Publications by authors named "Francesco Celani"
Cholesterol-rich microdomains are membrane compartments characterized by specific lipid and protein composition. These dynamic assemblies are involved in several biological processes, including infection by intracellular pathogens. This work provides a comprehensive analysis of the composition of human erythrocyte membrane microdomains.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimalarial Activity of Inhibitors of the Human GTPase Rac1.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother
January 2022
Article Synopsis
- Malaria causes millions of cases and thousands of deaths annually, and while no effective vaccine exists, drugs remain crucial in combating it; however, parasites have developed resistance to all known antimalarial medications.
- The human GTPase Rac1 is implicated in the invasion of host cells by various pathogens, including the malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum, suggesting its potential as a target for new antimalarial drugs.
- A study tested several Rac1 inhibitors for their effectiveness against Plasmodium falciparum, finding that EHop-016 was the most effective, showing promising results in inhibiting parasite growth, making it a candidate for further research as a novel antimalarial treatment.
Malaria is still a devastating disease with 228 million cases globally and 405,000 lethal outcomes in 2018, mainly in children under five years of age. The threat of emerging malaria strains resistant to currently available drugs has made the search for novel drug targets compelling. The process by which Plasmodium falciparum parasites invade the host cell has been widely studied, but only a few erythrocyte proteins involved in this process have been identified so far.
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