From Muscle Physiology to Pathogenesis and Therapies of Neuromuscular Diseases

• Thursday
  11 September THU
  11 Sep
• Friday
  12 September FRI
  12 Sep
• Saturday
  13 September SAT
  13 Sep
• Sunday
  14 September SUN
  14 Sep
• List of
  Posters List of
  Posters List
  of
  Post

• Session reserved for attendees of the High Training Course in ADVANCED MYOLOGY UPDATE 2025
  9:30	Karin Esser The muscle circadian clock mechanism as a manager of muscle health
  10:00	Giulio Cossu Advanced therapies for muscular dystrophies: state of the art
  10:30	Roberta Sartori Muscle wasting in cancer cachexia: what is the future of muscle-targeted interventions?
  11:00	Markus Rüegg New transcriptomics technologies applied to muscle research
  12:00	Light lunch
  15:00	Welcome and opening of the IIM meeting
  15:30	Lecture 1 Karyn Esser (University of Florida, Gainesville, USA)
  16:10	Session 1: Muscle plasticity and physical exercise José Fernández Martínez* (Padua, Italy) Investigating skeletal muscle–endothelial cell crosstalk in plasticity and disease Taoyue Yang* (Munich, Germany) Entrainment of skeletal muscle circadian clock by 2-hydroxybutyrate, a novel exerkine Alicia Mayeuf-Louchart (SFM; Lille, France) Control of muscle stem cells behavior by the circadian clock Angèle Merlet (SFM; Saint-Priest en Jarez, France) The Muscle Out of Breath? Limitations and Adaptations in chronic diseases
  17:20	Coffee break
  17:50	Session 2: Muscle stem cells and stem cell niche Eslam Mohammed (Leuven, Belgium) The role of genomic imprinting in skeletal muscle development Lorenzo Marramiero* (Trento, Italy) CD90 identifies distinct fractions of muscle stem cells with different modalities of activation and quiescence maintenance Mona Pedersen (Ås, Norway) Stimulation of muscle stem cells using side-streams from animal and plant production Thomas Laumonier (SFM; Geneva, Switzerland) Pharmacological AMPK activation promotes higher levels of Pax7 expression in human muscle stem cells
  19:00	Technical talk (by Prodotti Gianni) Carlo Colombo Innovative applications of NGS: spatial genomics/ transcriptomics and ultra-low input RNA-seq
  19:30	Dinner - Aperitivo Umbro and (only for participants registered for the Advanced Myology Update course) Roundtable Discussions with the Invited Speakers
  21:30	Scientific Speed Date NEW (by the Young IIM Committee) Reserved for under-35 participants

  *Young Investigator. Eligible for Best Talk awards.

• 9:00	Lecture 2 Markus Rüegg (University of Basel, Switzerland) The rapamycin paradox in muscle aging: selective vulnerability of muscle fibers to pro-aging molecular signatures
  9:40	Session 3: Genetic and epigenetic regulation in muscle pathologies and aging Maxime Gelin* (Paris, France) Role of GDF5 on macrophage polarization in the maintenance of muscle mass and function and during aging Angela Moreno Anguita* (Leuven, Belgium) Identification of genes regulating human myoblast fusion by genome-wide CRISPR screening Sabrina Carbone* (Segrate, Italy) Combination therapy targeting HDAC8 and SIRT1 improves muscle integrity in a dmd zebrafish model Sestina Falcone (Paris, France) Identification of CaVβ1 isoforms required for neuromuscular junction formation and maintenance
  10:50	Coffee break
  11:20	Session 4: Experimental models for cardiac and muscle diseases Rebecca Deodati* (Rome, Italy) Human myogenic progenitor and 3D bioprinting for VML recovery in swine model Jianhao Zhang* (Leuven, Belgium) Human immortalized myoblasts/induced pluripotent stem cell derived skeletal muscle model to investigate cystinosis myopathy Elena Guarnaccia* (Rome, Italy) In vitro study emulating muscle response to stimuli exploiting 3D tissue model Margalida Campaner Socias* (Leuven, Belgium) Generation of human stem cell-derived cardiac in vitro models to investigate the role of epicardial activation in adverse cardiac remodeling
  12:30	Technical talk (by BioTechne) Fabrizio Rinaldi Bio-Techne solutions to advance muscular dystrophy research
  12:45	Poster blitz 1 (ODD NUMBERS; selection)
  13:00	Lunch
  14:00-15:30	Poster Session 1 (ODD NUMBERS)
  16:00	Bus departure to Bevagna for guided tour and Medieval banquet

  *Young Investigator. Eligible for Best Talk awards.

