This research activity is involved in the identification and in the functional and structural characterization of mitochon¬drial membrane transporters belonging to the family SLC25 known as "mitochondrial carrier family (MCF)".
Main research topics are: i) study of the relationship between structure and function of mitochondrial carriers; ii) effects of either endogenous and xenobiotic molecules on the transport activity, mediated by mitochondrial carriers; iii) identification of the catalytic activity of members of the mi¬tochondrial carrier family with still unknown function and study of their physiological role in cellular models as well as in vitro; iv) identification of mutations of genes encoding members of the MCF in patients suffering diseases associated with dysfunction of mitochondrial carriers and study of patho¬genetic mechanisms in cell models.
Focus