Daniela Parolaro - The University of Insubria

Curriculum vitae – Daniela Parolaro 

Daniela Parolaro 

Contact data 

Biography 

Teaching 

experience and 

appointments 

Full Professor 

Department of Structural and Functional Biology 

Via A. da Giussano 10 - 21052 Busto Arsizio (VA) - Italy 

Tel +39 (0)331 339417 

Fax: +39 (0)331 339459 

E-mail: daniela.parolaro@uninsubria.it 

Daniela Parolaro was appointed in 2000 Full Professor of Cellular and 

Molecular Pharmacology at the Faculty of Sciences of Insubria University. 

She began her research activity at the Department of Pharmacology of the 

University of Milan (1972-2000), and then at the Pharmacology Section of 

DBSF of the Insubria University (2000-until now). Her research is mainly 

concerned with receptor activation mechanisms and transduction pathways 

alterations upon drugs exposure. She begun working in the cannabinoid field 

in 1994 publishing on cannabinoid/opioid interaction at the CNS level. Her 

current research is mainly concerned with the cellular effects of in vivo chronic 

administration of natural and synthetic cannabinoids in the CNS. Besides the 

demonstration of the occurrence of behavioral tolerance and physical 

dependence to natural, synthetic and endogenous cannabinoids, she focused 

her attention on the cellular mechanisms underlying these phenomena, 

showing the relevance in specific brain areas of the alterations in receptor 

number and efficiency, and cyclic AMP cascade. Her current research is 

focused on the long-term consequences of adolescent exposure to 

cannabinoids, exploring alterations in behavioural responses (emotional 

behavior, cognition and psychotic symptoms) and their cellular correlates 

(CB1 receptor level and G protein coupling, CREB activation, markers of 

neuroplasticity). Recently, she focused her attention on a more clinically 

relevant topic, that is to clarify the possible role that the (endo)cannabinoid 

system plays in the neurobiology of anxiety, depression and schizophrenia, 

maintaining the peculiarity of coupling behavioural responses with their 

cellular correlates. Finally, she is also exploring the effect of cannabidiol, a 

non-psychoactive component of cannabis sativa, demonstrating its ability to 

inhibits glioma cell proliferation either in vitro as in vivo. The mechanism of 

this action lies on the activation of caspases pathway with concomitant 

inhibition of 5-LOX pathway. Studies are now in progress to evaluate whether 

Cannabidiol possesses antiangiogenetic activity through morphological 

(endothelial cell tube formation, wounding test) and biochemical approaches. 

Since 2002 Director of the first-level Degree in Medical Biology and second 

level in Biology Applied to Medical Research at the Faculty of Sciences of 

Insubria University. 

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Since 2005 Coordinator of the PhD course in Neurobiology of the University of 

Insubria 

From 1997 to 2000 Director of the Center of Behavioral Pharmacology and 

Dependence, University of Milan and now member of the scientific committee. 

Member of the Evaluation Committee of the University of Insubria. 

In 2006 President of the International Cannabinoid Research Society. 

Since 2002 President of the Neuroscience Center, University of Insubria 

Member of the Board of the Internatiional Association of Cannabis as 

Medicine (IACM) 

Member of the committee for the PhD course in Pharmacology of the 

University of Milan 

Member of the Committee of Academic Pharmacologists 

Member of the Italian Society of Pharmacology, Italian Society of 

Neuropsychopharmacology, Italian Society of Neuroscience, International 

Cannabinoid Research Society. 

Representative 

publications 

Original papers: 

- Rubino T, Realini N, Castiglioni C, Guidali C, Viganó D, Marras E, Petrosino 

S, Perletti G, Maccarrone M, Di Marzo V, Parolaro D. Role in Anxiety Behavior 

of the Endocannabinoid System in the Prefrontal Cortex. Cereb Cortex. 2007 

Oct 5; 

- Rubino T, Guidali C, Vigano D, Realini N, Valenti M, Massi P, Parolaro D. 

CB1 receptor stimulation in specific brain areas differently modulate anxietyrelated 

behaviour. Neuropharmacology. 2007 Jul 6; 

- Agarwal N, Pacher P, Tegeder I, Amaya F, Constantin CE, Brenner GJ, 

Rubino T, Michalski CW, Marsicano G, Monory K, Mackie K, Marian C, Batkai 

S, Parolaro D, Fischer MJ, Reeh P, Kunos G, Kress M, Lutz B, Woolf CJ, 

Kuner R. Cannabinoids mediate analgesia largely via peripheral type 1 

cannabinoid receptors in nociceptors. Nat Neurosci. 2007 Jul;10(7):870-9. 

- Fattore L, Viganò D, Fadda P, Rubino T, Fratta W, Parolaro D. Bidirectional 

regulation of mu-opioid and CB1-cannabinoid receptor in rats selfadministering 

heroin or WIN 55,212-2. Eur J Neurosci. 2007 Apr;25(7):2191- 

200. 

- Rubino T, Sala M, Viganò D, Braida D, Castiglioni C, Limonta V, Guidali C, 

Realini N, Parolaro D. Cellular mechanisms underlying the anxiolytic effect of 

low doses of peripheral Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol in rats. 

Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007 Sep;32(9):2036-45. 

- Rubino T, Viganò D, Premoli F, Castiglioni C, Bianchessi S, Zippel R, 

Parolaro D. Changes in the expression of G protein-coupled receptor kinases 

and beta-arrestins in mouse brain during cannabinoid tolerance: a role for 

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RAS-ERK cascade. Mol Neurobiol. 2006 Jun;33(3):199-213. 

- Massi P, Vaccani A, Bianchessi S, Costa B, Macchi P, Parolaro D. The nonpsychoactive 

cannabidiol triggers caspase activation and oxidative stress in 

human glioma cells. Cell Mol Life Sci. 2006 Sep;63(17):2057-66. 

- Viganò D, Rubino T, Vaccani A, Bianchessi S, Marmorato P, Castiglioni C, 

Parolaro D. Molecular mechanisms involved in the asymmetric interaction 

between cannabinoid and opioid systems. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2005 

Nov;182(4):527-36. 

- Rubino T, Forlani G, Viganò D, Zippel R, Parolaro D. Ras/ERK signalling in 

cannabinoid tolerance: from behaviour to cellular aspects. J Neurochem. 2005 

May;93(4):984-91. 

- Vaccani A, Massi P, Colombo A, Rubino T, Parolaro D. Cannabidiol inhibits 

human glioma cell migration through a cannabinoid receptor-independent 

mechanism. Br J Pharmacol. 2005 Apr;144(8):1032-6. 

Reviews: 

- Massi P, Vaccani A, Parolaro D. Cannabinoids, immune system and 

cytokine network. Curr Pharm Des. 2006;12(24):3135-46. 

- Parolaro D, Viganò D, Rubino T. Endocannabinoids and drug dependence. 

Curr Drug Targets CNS Neurol Disord. 2005 Dec;4(6):643-55. 

- Viganò D, Rubino T, Parolaro D. Molecular and cellular basis of cannabinoid 

and opioid interactions. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2005 Jun;81(2):360-8. 

Book chapters: 

- Parolaro D., Rubino T. Cannabinoids and drug of abuse. In: Cannabinoids 

as therapeutics. (ed. R. Mechoulam) Birkhauser Verlag: Basel 2005; pp.207- 

218. 

- Massi P., Vaccani A., Parolaro D. Cannabinoids and immune system. In: 

Recent advances in pharmacology and physiology of cannabinoids. (ed. T. 

Wenger) Research signpost: Kerala 2004; pp. 119-137. 

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Daniela Parolaro - The University of Insubria

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