• 9:00	Lecture 3 Giulio Cossu (University of Manchester, UK & San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy) Ex vivo gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
  9:40	Session 5/a: Insights into Duchenne muscular dystrophy Beatrice Auletta* (Padua, Italy) Extracellular matrix guides human neuromuscular organoid morphogenesis Francesca Colli* (Bologna, Italy) Utrophin overexpression by precise base editing as a universal therapeutic strategy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy Lorenzo Giordani (Paris, France) Multimodal spatial profiling of muscle regeneration dynamics in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
  10:35	Coffee break
  11:05	Session 5/b: Insights into Duchenne muscular dystrophy France Pietri-Rouxel (Paris, France) GDF5 therapeutic potential for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Debora Mostosi* (Milan, Italy) Immunoproteasome inhibition positively impacts the gut-muscle axis in Duchenne muscular dystrophy Ilaria Zito (Parent Project aps) The evolving role of patient organizations in neuromuscular research: integrating the patient voice through registries and collaborative initiatives
  12:15	Poster blitz 2 (EVEN NUMBERS; selection)
  12:30	Lunch
  13:30-15:00	Poster Session 2 (EVEN NUMBERS)
  15:00	Lecture 4 Marika Pane (Università Cattolica, Rome, Italy) Spinal Muscular Atrophy: state of the art
  15:40	Coffee break
  16:10	Session 6: Muscle wasting and cachexia Sonia Calabrò* (Padua, Italy) Gut microbiota recolonization after weaning restores skeletal muscle but not peripheral nerve-related alterations present in germ-free mice Davide Acquarone* (Turin, Italy) A chaperone-tuned GSK3β inhibition protects against muscle wasting in cancer cachexia Fabio Ferrini (Urbino, Italy) Hyaluronan enhances proliferation and myogenic differentiation of C2C12 murine myoblasts under inflammatory stress Alessandro Antonioli* (Novara, Italy) Double-edge sword of ketogenic diet: hepatic improvement at the expense of musculoskeletal health Gaëlle Revet (Paris, France) Cachexia displays a unique pattern of gait alterations indicating a neurodegenerative condition Francesco Paolo Zummo* (Palermo, Italy) Exercise preserves Purkinje cells integrity from paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration in a mouse model of cachexia
  18:00	IIM General meeting and elections of the IIM Scientific Committee
  20:00	Social Dinner - Awards and prizes
  22:00	Dance WHITE Party with Tony Ross Dee Jay (dress code: white clothes)

  *Young Investigator. Eligible for Best Talk awards.

• Departure

• Posters always on display during the meeting

  Discussions: ODD numbers – Friday, 12 September (14:00-15:30)
  EVEN numbers – Saturday, 13 September (13:30-15:00)

  P.1  Francesca Fontana** (Padua, Italy)
  Transcriptional and metabolic analyses of cardiac mononucleated cells in dystrophic mdx mice upon treatment with a specific monoamino oxidase B inhibitor
  
  P.2  Sara Chiappalupi (Perugia, Italy)
  Subcutaneous injection of microencapsulated Sertoli cells is more efficacious than Deflazacort treatment in mdxmice
  
  P.3  Paolo D'Angelo** (Rome, Italy)
  Spatiotemporal dynamics of polyamine metabolism in skeletal muscle: implications for muscle homeostasis
  
  P.4  Federica Esposito** (Milan, Italy)
  Preclinical evaluation of 3S-HMGB1 as a therapeutic strategy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
  
  P.5  Frida Karakashi** (Milan, Italy)
  Preclinical evaluation of a small molecule inhibitor of WDR5 in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD)
  
  P.6  Chiara Giovino** (Rome, Italy)
  Modulating IL-6 signal transduction to slow down fatty-fibrotic degeneration in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy mouse model
  
  P.7  Francesco Palmieri** (Florence, Italy)
  Smooth muscle cells from human vagina express functional TRP channels
  
  P.8  Luca Sali** (Créteil, France)
  Target adipogenic progenitors to cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
  
  P.9  Giacomo Bincoletto** (Padua, Italy)
  Tackling DNA damage and senescence to identify new therapeutic targets for SBMA
  
  P.10  Libero Vitiello (Padua, Italy)
  Validation of a new multi-target antioxidant treatment for the therapy of Duchenne muscular dystrophy
  
