare Resource Use for Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease in Italy. Adv Ther. 2024;41:2282-2298.
18. Bruno A, Milillo C, Anaclerio F, Buccolini C, Dell'Elice A, Angilletta I, Gatta M, Ballerini P, Antonucci I. Perinatal Tissue-Derived Stem Cells: An Emerging Therapeutic Strategy for Challenging Neurodegenerative Diseases. (2024) Int J Mol Sci. 2 12;25(2):976. doi: 10.3390/ijms25020976.
19. Di Rado, S., Giansante, R., Cicirelli, M., Pilenzi, L., Dell’Elice, A., Anaclerio, F., Rimoldi, M., Grassadonia, A., Grossi, S., Canale, N., Ballerini, P., Stuppia, L., Antonucci, I. Detection of Germline Mutations in a Cohort of 250 Relatives of Mutation Carriers in Multigene Panel: Impact of Pathogenic Variants in Other Genes beyond BRCA1/2(2023) Cancers, 15 (24), DOI: 10.3390/cancers15245730.
20. Milillo C, Falcone L, Di Carlo P, Aruffo E, Del Boccio P, Cufaro MC, Patruno A, Pesce M, Ballerini P . Ozone effect on the inflammatory and proteomic profile of human macrophages and airway epithelial cells .Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2023 Jan;307:103979. doi: 10.1016/j.resp.2022.103979.Epub 2022 Oct 13.PMID: 36243292
21. Ballerini P, Contursi A, Bruno A, Mucci M, Tacconelli S, Patrignani P. Inflammation and Cancer: From the Development of Personalized Indicators to Novel Therapeutic Strategies. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:838079.
22. Bruno A, Contursi A, Tacconelli S, Sacco A, Hofling U, Mucci M, Lamolinara A, Del Pizzo F, Ballerini P, Di Gregorio P, Yu Y, Patrignani P. The specific deletion of cyclooxygenase-1 in megakaryocytes/platelets reduces intestinal polyposis in Apc^Min/+ mice. Pharmacol Res. 2022;185:106506.