Researcher, Italian National Research (CNR) at the Istituto per l’Endocrinologia e l’Oncologia Gaetano Salvatore (IEOS), Naples

Research
1) Mechanisms of transformation of the human papillomaviruses in human primary keratinocytes.
2) Signal transduction mediated by activated isoforms of the RET proto-oncogene, i.e. RET/PTC and RET/MEN2.
3) The role of single tyrosine residues in Ret-mediated signaling, and characterization of Y1062 of Ret as a multi-docking site.
4) Molecular profiling of thyroid cells expressing RET/PTC and correlated changes in gene expression.

Selected publications
Orgiana G, Pinna G, Camedda A, De Falco V, Santoro M, Melillo RM, Elisei R, Romei C, Lai S, Carcassi C, Mariotti S. A new germline RET mutation apparently devoid of transforming activity serendipitously discovered in a patient with atrophic autoimmune thyroiditis and primary ovarian failure. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2004;89:4810-6.

Santoro M, Melillo RM, Carlomagno F, Vecchio G, Fusco A. RET: normal and abnormal functions. Endocrinology 2004 Aug 26 [Epub ahead of print]

Melillo RM, Cirafici AM, De Falco V, Bellantoni M, Chiappetta G, Fusco A, Carlomagno F, Picascia A, Tramontano D, Tallini G, Santoro M. The oncogenic activity of RET point mutants for follicular thyroid cells may account for the occurrence of papillary thyroid carcinoma in patients affected by familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. Am J Pathol 2004;165:511-21.

Castellone MD, Guarino V, De Falco V, Carlomagno F, Basolo F, Faviana P, Kruhoffer M, Orntoft T, Russell JP, Rothstein JL, Fusco A, Santoro M, Melillo RM. Functional expression of the CXCR4 chemokine receptor is induced by RET/PTC oncogenes and is a common event in human papillary thyroid carcinomas. Oncogene 2004;23:5958-67.

Vitagliano D, Carlomagno F, Motti ML, Viglietto G, Nikiforov YE, Nikiforova MN, Hershman JM, Ryan AJ, Fusco A, Melillo RM, Santoro M. Regulation of p27Kip1 protein levels contributes to mitogenic effects of the RET/PTC kinase in thyroid carcinoma cells. Cancer Res 2004;64:3823-9.