Ricerc@Sapienza

The perception of RNA–protein interactions is currently changing from a protein-centric approach, in which proteins regulate the expression and activity of RNA, to a more complex view, in which RNA molecules can directly regulate protein's function and thus cell behavior, in a process called riboregulation.

Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are relevant for biological processes such as RNA homeostasis (exoribonucleases) and second messengers-mediated signal transduction, including mono- and dinucleotides; targeting of selected PDEs in different pathological processes may offer therapeutic strategies.

Bacteria can behave as multicellular community named biofilm, which confer them protection against host defense and hostile environments. The switch between planktonic to biofilm lifestyle is controlled by the variation of the intracellular levels of the second messenger bis-(3′,5′)-cyclic-dimeric-guanosine (c-di-GMP).

This research group is mainly concerned with the structural-functional characterization of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from amphibian skin or de-novo designed analogues, for the development of novel therapeutic agents against multidrug resistant infections that pose a serious threat to global human health.