Dr Claudio Raimondi, PhD

Profile

Dr Raimondi has a long interest in cancer and vascular biology. He started his career in science in the cancer field as a Master student in Palermo, Italy and continued his studies in cancer biology during his PhD within Professor Marco Falasca’s group at Queen Mary University of London in the UK.

After his PhD, in 2011 Dr Raimondi joined Professor Ruhrberg's lab at University College London (UCL) to investigate the role of the transmembrane protein Neuropilin-1 in cell-cell adhesion. In 2012 Dr Raimondi successfully applied for a BHF immediate postdoctoral fellowship within Professor Ruhrberg’s group, which allowed him to lead his research project on Neuropilin-1 signalling in the angiogenic vasculature. Dr Raimondi research contributed to discovering new Neuropilin-1-dependent signalling pathways activated by extracellular matrix components that regulate physiological and pathological angiogenesis.

In 2016 Dr Raimondi successfully applied for a BHF intermediate basic science research fellowship to join Professor Anna Randi’s group at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London. His research focused on investigating the role of Neuropilin-1 in endothelial and vascular resilience, particularly in promoting signalling pathways protecting endothelial cell function and preventing vascular diseases.

In 2019 Dr Raimondi joined the William Harvey Research Institute at Queen Mary University of London as a Lecturer. In 2020 Dr Raimondi was awarded a 2-year extension of his BHF intermediate basic science research fellowship and in 2024 Dr Raimondi was appointed as Senior Lecturer.

Research

Group members

Dr Ahmed Bey Charker - Postdoctoral researcher
Dr Olivia Gillham - Postdoctoral researcher

Summary

The lab research focuses on identifying and investigating signalling pathways involved in endothelial and vascular homeostasis and their relevance in vascular disease. We are particularly interested in mechanisms by which endothelial cell metabolism and endothelial cell junctions regulate endothelial and vascular inflammation. The lab uses a variety of in vitro models including flow systems to expose endothelial cells to shear stress and in vivo models.

The lab’s current projects focus on investigating the role of ATP binding cassette B8, a mitochondrial iron exporter, in regulating endothelial metabolism and inflammatory signalling pathways with a specific relevance in atherosclerosis. In addition the lab studies the role of the transmebrane protein Neuropilin-1 in mediating anti-inflammatory signals activated by atheroprotective shear stress. Recently the lab showed that Neuropilin-1 stabilises adherens junction in endothelial cells exposed to flow and that it prevents endothelial activation and atherosclerosis (Bosseboeuf et al., 2023).

Publications

• Chikh A, Raimondi C (2024). Endothelial Neuropilin-1: a multifaced signal transducer with an emerging role in inflammation and atherosclerosis beyond angiogenesis.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1042/bst20230329

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/94644
• Massimo G, Khambata RS, Chapman T et al. (2023). Corrigendum to “Natural mutations of human XDH promote the nitrite (NO2 −)-reductase capacity of xanthine oxidoreductase: A novel mechanism to promote redox health?” [Redox Biol. 4 (67) (2023) 102864].

  
  

  DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2023.102925

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/93328
• Massimo G, Khambata RS, Chapman T et al. (2023). Natural mutations of human XDH promote the nitrite (NO2 −)-reductase capacity of xanthine oxidoreductase: A novel mechanism to promote redox health?.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1016/j.redox.2023.102864

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/90642
• Bosseboeuf E, Chikh A, Chaker AB et al. (2023). Neuropilin-1 interacts with VE-cadherin and TGFBR2 to stabilize adherens junctions and prevent activation of endothelium under flow.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.abo4863

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/88719
• Chikh A, Sanzà P, Raimondi C et al. (2022). Retraction: iASPP is a novel autophagy inhibitor in keratinocytes.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1242/jcs.259757

  
  

  QMRO:
• Dufton NP, Peghaire CR, Osuna-Almagro L et al. (2020). Author Correction: Dynamic regulation of canonical TGFβ signalling by endothelial transcription factor ERG protects from liver fibrogenesis (Nature Communications, (2017), 8, 1, (895), 10.1038/s41467-017-01169-0).

  
  

  DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01169-0

  
  

  QMRO: https://uat2-qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/65258
• Bosseboeuf E, Raimondi C . Signalling, Metabolic Pathways and Iron Homeostasis in Endothelial Cells in Health, Atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease.

  
  

  DOI: 10.3390/cells9092055

  
  

  QMRO:
• Peghaire C, Dufton NP, Lang M et al. . The transcription factor ERG regulates a low shear stress-induced anti-thrombotic pathway in the microvasculature.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-12897-w

  
  

  QMRO: https://uat2-qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/67650
• Issitt T, Bosseboeuf E, De Winter N et al. (2019). Neuropilin-1 Controls Endothelial Homeostasis by Regulating Mitochondrial Function and Iron-Dependent Oxidative Stress.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2018.12.005

  
  

  QMRO: https://uat2-qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/56399
• Dufton NP, Peghaire CR, Osuna-Almagro L et al. . Dynamic regulation of canonical TGFβ signalling by endothelial transcription factor ERG protects from liver fibrogenesis.

  
  

  DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01169-0

  
  

  QMRO: https://uat2-qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/64570

Collaborators

Internal

• Dr Tom Nightingale, QMUL
• Prof Amrita Ahluwalia, QMUL

External 

• Prof Michael Duchen, UCL
• Dr Anissa Chkh, SGUL