STRATI FRANCESCO

My areas of interest focus on host-microbes interactions and the molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution and adaptation of the human gut microbiota in health and disease. My aim is to use an interdisciplinary approach exploiting all the meta'omics, immunology, in vivo models and computational biology in order to reduce the lack of knowledge concerning host-microbes interactions and crosstalk with the immune system. These new insights will lay the basis for the development of next-generation biotherapeutic approaches to address currently unmet medical needs.

At present, I am dissecting the role of the gut microbiota in shaping immune cell functions by using in-vivo models and ex-vivo specimens from patients to answer the long-lasting question regarding the environmental clues modulating the mucosal immune system.
Our research demonstrated that the gut microbiota composition is important to modulate iNKT cell functions affecting the disease outcome in models of experimental colitis. We demonstrated the IL10-mediated immunoregulatory role of mucosal iNKT cells in controlling pro-inflammatory Th cells to maintain intestinal immune homeostasis. Finally, we are describing the pathogenic potential of iNKT cells in the context of CRC.

During the postdoctoral years @IRB-Bellinzona (CH), I studied the role of secretory IgA in host-microbiota mutualism. I demonstrated that regulation of commensals coating by secretory IgA is important in tuning the selection of bacterial taxa, which condition host metabolism. I also contributed to dissect the mechanisms by which modulation of ATP in the small intestine can affect high-affinity IgA response against infections.