Mi auguro che l' Editore, I Moderatori e tutti i Membri di Nuclear Meeting vogliano unirsi al mio augurio rivolto alla professoressa Emilia Chiancone nuovo Presidente dell' Accademia delle Scienze detta dei XL eletta al posto del compianto Tommaso Scarascia Mugnozza recentemente scomparso.Ne riporto la biografia essenziale:


Prof. Emilia Chiancone
Department of Biochemical Sciences
University of Rome "La Sapienza" P.le Aldo Moro, 5
00185 Rome
                        
in 2002: present: Director, National Research Council Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, University 'La Sapienza' Rome, Italy  
in 1989: present: Full Professor of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University 'La Sapienza' Rome, Italy  
in 1981-2001: Director, National Research Council Center of Molecular Biology, University 'La Sapienza' Rome, Italy  
in 1962-1989: Research fellow of the National Research Council Center of Molecular Biology, University 'La Sapienza' Rome, Italy  
in 1967: "Libera Docenza" in Biological Chemistry

in 1961: Degree in Biology (with honors), University of Milan, Italy  



Memberships and honours


Società di Biofisica e Biologia Molecolare (President of the Society from 1989 to 1992) Accademia Nazionale delle Scienze detta dei XL since 1998
EMBO member since 1980,
ASBMB member since 2002


Areas of research


Studies on heme proteins with special emphasis on the relationship between state of aggregation and functional properties.
Characterization of protein-protein interactions and reversible association-dissociation equilibria by physico-chemical techniques.
Structure-function relationships in mammalian and bacterial ferritins
Structure-function relationships of Ca2+-binding proteins
Development of a chromatographic technique (subunit-exchange-chromatography) involving exchange of protein subunits between a liquid and a solid phase.
Studies of protein-ion interactions (e.g.; Cl-, Na+ and Ca2+).


List of recent publications

M. Mella, G. Colotti, C. Zamparelli, D. Verzili, A. Ilari, and E.Chiancone - Information transfer in the penta-EF-hand protein sorcin does not operate via the canonical structural/functional pairing. A study with site-specific mutants. - J Biol Chem. 278, 24921-24928 (2003).
P. Ceci, A. Ilari, E. Falvo, and E. Chiancone - The Dps protein of Agrobacterium tumefaciens does not bind to DNA but protects it toward oxidative cleavage: X-ray crystal structure, iron binding, and hydroxyl-radical scavenging properties. - J Biol Chem. 278, 20319-20326 (2003)
G. Zhao, P. Ceci, A. Ilari, L. Giangiacomo, T.M. Laue, E. Chiancone, and N.D. Chasteen. - Iron and hydrogen peroxide detoxification properties of DNA-binding protein from starved cells. A ferritin-like DNA-binding protein of Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem. 277, 27689-27696 (2002).
A. Boffi, P. Sarti, G. Amiconi, and E. Chiancone - The interplay between heme iron and protein sulfhydryls in the reaction of dimeric Scapharca inaequivalvis hemoglobin wit nitric oxide, Biophys. Chem., 98, 209-216 (2002).
A. Ilari, K.A. Johnson, V. Nastopoulos, D. Verzili, C. Zamparelli, G. Colotti, D. Tsernoglou and E. Chiancone - The crystal structure of the sorcin calcium domain provides a model of Ca2+-dependent processes in the full-length protein - J. Mol. Biol., 317, 447-458 (2002).
P. Ceci, L. Giangiacomo, A. Boffi, and E. Chiancone – The mutation K30D disrupts the only salt bridge at the subunit interface of the homodimeric hemoglobin from Scapharca inaequivalvis and changes the mechanism of cooperativity - J. Biol. Chem., 277, 6929-6933 (2002).
171) G. Mignogna, R. Chiaraluce, V. Consalvi, S. Cavallo, S. Stefanini, E. Chiancone -Ferritin from the spleen of the Antarctic teleost Trematomus bernacchii is an M-type homopolymer. Eur. J. Biochem. 269, 1600-1606 (2002).
A. Fago, L. Giangiacomo, R. D’Avino, V. Carratore, M. Romano, A. Boffi, and E. Chiancone - Hagfish hemoglobins. Structure, function and oxygen-linked association - J. Biol. Chem, 276, 27415-27423 (2001).
A. Nastopoulos, A. Ilari, G. Colotti, C. Zamparelli, D. Verzili, E. Chiancone, and D. Tsernoglou - Two different crystal forms of sorcin, a penta-EF hand Ca2+-binding protein -Acta Cryst. D57, 862-864 (2001).
L. Giangiacomo, R. D’Avino, G. di Prisco, and E. Chiancone - Hemoglobin of the Antarctic fishes Trematomus bernacchii and Trematomus newnesii: structural basis for the increased stability of the liganded tetramer relative to human hemoglobin - Biochemistry, 40, 3062-3068 (2001).
M. Gattoni, M.C. Piro, A. Boffi, W.S. Brinigar, C. Fronticelli, and E. Chiancone - The heme-globin and dimerization equilibria of recombinant human hemoglobins carrying site-specific b chain mutations – Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 386, 172-178 (2001).
R. Chiaraluce, V. Consalvi, S. Cavallo, A. Ilari, S. Stefanini, and E. Chiancone - The unusual dodecameric ferritin from Listeria innocua dissociates below pH 2.0 - Eur. J. Biochem. 267, 5733-5741 (2000).
X. Yang, E. Chiancone, S. Stefanini, A. Ilari, and N.D. Chasteen - Iron oxidation and hydrolysis reactions of a novel ferritin from Listeria innocua - Biochem. J. 349, 783-786 (2000).
E. Chiancone and A. Boffi - Structural and thermodynamic aspects of cooperativity in the homodimeric hemoglobin from Scapharca inaequivalvis - Biophys. Chem. 86, 173-178 (2000).
D. Verzili, C. Zamparelli, B. Mattei, A.A. Noegel, E. Chiancone - The sorcin-annexin VII calcium-dependent interaction requires the sorcin N-terminal domain – FEBS Lett., 471, 197-200 (2000).
A. Boffi, L. Guarrera, L. Giangiacomo, C. Spagnuolo and E. Chiancone - Proximal and distal effects on the coordination chemistry of ferric Scapharca homodimeric hemoglobin as revealed by heme pocket mutants - Biochemistry, 39, 33500-3504 (2000).
A. Ilari, S. Stefanini, E. Chiancone and D. Tsernoglou - The dodecameric ferritin from Listeria innocua contains a novel intersubunt iron-binding site - Nature Struct. Biology, 7, 38-43 (2000).
C. Zamparelli, A. Ilari, D. Verzili, L. Giangiacomo, G. Colotti, S. Pascarella and E. Chiancone - Structure-function relationships in sorcin, a member of the penta EF-hand family. Interaction with the ryanodine receptor and an Escherichia coli model system - Biochemistry, 39, 658-666 (2000).
T.K. Das, A. Boffi, E. Chiancone and D.L. Rousseau - Hydroxide rather than histidine is coordinated to the heme in five-coordinate ferric Scapharca inaequivalvis hemoglobin - J. Biol. Chem., 274, 2916-2919 (1999).
L. Guarrera, G. Colotti, E. Chiancone and A. Boffi - Ligand-linked changes at the subunit interfaces in Scapharca hemoglobins probed through the sulfhydryl infrared absorption - Biochemistry, 38, 10079-10083 (1999).

Ad Maiora

Michele Greco