Lucia Russo, PhD
Research Investigator
Pediatrics
[email protected]

Available to mentor
Lucia Russo, PhD
Research Investigator
  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
    • Qualifications
    • Postdoctoral Research Fellow
      University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, 2019
    • Postdoctoral Research Fellow
      University of Toledo, Toledo, 2016
    • Fellowship
      University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, 2011
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Caswell Diabetes Institute
    Research Overview

    My research is focused on understanding how diet-induced obesity activate adipose tissue macrophage (ATMs) leading to inflammation and metabolic disease. To study the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, I investigate the role of the enzyme Cholesterol 25-Hydroxylase (CH25H) and its produced oxysterol, 25-Hydroxysterol, in ATMs with obesity and diabetes. To study how this oxysterol deregulation is linked to ATMs activation and inflammation, I utilize Ch25h knockout mice and wild-type controls fed a normal and a high-fat diet and characterize their metabolic and inflammatory responses in adipose tissue and on macrophage biology. Given that inflammatory ATMs of obese diabetic subjects overexpresses CH25H, I also explore how immune cell function is modulated in metabolic disease using human AT biopsies from obese subjects with and without diabetes.

    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      The Changing Landscape of Neonatal Diabetes Mellitus in Italy Between 2003 and 2022.
      Rapini N, Delvecchio M, Mucciolo M, Ruta R, Rabbone I, Cherubini V, Zucchini S, Cianfarani S, Prandi E, Schiaffini R, Bizzarri C, Piccini B, Maltoni G, Predieri B, Minuto N, Di Paola R, Giordano M, Tinto N, Grasso V, Russo L, Tiberi V, Scaramuzza A, Frontino G, Maggio MC, Musolino G, Piccinno E, Tinti D, Carrera P, Mozzillo E, Cappa M, Iafusco D, Bonfanti R, Novelli A, Barbetti F, Diabetes Study Group of Italian Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (ISPED) . J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2024 Aug 13; 109 (9): 2349 - 2357. DOI:10.1210/clinem/dgae095
      PMID: 38408297
    • Journal Article
      Loss of CEACAM1 in hepatocytes causes hepatic fibrosis.
      Zaidi S, Asalla S, Muturi HT, Russo L, Abdolahipour R, Belew GD, Iglesias MB, Feraudo M, Leon L, Kuo E, Liu X, Kumarasamy S, Ghadieh HE, Gatto-Weis C, Zarrinpar A, Duarte S, Najjar SM. Eur J Clin Invest, 2024 Jul; 54 (7): e14177 DOI:10.1111/eci.14177
      PMID: 38381498
    • Journal Article
      The changing landscape of neonatal diabetes mellitus in Italy between 2003-2022
      Russo L. J. Clin Endocrinol, 2024 Feb 26;
    • Journal Article
      Regulation of hepatic fibrosis by carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1.
      Helal RA, Russo L, Ghadieh HE, Muturi HT, Asalla S, Lee AD, Gatto-Weis C, Najjar SM. Metabolism, 2021 Aug; 121: 154801 DOI:10.1016/j.metabol.2021.154801
      PMID: 34058224
    • Journal Article
      Differences between transient neonatal diabetes mellitus subtypes can guide diagnosis and therapy.
      Bonfanti R, Iafusco D, Rabbone I, Diedenhofen G, Bizzarri C, Patera PI, Reinstadler P, Costantino F, Calcaterra V, Iughetti L, Savastio S, Favia A, Cardella F, Lo Presti D, Girtler Y, Rabbiosi S, D'Annunzio G, Zanfardino A, Piscopo A, Casaburo F, Pintomalli L, Russo L, Grasso V, Minuto N, Mucciolo M, Novelli A, Marucci A, Piccini B, Toni S, Silvestri F, Carrera P, Rigamonti A, Frontino G, Trada M, Tinti D, Delvecchio M, Rapini N, Schiaffini R, Mammì C, Barbetti F, Diabetes Study Group of ISPED . Eur J Endocrinol, 2021 Apr; 184 (4): 575 - 585. DOI:10.1530/EJE-20-1030
      PMID: 33606663
    • Journal Article
      Loss of Hepatic Carcinoembryonic Antigen-Related Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 Links Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis to Atherosclerosis.
      Ghadieh HE, Abu Helal R, Muturi HT, Issa DD, Russo L, Abdallah SL, Najjar JA, Benencia F, Vazquez G, Li W, Najjar SM. Hepatol Commun, 2020 Nov; 4 (11): 1591 - 1609. DOI:10.1002/hep4.1590
      PMID: 33163831
    • Journal Article
      Cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) as a promoter of adipose tissue inflammation in obesity and diabetes.
      Russo L, Muir L, Geletka L, Delproposto J, Baker N, Flesher C, O'Rourke R, Lumeng CN. Mol Metab, 2020 Sep; 39: 100983 DOI:10.1016/j.molmet.2020.100983
      PMID: 32229247
    • Journal Article
      Hyperinsulinemia drives hepatic insulin resistance in male mice with liver-specific Ceacam1 deletion independently of lipolysis.
      Ghadieh HE, Russo L, Muturi HT, Ghanem SS, Manaserh IH, Noh HL, Suk S, Kim JK, Hill JW, Najjar SM. Metabolism, 2019 Apr; 93: 33 - 43. DOI:10.1016/j.metabol.2019.01.008
      PMID: 30664851