Our Faculty

Andrea Piunti, PhD

Andrea Piunti studies chromatin biology and how its deregulation contributes to cancer onset and progression. His lab focuses on the Polycomb group (PcGs) of proteins, which are major chromatin regulators. PcG proteins are master regulators of mammalian development and cellular proliferation. They mainly exert their function through transcriptional repression achieved through their activity on chromatin. Several PcG proteins and their activities are deregulated in cancer, and they play particularly important roles in the oncogenic processes underlying rare pediatric brain tumors such as diffuse midline gliomas (DMG) and posterior fossa group A (PFA) ependymomas. Piunti works to understand how deregulation of PcG proteins in these tumors contributes to the insurgence and spreading of these and other rare malignancies.

Northwestern University
Chicago (USA)
Postdoctoral fellow - Chromatin biology
2021

European Institute of Oncology
Milan (Italy)
PhD - Molecular Oncology
2014

University Vita-Salute San Raffaele
Milan (Italy)
MS - Medical, molecular and cellular Biotechnology
2009

University of Urbin
Urbin (Italy)
BSc - Biotechnology
2006

5-Hydroxymethylcytosine Profiling of Cell-Free DNA Identifies Bivalent Genes That Are Prognostic of Survival in High-Risk Neuroblastoma.
5-Hydroxymethylcytosine Profiling of Cell-Free DNA Identifies Bivalent Genes That Are Prognostic of Survival in High-Risk Neuroblastoma. JCO Precis Oncol. 2024 Jan; 8:e2300297.
PMID: 38295320

5-hydroxymethylcytosine profiling of cell-free DNA identifies bivalent genes that are prognostic of survival in high-risk neuroblastoma.
5-hydroxymethylcytosine profiling of cell-free DNA identifies bivalent genes that are prognostic of survival in high-risk neuroblastoma. bioRxiv. 2023 Apr 30.
PMID: 37163024

Critical Role for the Human Cytomegalovirus Major Immediate Early Proteins in Recruitment of RNA Polymerase II and H3K27Ac To an Enhancer-Like Element in OriLyt.
Critical Role for the Human Cytomegalovirus Major Immediate Early Proteins in Recruitment of RNA Polymerase II and H3K27Ac To an Enhancer-Like Element in OriLyt. Microbiol Spectr. 2023 02 14; 11(1):e0314422.
PMID: 36645269

PALI1 promotes tumor growth through competitive recruitment of PRC2 to G9A-target chromatin for dual epigenetic silencing.
PALI1 promotes tumor growth through competitive recruitment of PRC2 to G9A-target chromatin for dual epigenetic silencing. Mol Cell. 2022 12 15; 82(24):4611-4626.e7.
PMID: 36476474

Immune activation is essential for the antitumor activity of EZH2 inhibition in urothelial carcinoma.
Immune activation is essential for the antitumor activity of EZH2 inhibition in urothelial carcinoma. Sci Adv. 2022 10 07; 8(40):eabo8043.
PMID: 36197969

Role of Chromatin Modifying Complexes and Therapeutic Opportunities in Bladder Cancer.
Role of Chromatin Modifying Complexes and Therapeutic Opportunities in Bladder Cancer. Bladder Cancer. 2022; 8(2):101-112.
PMID: 35898580

Author Correction: The roles of Polycomb repressive complexes in mammalian development and cancer.
Author Correction: The roles of Polycomb repressive complexes in mammalian development and cancer. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2022 Jun; 23(6):444.
PMID: 35534714

Therapeutic Targeting of EZH2 and BET BRD4 in Pediatric Rhabdoid Tumors.
Therapeutic Targeting of EZH2 and BET BRD4 in Pediatric Rhabdoid Tumors. Mol Cancer Ther. 2022 05 04; 21(5):715-726.
PMID: 35247919

Epigenetic reprogramming of host and viral genes by Human Cytomegalovirus infection in Kasumi-3 myeloid progenitor cells at early times post-infection.
Forte E, Ayaloglu Butun F, Marinaccio C, Schipma MJ, Piunti A, Schroeder MW, Kandpal M, Shilatifard A, Abecassis M, Hummel M. Epigenetic reprogramming of host and viral genes by Human Cytomegalovirus infection in Kasumi-3 myeloid progenitor cells at early times post-infection. J Virol. 2021 Mar 17.
PMID: 33731453

The roles of Polycomb repressive complexes in mammalian development and cancer.
The roles of Polycomb repressive complexes in mammalian development and cancer. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2021 05; 22(5):326-345.
PMID: 33723438

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K99
NCI/NIH
2019 - 2021

iCARE
AIRC-Marie Curie-EU
2016 - 2018

Long-Term Fellowship
EMBO
2015 - 2016