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The aim of the Cherfils lab is to understand the molecular reactions that govern the functions of small GTPases of the Arf, Rab and Rho families in cellular traffic and cytoskeleton dynamics in normal cells and within pathological contexts.
We use X-ray crystallography to determine the atomic structures of these proteins and their regulators and biochemical methods to analyze their interactions with other proteins and with membranes.
Our recent research focused the activation of small GTPases by guanine nuceleotide exchange factors involved in cancers, bone diseases and infections, and their inhibition by small chemical compounds.