  P.11  Susanna Molinari (Modena, Italy)
  Polymeric nanoparticles as a favorable delivery system to enhance the anti-inflammatory action of N-palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), an endocannabinoid-like molecule
  
  P.12  Martina Lupoli** (Rome, Italy)
  AntiSense Oligonucleotides (ASO) based treatment in ALS mouse models
  
  P.13  Clara Sciorati (Milan, Italy)
  Impairment of Skeletal Muscle Force and Mitochondrial Respiratory Capacity Precedes Muscle Mass Loss in an Aged Murine Model of Diet-Induced Obesity
  
  P.14  Mathieu Horeau** (Padua, Italy)
  RNA-based combinatorial multi-target therapy for the treatment of duchenne muscular dystrophy
  
  P.15  Martina Paiella** (Perugia, Italy)
  The advanced glycation end-products (AGEs)/RAGE axis drives sarcobesity, which is restrained by Vaccinium macrocarpon extract
  
  P.16  Foteini Moschovaki-Filippidou (Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France)
  Exon skipping peptide-conjugated morpholinos downregulate dynamin 2 to rescue centronuclear myopathy
  
  P.17  Tommaso Raiteri** (Perugia, Italy)
  Trifolium pratense extract mitigates skeletal muscle atrophy: a nutraceutical approach for the prevention of sarcopenia
  
  P.18  Paula Aranda Martinez** (Padua, Italy)
  Identification of mTORC1-dependent muscle-specific factorsinvolved in NMJ maintenance
  
  P.20  Emanuele Berardi (Kortrijk, Belgium)
  A novel 3D skeletal muscle model to study cancer cachexia
  
  P.21  Chiara Malerba** (Siena, Italy)
  The effects of heat stress and exercise on skeletal muscle
  
  P.22  Emma Cappellato** (Turin, Italy)
  Characterization of novel cancer cachexia preclinical models implementing chemotherapy and surgery
  
  P.23  Silvia Casati** (Milan, Italy)
  Metabolic adverse effects induced by second generation antipsychotic drugs in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
  
  P.24  Letizia Claudione** (Bari, Italy)
  Effects of chronic treatment with conjugated linoleic acid on antioxidant gene expression and oxidative stress in SOD1-G93A mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  
  P.25  Angela Gambardella** (Naples, Italy)
  Exploring the role of the chemokine receptor CXCR2 in muscle stem cell heterogeneity
  
  P.26  Giada Fregnan** (Turin, Italy)
  Role of glucocorticoids in cancer cachexia: focus on lipocalin2 and iron homeostasis
  
  P.27  Laura Lociuro** (Segrate, Italy)
  SRT2104 improves muscle and cognitive outcomes and has the potential to enhance μDys gene therapy in DMD
  
  P.28  Giulia Gentili** (Perugia, Italy)
  RAGE-ablated skeletal muscles resist cancer-induced atrophy through Akt-GSK-3β-PGC-1α pathway and fast-to-slow myofiber transition
  
  P.29  Margherita Patrone** (Milan, Italy)
  HMGB1 internalization in skeletal muscle: a novel strategy to boost regeneration
  
  P.30  Hajar Meskine** (Novara, Italy)
  Synergistic negative effects of advanced glycation end products and tumor-conditioned medium on C2C12 myotubes and the protective activity of Vaccinium macrocarpon
  
  P.31  Chiara Ricciardi** (Siena, Italy)
  Targeted delivery of miR-486 to skeletal muscle: efficacy, tropism, and integrin dependency of MyoAAV2A vs AAV9
  
  P.32  Cristina Parisi** (Rome, Italy)
  Decoding muscle wasting: skeletal muscle characterization in a PDAC-induced cachexia model
  
  P.33  Bianca Cheli** (Rome, Italy)
  Early Pathogenic Mechanisms in LGMDR9: Insights from the FKRP P448L Mouse Model
  
  P.34  Giacomo Rubini** (Turin, Italy)
  Interleukin-4 prevents cancer-induced muscle wasting and promotes exercise-like metabolic adaptations
  
  P.35  Beatrice Corci** (Rome, Italy)
  3D printing of human-derived pericytes for the reconstruction of the anal sphincter in a porcine model
  
  P.36  Ashley (Ju-Wei) Wang** (Leuven, Belgium)
  Investigating the impact of the tumor secretome on in vitro human skeletal and cardiac muscle models of cancer-induced cachexia
  
  

  **Young Investigator. Eligible for Best Poster Blitz and Best Poster awards.