Bigazzi, Mario

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ITALIAN JOURNAL OF ANATOMY AND EMBRYOLOGY
IJAE 
Vo l .  118 ,  n .  1  (Supp l . ) :  102-103,  2013
Tribute for Prof. Tatiana Bani-Sacchi
Mario Bigazzi
President, RRCA Foundation. Prosperius Institute, Florence, Italy
I am glad to sketch Prof. Tatiana Bani-Sacchi’s outstanding contribution to relaxin 
research, which has opened new views on the biological effects and therapeutic per-
spectives of this hormone, with special reference to the cardiovascular field. 
I first met her about 30 years ago, when she was a young Full Professor of Histol-
ogy in the Florence University Faculty of Medicine, yet affirmed as an experienced 
researcher in the endocrinological field. Despite her initial reluctance, motivated by 
her numerous teaching and research commitments, I succeeded in hooking her to the 
study of the emerging field of relaxin, which then became and remained her major 
interest throughout her subsequent scientific career. 
Tatiana Sacchi, married Bani, graduated in Biological Sciences at the Florence Uni-
versity, Italy, in 1959. One year later, she began assistant researcher at the Laboratory 
of Electron Microscopy led by Prof. Enrico Allara, where she refined her uncommon 
skills in the ultrastructural analysis of mammalian tissues. When Prof. Allara moved 
to the direction of the Institute of Histology of the Florence University Faculty of 
Medicine, he offered a position to his most promising pupil, thus Tatiana continued 
to work in the field of morphology and electron microscopy. As a graduated techni-
cian, she started her scientific career working on endocrine and exocrine glands in 
hibernating animals, intended as models of physiological tissue response to hypoper-
fusion and hypothermia. She then applied herself to the study of pancreatic islets in 
health and disease, using both animal models and pathological samples taken from 
patients suffering for pancreatic endocrine disorders and tumors. Till ‘80s, this matter 
was her main field of interest. Her numerous publications allowed her to earn the 
position of Assistant Professor and, in 1980, Full Professor of Histology and Embryol-
ogy. She retired in 2000, after having authored more than 200 full papers, taught His-
tology and Embryology to thousands of medical students of the Florence School of 
Medicine, and tutored several post-graduate PhD student in Morphology and Mor-
phogenesis.
Tatiana’s first publications on relaxin were in the 1970s with studies on the histo-
logical changes induced by the administration of porcine relaxin on the mouse mam-
mary gland and mammary equivalent target organs, such as the pigeon crop sac. 
These pioneering studies gave a substantial contribution to identify relaxin as a bona 
fide mammotropic/trophic hormone. While studying the mammary gland she noticed 
that relaxin, besides causing a substantial growth of the glandular parenchyma, stro-
ma and fat pad, also induced a striking dilatation of the mammary microvessels. 
* Corresponding Author: Prosperius Institute, V.le F.lli Rosselli 60/62, 50144 Florence, Italy; Phone: 055 2381492; Email: mbigazzi@
prosperius.it.
103Tribute for Prof. Tatiana Bani-Sacchi
Of note, this effect was specific of relaxin and, at variance with its mammotrophic 
actions, did not require any estrogen priming. At the beginning, we supposed that 
the vascular action of relaxin could depend on the release of vasoactive mediators, 
such as histamine. On the contrary, the experimental data indicated that, paradoxi-
cally, relaxin appeared to decrease histamine release from mammary mast cells. This 
observation remained substantially unexplained for several years, namely till the dis-
covery that endothelial cells produce the potent vasodilator nitric oxide. Our cow-
orker and friend Emanuela Masini, an experienced cardiovascular pharmacologist 
who participated in early studies on nitric oxide performed at the William Harvey 
Institute in London, raised the hypothesis that relaxin could exert its vascular effects 
through nitric oxide. This was the winning idea. Using an ex vivo heart model, Tati-
ana and her team could provide first demonstration that relaxin promotes coronary 
vasodilatation by up-regulating the endogenous generation of nitric oxide (Bani Sac-
chi et al., 1995), a finding that has been repeatedly confirmed by her and others’ suc-
cessive studies. This notion can also explain the apparent paradox of histamine inhi-
bition, as nitric oxide was found to be a potent inhibitor of mast cells (Masini et al, 
1994). These key achievements have provided the background to Tatiana’s research 
for the next 10 years: in this period, our group have offered evidence that relaxin, 
by stimulating endogenous nitric oxide generation by its target cells, can counteract 
ischemia/reperfusion-induced injury in heart and gut, blunt allergen-induced asth-
ma-like reaction and cardiac anaphylaxis, promote dilation of liver sinusoids and 
causes inhibition of uterine and gastrointestinal smooth muscle contractility. These 
novel achievements on the physiological and pharmacological actions of relaxin have 
substantially contributed to delineate the possible therapeutic profile of this exciting 
hormone, particularly in the field of cardiovascular disease (Bigazzi et al 2001). 
During her career, Prof. Tatiana Bani-Sacchi has published more than 50 peer-re-
viewed papers on relaxin. Now in retirement, Tatiana has eventually had enough free 
time to develop her hitherto hidden talent: painting. Being used to studying, she has 
rapidly mastered the methods and rules of traditional byzantine icon painters with 
outstanding results. 
References
Masini E., Bani D., Bigazzi M., Mannaioni P.F., Bani Sacchi T. (1994) Effects of relaxin 
on mast cells. In vitro and in vivo studies in rats and guinea pigs. J Clin Invest. 
94: 1974-1980.
Bani Sacchi T., Bigazzi M., Bani D., Mannaioni P.F., Masini E. (1995) Relaxin-induced 
increased coronary flow through stimulation of nitric oxide production. Br J Phar-
macol. 116: 1589-1594.
Bigazzi M., Bani D., Bani Sacchi T. (2001) Relaxin: a possible future preventative ther-
apy for cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women and men? Climacteric. 
4: 137-143.


Tribute for Prof. Tatiana Bani-Sacchi

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