Membrane Proteins Group

Professor Ismael Mingarro

EDUCATION/TRAINING:

01/1991-12/1994 Predoctoral Fellow (Founded by the Spanish Ministry of Education).
01/1995-07/1995 Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. University of Valencia.
08/1995-07/1997 Postdoctoral Researcher (Founded by EMBO).
08/1997-12/1997 Research Assistant Professor (Founded by the Swedish NFR), Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Stockholm University.
01/1998-11/1999 Researcher (Founded by the Spanish Ministry of Education), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. University of Valencia.
12/1999–05/2011 Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. University of Valencia.
06/2011–Present Full Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. University of Valencia.

During the past ten years my lab has been devoted to the study of membrane proteins. Biological membranes provide unique environments for biomolecular function. Biomembranes also define the cellular architecture and provide the foundation for cellular identity. The study of biomembranes is a major focus in contemporary life science research with important implications for essentially all fields of basic and applied biomolecular science. Membrane proteins are involved in an impressive range of biological functions (e.g., signalling, energy transduction, small molecule and ion transport, cell motility, cell-cell interactions, nerve conduction) and are targets for a majority of the pharmaceutical drugs currently on the market.

About a quarter of cellular proteins are found embedded in lipid bilayers, where they perform critical functions. Yet, much of their structural and functional properties are still waiting to be unravelled.

My Group focuses on basic aspects of the folding and assembly of proteins in lipid membranes. Using simplified models we aim to understand how membrane proteins insert, fold and pack in biological membranes, and how they interact with the bilayer lipids.

During this period I have advised five PhDs and my research have been founded by four consecutive Grants from the Spanish system.

Staff

Ismael Mingarro (Head of the Group)
Concepción Abad

PhD students

Silvia Tamborero
Manolo Bañó-Polo
Carlos Baeza
Carlos A. Martinez-Garay (shared with Cell Cycle Lab)
Vicente Andreu (shared with Perez-Paya's group, CIPF)

Graduate Students

Raquel Montalban
Marc Coronado (shared with Perez-Paya's group, CIPF)

Master Project Students

Armand Congost

Visitor Students

Christopher Meusel (University of Marburg)

Technicians

Lucia Bori
Mª Jose Rodriguez

Project Title: Membrane protein expression, folding and dynamics
Founded by: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (BFU2009-08401/BMC)
From: 01/01/2010 to: 31/12/2012 Principal Investigator: Ismael Mingarro
Number of researchers: 3

Project Title: Membrane proteins insertion, assembly and topology
Founded by: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (BFU2006-08542/BMC)
From: 01/10/2006 to: 30/09/2009 Principal Investigator: Ismael Mingarro
Number of researchers: 5

Project Title: Membrane protein insertion and assembly
Founded by: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (BMC2003-01532)
From: 01/12/03 to: 30/11/06 Principal Investigator: Ismael Mingarro
Number of researchers: 5

Project Title: Ayudas para grupos I+D+i
Founded by: Agència Valenciana de Ciencia i Tecnología (GRUPOS03/202)
From: 01/01/03 to: 31/12/05 Principal Investigator: Ismael Mingarro
Number of researchers: 10

Project Title: Folding and interactions in membrane proteins
Founded by:: Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (BMC2000-1448)
From: 20/12/00 to: 20/12/03 Principal Investigator: Ismael Mingarro
Number of researcherss: 3

Vilar, M., Saurí, A., Monné, M., Marcos, J.F., von Heijne, G., Pérez-Payá, E. & Mingarro, I.
Insertion and topology of a plant virus movement protein in the Endoplasmic Reticulum membrane.
J. Biol. Chem. (2002) 277 (26): 23447-52.

Orzáez, M., Salgado J., Giménez-Giner, A,. Pérez-Payá & I. Mingarro.
Influence of proline residues in transmembrane helix packing.
J. Mol. Biol. (2004) 335, 631-40.

Sauri A, Saksena S, Salgado J, Johnson AE, Mingarro I.
Double-spanning plant viral movement protein integration into the ER membrane is signal recognition particle-dependent, translocon-mediated, and concerted.
J Biol Chem. (2005) 280 (27): 25907-12.

García-Sáez, A.J., M. Coraiola, M. Dalla Serra, I. Mingarro, G. Menestrina & J. Salgado.
Peptides derived from apoptotic Bax and Bid reproduce the poration activity of the parent full-length proteins.
Biophys. J. (2005) 88 (6): 3976-3990.

Malet G., Martín A.G., Orzáez M., Vicent M.J., Masip I., Sanclimens G., Ferrer-Montiel A., Mingarro I., Messeguer A., Fearnhead H.O. & Pérez-Payá E.
Small molecule inhibitors of Apaf-1-related caspase-3/-9 activation that control mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis.
Cell Death Differ. (2006) 13 (9): 1523-1532.

Lukovic D., Plasencia I., Taberner FJ., Salgado J., Calvete JJ., Pérez-Gil J. & Mingarro I.
Production and characterisation of recombinant forms of human pulmonary surfactant protein C (SP-C): Structure and surface activity.
Biochim. Biophys. Acta - Biomembranes. (2006) 1758, 509-518.

Saurí A, McCormick PJ, Johnson AE, Mingarro I.
Sec61alpha and TRAM are Sequentially Adjacent to a Nascent Viral Membrane Protein during its ER Integration.
J Mol Biol. (2007) 366 (2): 366-74.

Martínez-Gil L., Pérez-Gil J. & Mingarro I.
The surfactant peptide KL4 sequence is inserted with a transmembrane orientation into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane.
Biophys. J. (2008) 95(6):L36-8

Martínez-Gil L, Sánchez-Navarro JA, Cruz A, Pallás V, Pérez-Gil J. & Mingarro I.
Plant virus cell-to-cell movement is not dependent on the transmembrane disposition of its movement protein.
J. Virol. (2009) 83(11):5535-43.

Vilar M, Charalampopoulos I, Kenchappa RS, Simi A, Karaca E, Reversi A, Choi S, Bothwell M, Mingarro I, Friedman WJ, Schiavo G, Bastiaens PI, Verveer PJ, Carter BD. & Ibáñez CF.
Activation of the p75 neurotrophin receptor through conformational rearrangement of disulphide-linked receptor dimers.
Neuron (2009) 62(1):72-83.

Tamborero S, Vilar M, Martínez-Gil L, Johnson AE. & Mingarro I.
Membrane insertion and topology of the TRanslocating chain-Associating Membrane protein (TRAM).
J. Mol. Biol. (2011) 406(4):571-82.

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Departament de Bioquímica i Biologia Molecular
Universitat de València
C/ Dr. Moliner, 50
46100 - Burjassot (València)

Phone: +34 963543796

E-mail: Ismael.Mingarro@uv.es

Website: http://www.uv.es/membrana/