During my PhD and for most of my research career I have been working on infectious disease with particular regard to drug discovery and target identification in the blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni. I have then joined the IBPM where I started my study on the oncogenic field of rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), the most common soft-tissue sarcoma of childhood characterized by the inability to exit the proliferative myoblast-like stage. Our aim is to elucidate the epigenetic basis of RMS development, focusing on the role of nuclear envelope proteins in tumor initiation and cancer progression. In particular, we are focused on dissecting the oncogenic features that are inducing myoblastic lesions and RMS development from a molecular and cellular point of view. 

1. Guidi A, Petrella G, Fustaino V, Saccoccia F, Lentini S, Gimmelli R, Di Pietro G, Bresciani A, Cicero D.O., Ruberti G 2020 “Drug effects on metabolic profiles of Schistosoma mansoni adult male parasites detected by 1H-NMR spectroscopy” PLoS Negl Trop Dis

2. Guidi A, Saraswati AP, Relitti N, Gimmelli R, Saccoccia F, Sirignano C, Taglialatela-Scafati O, Campiani G, Ruberti G, Gemma S 2020 “(+)-(R)-and (−)-(S)-Perhexiline maleate: Enantioselective synthesis and functional studies on Schistosoma mansoni larval and adult stages” Bioorganic Chemistry 102, 104067

3. Saccoccia F, Brindisi M, Gimmelli R, Relitti N, Guidi A, Saraswati AP, Cavella C, Brogi S, Chemi G, Butini S, Papoff G, Senger J, Herp D, Jung M, Campiani G, Gemma S, Ruberti G 2019 “Screening and phenotypical characterization of Schistosoma mansoni histone deacetylase 8 (SmHDAC8) inhibitors as multi-stage antischistosomal agents” ACS Infectious Diseases 6 (1), 100-113

4. Guidi A, Saccoccia F, Gennari N, Gimmelli R, Nizi E, Lalli C, Paonessa G, Papoff G, Bresciani A, Ruberti G 2018 “Identification of novel multi-stage histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors that impair Schistosoma mansoni viability and egg production” Parasites & vectors 11 (1), 668

5. Guidi A, Lalli C, Gimmelli R, Nizi E, Andreini M, Gennari N, Saccoccia F, Harper S, Bresciani A and Ruberti G 2017 “Discovery by organism based high-throughput screening of new multi-stage compounds affecting Schistosoma mansoni viability, egg formation and production” PLoS Negl Trop Dis 11 (10), e0005994

6. Guidi A, Lalli C, Perlas E, Bolasco G, Nibbio M, Monteagudo E, Bresciani A, Ruberti G 2016 “Discovery and characterization of novel anti-schistosomal properties of the anti-anginal drug, perhexiline and its impact on Schistosoma mansoni male and female reproductive systems” PLoS Negl Trop Dis 12;10(8):e0004928

7. Guidi A, Mansour NR, Paveley RA, Carruthers IM, Besnard J, Hopkins AL, Gilbert IH, Bickle QD 2015 “Application of RNAi to genomic drug target validation in schistosomes” PLoS Negl Trop Dis May 20;9(5):e0003801

8. Lalli C, Guidi A, Gennari N, Altamura S, Bresciani A, Ruberti G. 2015 “Development and Validation of a Luminescence-based, Medium-Throughput Assay for Drug Screening in Schistosoma mansoni” PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 9(1):e0003484

9. Valentim CL, Cioli D, Chevalier FD, Cao X, Taylor AB, Holloway SP, Pica-Mattoccia L, Guidi A, Basso A, Tsai IJ, Berriman M, Carvalho-Queiroz C, Almeida M, Aguilar H, Frantz DE, Hart PJ, LoVerde PT, Anderson TJC 2013 “Genetic and Molecular Basis of Drug Resistance and Species-Specific Drug Action in Schistosome Parasites” Science 342(6164):1385-9

10. Guidi A, Andolina C, Makame Ame S, Albonico M, Cioli D, Juma Haji H 2010 “Praziquantel efficacy and long-term appraisal of schistosomiasis control in Pemba Island” Trop Med Int Health 15(5): 614-8

- Dr. Chiara Mozzetta Principal Investigator
- Dr. Valeria Bianconi, PostDoc

- Dr. Giovanna Peruzzi (FACS sorting facility @ Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Rome)