Ricerc@Sapienza

The CFDP1 proteins have been linked to craniofacial development and osteogenesis in vertebrates, though
specific human syndromes have not yet been identified. Alterations of craniofacial development represent the
main cause of infant disability and mortality in humans. For this reason, it is crucial to understand the cellular
functions and mechanism of action of the CFDP1 protein in model vertebrate organisms. Using a combination of
genomic, molecular and cell biology approaches, we have performed a functional analysis of the cfdp1 gene and

PURPOSE: Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are anti-neoplastic agents that are known to affect the growth of different cancer types, but their underlying mechanisms are still incompletely understood. Here, we compared the effects of two HDACi, i.e., Trichostatin A (TSA) and Valproic Acid (VPA), on the induction of cell death and autophagy in pancreatic cancer-derived cells that exhibit a high metastatic capacity and carry KRAS/p53 double mutations.

Autophagy is a catabolic process strongly involved in the immune response, and its dysregulation contributes to the onset of several diseases including cancer. The human oncogenic gammaherpesviruses, EpsteinBarr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), manipulate autophagy, either during the de novo infection or during the lytic reactivation, in naturally latently-infected lymphoma cells.