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PAOLA COSTANTINI

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Position

Professoressa Associata

Structure

Dipartimento di Biologia - DiBio

Address

VIALE G. COLOMBO, 3 - PADOVA

Telephone

0498276323

E-mail

paola.costantini@unipd.it

Paola Costantini, PhD, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Biology, University of Padova

Born in Conegliano (TV), Italy, on May 5th, 1969

Education
- July 14th, 1993: graduated with full marks (110/110 summa cum laude) in Biological Sciences, University of Padova, Italy
- June 8th, 1998: PhD in “Molecular and Cellular Biology and Pathology” (legal duration of the program: four years), Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Italy
Qualifications
- May 1995: licensure to Biologist, University of Padova
- March 2000: licensure to “Maître de conférences” in i) Cellular Biology and ii) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, French University
- June 2014: licensure to Associate Professor of Biochemistry, MIUR (Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca)
Fellowships
- April 1998 - March 1999: post-doc fellowship from ARC (Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer), Unit of “Génétiques Oncologique”, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
- April 1999 - September 2000: post-doc fellowship from FRM (Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale), Unit of “Génétiques Oncologique”, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France
- January 2001 - March 2002: fellowship from NIH (National Institute of Health) for a program research on "Mitochondrial cyclophilin in cell death pathways", Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova
Engagements
- October 2000 - December 2000: CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France) engagement
- June 2002 - November 2002: engagement as “collaboratore di ricerca” at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova
- December 2002 - September 2015: Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biology, University of Padova
Present position
- Since October 2015: Associate Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biology, University of Padova
Academic activity
Teacher of the courses i) Biochemistry (degree in Biotechnologies) and ii) Applied biochemistry (degree in Medical Biology), University of Padova, 128 hours for academic year

Scientific activity
PhD, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, research group headed by Prof. Paolo Bernardi: study and functional characterization of the permeability transition pore (PTP), a mitochondrial channel involved in apoptosis, focusing on its role in the cellular damages induced by oxidative stress conditions.
Post doc, France, Unit of “Génétiques Oncologique”, Institut Gustave Roussy, research group headed by Prof. Guido Kroemer: study of the role of PTP and mitochondria in the pathway leading to apoptosis induced by oxidative stress conditions.
Post doc, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, research group headed by Prof. Paolo Bernardi: study of the mechanisms of action of both pro- and anti-apoptotic pharmacological compounds and analysis of their effects on the mitochondrial pathophysiology.
Present, Department of Biology, University of Padova, research unit coordinated by Prof. Luca Scorrano: structural and functional characterization of proteins involved in FeS clusters assembly; mitochondrial (patho)physiology of diseases linked to dysfuntions of FeS proteins biosynthesis.
This activity resulted in a number of high impact international scientific publications (number of full papers: 40, of which 8 as first author, 1 as co-first author, and 12 as last author and/or corresponding author), h index: 22

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBER of Scientific Report

Notices

Office hours

  • Friday from 9:00 to 17:00
    at Dipartimento di Biologia, Via U. Bassi 58/B e Viale G. Colombo 3. Sesto piano Nord Vallisneri, stanza numero 57
    Ricevo nel mio studio tutti i venerdì nella fascia oraria indicata, ma è preferibile contattarmi prima per accordarsi sull'ora all'indirizzo e-mail paola.costantini@unipd.it Se necessario, sono disponibile in qualunque altro giorno della settimana, compatibilmente con gli impegni accademici.

Teachings

Publications

FULL PAPERS

1) Petronilli V, Nicolli A, Costantini P, Colonna R, Bernardi P (1994) Regulation of the permeability transition pore, a voltage-dependent mitochondrial channel inhibited by cyclosporin A.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta - Bioenergetics 1187: 255-9
IF 1995 (not available for 1994): 2.500
2) Petronilli V, Costantini P, Scorrano L, Colonna R, Passamonti S, Bernardi P (1994) The voltage sensor of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore is tuned by the oxidation-reduction state of vicinal thiols. Increase of the gating potential by oxidants and its reversal by reducing agents.
J. Biol. Chem. 269: 16638-42
IF 1995 (not available for 1994): 7.385
3) Nicolli A, Costantini P, Basso E, Colonna R, Petronilli V, Bernardi P. Potential role of cyclosporin A-sensitive mitochondrial channels in ischemia-reperfusion injury (1995)
Transplant. Proc. 27: 2825-6
IF: 0.726
4) Costantini P, Petronilli V, Colonna R, Bernardi P (1995) On the effects of paraquat on isolated mitochondria. Evidence that paraquat causes opening of the cyclosporin A-sensitive permeability transition pore synergistically with nitric oxide.
Toxicology 99: 77-88
IF: 1.396
5) Costantini P, Chernyak BV, Petronilli V, Bernardi P (1995) Selective inhibition of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore at the oxidation-reduction sensitive dithiol by monobromobimane.
FEBS Lett. 362: 239-42
IF: 3.842

