Giuseppe Intini, DDS, PhD

PCIBMR Co-Director
PCIBMR Advanced Bioimaging Core Co-Director

Associate Professor, Department of Periodontics and Preventive Dentistry
University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine

Research Interests

The research in the INTINILAB focuses on skeletal stem cells and of bone cancer stem cells. Genetic strategies and in vivo imaging are utilized to describe the location and function of these cells and the molecular mechanisms that control their “stemness” in health and disease.

Technique Expertise or Resources to share

The laboratory has identified the calvarial suture as the niche of osteoprogenitor cells expressing Prx1, a transcription factor highly expressed during embryonic development. Using various transgenic mouse models, current research aims at taking advantage of the existence of these cells to develop novel strategies to foster craniofacial tissue regeneration. Additional projects focus on strategies to utilize Prx1 expressing cells for regeneration of other skeletal regions. A federally funded project (NIH/NCI) supported the generation of an osteosarcoma multifluorescent mouse model which allows for studying the role of cancer stem cells in the development, maintenance, and metastasis of osteosarcoma.

In vivo mouse imaging (intravital microscopy), focusing on the development of assays for in vivo tracing of fluorescent stem cells and their progeny during tissue regeneration or during cancer development and metastasis. 10X Genomics single cell RNAseq and bioinformatic analyses. Mouse models: Prx1-Cre (Prrx1-Cre); Prx1-creER-EGFP; Osx-mCherry; Col1-CFP; β-catenin floxed; p53 floxed; Rb1 floxed; ROSA-DTA floxed; ROSA-td-TOMATO floxed. Cell lines: pre-osteoblast cell lines; osteosarcoma cell lines.

Keywords

Osteoblasts, skeletal stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, stem cell niche, bone regeneration, periodontal regeneration, tissue regeneration, Prx1, Prrx1, osteosarcoma, osteosarcoma metastasis, intravital microscopy, in vivo microscopy, fluorescent microscopy.