Mechanisms of Tumor Cell Migration

We study how mechanical stress and tissue fluidification govern the earliest steps of tumor evolution, enabling collective migration and early dissemination. We uncover how mechanical forces trigger nuclear and mitochondrial DNA release, activating innate immunity and shaping tumor–immune interactions.

Researcher

Giorgio Scita

Giorgio Scita graduated in Biology and specialized in Food Chemistry and Technology at the University of Parma. He pursued his postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley, and at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

In 1995, he joined the European Institute of Oncology (IEO) in Milan, and since 2001, he has been a Principal Investigator at IFOM ETS – The AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology. Since 2006, he has served as Professor of General Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Milan. He has been an EMBO member since 2014 and was awarded an ERC Advanced Grant in 2012 and an ERC Synergy Grant in 2022.

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Publications

Marchesi S, Guidolin C, Massey AE, Lemahieu G, Lavagnino Z, Beznoussenko GV, Mironov AA, Green BJ, Allievi E, Martini E, Magni S, Ghisleni A, Lomazzi C, Benvenuto AF, Schertel A, van Faassen DA, Freddi S, Bertalot G, Parazzoli D, Maiuri P, Mapelli M, Pece S, Sigismund S, Gauthier NC, Cavalcanti-Adam EA, Cartagena-Rivera AX, Giavazzi F, Scita G, Disanza A

Mechanisms of active wetting and fluidification in epithelial cell collectives.

Nat Mater 2026; . doi: 10.1038/s41563-026-02553-2

Leggi ora

Makkieh M, Passeri AA, Lazzari D, Marchesi S, Disanza A, Salem RKA, Bonacci F, Mazzella C, Martini E, Tonani M, Donati L, Bellini E, Abdo H, Pineau J, Magni S, Orsenigo F, Piel M, Fioretto D, Martino S, Mattarelli M, Scita G, Green BJ, Caponi S

Brillouin Microscopy of Breast tumor Spheroids On-a-Chip: Mechanical and Transcriptional Responses to Microfluidic-Induced Rapid Deformations.

Adv Sci (Weinh) 2026; e13153. doi: 10.1002/advs.202513153

Leggi ora

Petti E, Di Vito S, Dinami R, Porru M, Marchesi S, Lohuis J, Zizza P, Iachettini S, Salvati E, D'Angelo C, Rizzo A, Maresca C, Ascione F, Di Benedetto A, Buglioni S, Sacconi A, Ostano P, Li Q, Stoppacciaro A, Leonetti C, van Rheenen J, Maiuri P, Scita G, Biroccio A

TRF2 interaction with nuclear envelope is required for cell polarization and metastasis in triple negative breast cancer.

Cell Death Dis 2025; 224. doi: 10.1038/s41419-025-07415-4

Leggi ora

Marchesi S, Guidolin C, Massey AE, Lemahieu G, Lavagnino Z, Beznoussenko GV, Mironov AA, Green B, Allievi E, Martini E, Magni S, Ghisleni A, Lomazzi C, Benvenuto AF, Schertel A, Parazzoli D, Maiuri P, Sigismund S, Gauthier N, Cavalcanti-Adam AE, Cartagena-Rivera AX, Giavazzi F, Scita G, Disanza A