6) Costantini P, Chernyak BV, Petronilli V, Bernardi P (1996) Modulation of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore by pyridine nucleotides and dithiol oxidation at two separate sites.
J. Biol. Chem. 271: 6746-51
IF: 7.452

7) Bernardi P, Colonna R, Costantini P, Eriksson O, Fontaine E, Ichas F, Massari S, Nicolli A, Petronilli V, Scorrano L (1998) The mitochondrial permeability transition.
Biofactors 8: 273-81
IF 2001 (first available): 1.273
8) Bernardi P, Basso E, Colonna R, Costantini P, Di Lisa F, Eriksson O, Fontaine E, Forte M, Ichas F, Massari S, Nicolli A, Petronilli V, Scorrano L (1998) Perspectives on the mitochondrial permeability transition.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta - Bioenergetics 1365: 200-206
IF: 2.478
9) Costantini P, Colonna R, Bernardi P (1998) Induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition by N-Ethylmaleimide depends on secondary oxidation of critical thiol groups. Potentiation by copper-ortho-phenantroline without dimerization of the adenine nucleotide translocase.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta - Bioenergetics 1365: 385-92
IF: 2.478
10) Marchetti P, Zamzami N, Joseph B, Schraen-Maschke S, Méreau-Richard C, Costantini P, Métivier D, Susin SA, Kroemer G, Formstecher P (1999) The novel retinoid 6-[3-(1-adamantyl)-4-hydroxyphenyl]-2-naphtalene carboxylic acid can trigger apoptosis through a mitochondrial pathway independent of the nucleus.
Cancer Res. 59: 6257-66
IF: 8.614
11) Jacotot E, Costantini P, Laboureau E, Zamzami N, Susin SA, Kroemer G (1999) Mitochondrial membrane permeabilization during the apoptotic process.
Ann. NY Acad. Sci. 887: 18-30
IF: 0.964
12) Ravagnan L, Marzo I, Costantini P, Susin SA, Zamzami N, Petit PX, Hirsch F, Goulbern M, Poupon MF, Miccoli L, Xie Z, Reed JC, Kroemer G (1999) Lonidamine triggers apoptosis via a direct, Bcl-2-inhibited effect on the mitochondrial permeability transition pore.
Oncogene 18: 2537-46
IF: 6.517
13) Susin SA, Lorenzo HK, Zamzami N, Marzo I, Snow BE, Brothers GM, Mangion J, Jacotot E, Costantini P, Loeffler M, Larochette N, Goodlett DR, Aebersold R, Siderovski DP, Penninger JM, Kroemer G (1999)

Research Area

FeS clusters assembly process, in mammals and in unicellular microorganisms (see proposed thesis for more details).

Thesis proposals

General subjet of the proposed thesis: structural and functional analysis of proteins involved in the FeS clusters assembly process.

Main experimental approaches used in our laboratory:

1) basic molecular biology techniques: cloning, PCR, site-directed mutagenesis, heterologous expression of recombinant proteins;

2) basic biochemical techniques: SDS-PAGE, Western Blot, purification of recombinant proteins by ionic exchange, gel filtraion and affinity chromatographies, UV-visible and fluorescence spectrophotometry;

3) advanced spectrophotometric techniques (in collaboration with the Department of Chemical Sciences): Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR);

4) cellular biology techniques: cell cultures, transient transfections, confocal and electronic microscopy.

PROPOSED THESIS

1) Structural and functional analysis of frataxin, a small protein involved in Friedreich's Ataxia, a neurodegenerative disease associated to a loss of FeS clusters and to mitochondrial dysfunctions.

2) Structural and functional analysis of the FeS cluster assembly machinery of [FeFe]-hydrogenases, enzymes with potential biotechnological applications in the field of hydrogen gas production.