title: Escherichia coli cytotoxic necrotizing factor 1 (CNF1): toxin biology, in vivo applications and therapeutic potential.
abstract: CNF1 is a protein toxin produced by certain pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli. It permanently activates the regulatory Rho, Rac, and Cdc42 GTPases in eukaryotic cells, by deamidation of a glutamine residue. This modification promotes new activities in cells, such as gene transcription, cell proliferation and survival. Since the Rho GTPases play a pivotal role also in several processes in vivo, the potentiality of CNF1 to act as a new pharmacological tool has been explored in experimental animals and in diverse pathological contexts. In this review, we give an update overview on the potential in vivo applications of CNF1.
authors: Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicines Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Roma, Italy. alessia.fabbri@iss.it
authors: Alessia
authors: A
authors: Fabbri
authors: Sara
authors: S
authors: Travaglione
authors: Carla
authors: C
authors: Fiorentini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins