Marco Colombini

Marco Colombini obtained his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from McGill University in 1974 for his studies of Na+-dependent amino acid transport in plasma membrane vesicles. From 1974 to 1979, he worked under Alan Finkelstein on the VDAC channel from mitochondria, a protein channel that he codiscovered. In 1976–1979 and 1977–1979, he was an Assistant Professor in neuroscience and physiology, respectively, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Since 1979, he has been a Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. He currently serves as an Associate Chair and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Biology. He has affiliate status with the Departments of Bioengineering, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, and Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics. He served as Chair of the Bioenergetics Subgroup of the Biophysical Society from 2004 to 2007. He is also on the Editorial Board of Biochimica et Biophysica Acta and the Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes. He has published over 120 papers and book chapters and his publications have received over 5000 citations. His current research interest is in the channels found in the mitochondrial outer membrane and their role in apoptosis. The research is focused on VDAC and ceramide channels, which were discovered in his lab. However, his interests are broader and extend to the structure of membranes and their components, especially sphingolipids, transporters, and channel-formers.

Biography Updated on 26 November 2007

Personal Home Page

http://www.chem.umd.edu/Faculty_Directory/faculty.php?id=54

Articles in Scholarly Journals [Incomplete List]

  1. VDAC closure increases calcium ion flux
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, vol. 1768, no. 10, pp. 2510–2515, 2007
  2. Avicins, a novel plant-derived metabolite lowers energy metabolism in tumor cells by targeting the outer mitochondrial membrane
    Mitochondrion, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 234–240, 2007
  3. Comparison of D-G3139 and Its Enantiomer L-G3139 in Melanoma Cells Demonstrates Minimal In Vitro but Dramatic In Vivo Chiral Dependency
    Molecular Therapy, vol. 15, no. 2, Article ID 6300037, 8 pages, 2007
  4. Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides Block the VDAC Channel
    Biophysical Journal, vol. 93, no. 4, pp. 1184–1191, 2007
  5. Searching for the Molecular Arrangement of Transmembrane Ceramide Channels
    Biophysical Journal, vol. 90, no. 7, pp. 2414–2426, 2006
  6. Sphingosine, a Product of Ceramide Hydrolysis, Influences the Formation of Ceramide Channels
    Biophysical Journal, vol. 91, no. 5, pp. 1749–1756, 2006
  7. Phosphorothioate oligonucleotides reduce mitochondrial outer membrane permeability to ADP
    AJP: Cell Physiology, vol. 292, no. 4, pp. C1388–C1397, 2006
  8. A pharmacologic target of G3139 in melanoma cells may be the mitochondrial VDAC
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 103, no. 19, pp. 7494–7499, 2006
  9. Ceramide forms channels in mitochondrial outer membranes at physiologically relevant concentrations
    Mitochondrion, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 118–125, 2006
  10. Dihydroceramide hinders ceramide channel formation: Implications on apoptosis
    Apoptosis, vol. 11, no. 5, pp. 773–780, 2006
  11. Introduction
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 111–111, 2005
  12. On the Role of VDAC in Apoptosis: Fact and Fiction
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 129–142, 2005
  13. Sphingosine Forms Channels in Membranes That Differ Greatly from Those Formed by Ceramide
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 227–236, 2005
  14. The use of yeast mitochondria to study the properties of wild-type and mutant human mitochondrial ornithine transporter
    Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, vol. 86, no. 4, pp. 431–440, 2005
  15. Proapoptotic Triterpene Electrophiles (Avicins) Form Channels in Membranes: Cholesterol Dependence
    Biophysical Journal, vol. 88, no. 4, pp. 2577–2584, 2005
  16. New Insights into the Mechanism of Permeation through Large Channels
    Biophysical Journal, vol. 89, no. 6, pp. 3950–3959, 2005
  17. Bid, but Not Bax, Regulates VDAC Channels
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 279, no. 14, pp. 13575–13583, 2004
  18. Potassium channel openers are uncoupling protonophores: implication in cardioprotection
    FEBS Letters, vol. 568, no. 1-3, pp. 167–170, 2004
  19. VDAC: The channel at the interface between mitochondria and the cytosol
    Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, vol. 256, no. 1/2, pp. 107–115, 2004
  20. Ceramide Channels Increase the Permeability of the Mitochondrial Outer Membrane to Small Proteins
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 277, no. 30, pp. 26796–26803, 2002
  21. VDAC Channels Differentiate between Natural Metabolites and Synthetic Molecules
    Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 187, no. 2, pp. 147–156, 2002
  22. Actin Modulates the Gating of Neurospora crassa VDAC
    Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 180, no. 1, pp. 73–81, 2001
  23. Bcl-xL Promotes the Open Configuration of the Voltage-dependent Anion Channel and Metabolite Passage through the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 276, no. 22, pp. 19414–19419, 2001
  24. A model of VDAC structural rearrangement in the presence of a salt activity gradient
    Chemical Physics Letters, vol. 348, no. 1-2, pp. 102–106, 2001
  25. The Lipids C2- and C16-Ceramide Form Large Stable Channels. IMPLICATIONS FOR APOPTOSIS
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 275, no. 49, pp. 38640–38644, 2000
  26. Outer mitochondrial membrane permeability can regulate coupled respiration and cell survival
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 97, no. 9, pp. 4666–4671, 2000
  27. Positive cooperativity without domains or subunits in a monomeric membrane channel
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 97, no. 14, pp. 7819–7822, 2000
  28. Mouse VDAC Isoforms Expressed in Yeast: Channel Properties and Their Roles in Mitochondrial Outer Membrane Permeability
    Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 170, no. 2, pp. 89–102, 1999
  29. The Role of Yeast VDAC Genes on the Permeability of the Mitochondrial Outer Membrane
    Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 161, no. 2, pp. 173–181, 1998
  30. The Topology of VDAC as Probed by Biotin Modification
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 273, no. 38, pp. 24406–24413, 1998
  31. Successful recovery of the normal electrophysiological properties of PorB (Class 3) porin from Neisseria meningitidis after expression in Escherichia coli and renaturation
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, vol. 1370, no. 2, pp. 289–298, 1998
  32. Isolation and characterization of the mitochondrial channel, VDAC, from the insect Heliothis virescens
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, vol. 1327, no. 2, pp. 193–203, 1997
  33. Methods in Cell Science, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 71–81, 1997
  34. Regulation of Metabolite Flux through Voltage-Gating of VDAC Channels
    Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 157, no. 3, pp. 271–279, 1997
  35. Indications of a common folding pattern for VDAC channels from all sources
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 153–161, 1996
  36. The Control of Mitochondrial Respiration in Yeast: A Possible Role of the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane
    Cell Biochemistry and Function, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 201–208, 1996
  37. Individual Leaflets of a Membrane Bilayer Can Independently Regulate Permeability
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 271, no. 20, pp. 11627–11630, 1996
  38. Self-catalyzed Insertion of Proteins into Phospholipid Membranes
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 271, no. 39, pp. 23675–23682, 1996
  39. The Role of Pyridine Dinucleotides in Regulating the Permeability of the Mitochondrial Outer Membrane
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 271, no. 43, pp. 26724–26731, 1996
  40. ATP Flux Is Controlled by a Voltage-gated Channel from the Mitochondrial Outer Membrane
    Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 271, no. 45, pp. 28006–28008, 1996
  41. Langmuir, vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 3218–3222, 1995
  42. Characterization and partial purification of the VDAC-channel-modulating protein from calf liver mitochondria
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, vol. 1185, no. 2, pp. 203–212, 1994
  43. The outer mitochondrial membrane channel, VDAC, is modulated by a protein localized in the intermembrane space
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, vol. 1144, no. 3, pp. 396–402, 1993
  44. Mapping of Residues Forming the Voltage Sensor of the Voltage-Dependent Anion-Selective Channel
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 90, no. 12, pp. 5446–5449, 1993
  45. Regulation of mitochondrial respiration by controlling the permeability of the outer membrane through the mitochondrial channel, VDAC
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics, vol. 1098, no. 2, pp. 255–260, 1992
  46. Toward the molecular structure of the mitochondrial channel, VDAC
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 7–19, 1992
  47. Determination of the number of polypeptide subunits in a functional VDAC channel fromSaccharomyces cerevisiae
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 27–31, 1992
  48. A soluble mitochondrial protein increases the voltage dependence of the mitochondrial channel, VDAC
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 41–46, 1992
  49. Surface topography and molecular stoichiometry of the mitochondrial channel, VDAC, in crystalline arrays*1
    Journal of Structural Biology, vol. 106, no. 2, pp. 161–171, 1991
  50. Group IIIA-metal hydroxides indirectly neutralize the voltage sensor of the voltage-dependent mitochondrial channel, VDAC, by interacting with a dynamic binding site
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, vol. 1025, no. 2, pp. 127–134, 1990
  51. Voltage gating in the mitochondrial channel, VDAC
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 111, no. 2, pp. 103–111, 1989
  52. Probing the structure of the mitochondrial channel, VDAC, by site-directed mutagenesis: A progress report
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 471–483, 1989
  53. Inhibition by aluminum hydroxide of the voltage-dependent closure of the mitochondrial channel, VDAC
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects, vol. 991, no. 1, pp. 68–78, 1989
  54. On the reported channel-forming activity of HmT toxin
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 103, no. 2, pp. 205–206, 1988
  55. The mitochondrial outer membrane channel, VDAC, is modulated by a soluble protein
    FEBS Letters, vol. 241, no. 1-2, pp. 105–109, 1988
  56. The mitochondrial outer membrane channel, VDAC, is regulated by a synthetic polyanion
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, vol. 905, no. 2, pp. 279–286, 1987
  57. Elimination and restoration of voltage dependence in the mitochondrial channel, VDAC, by graded modification with succinic anhydride
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 98, no. 2, pp. 157–168, 1987
  58. Voltage gating in VDAC is markedly inhibited by micromolar quantities of aluminum
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 99, no. 3, pp. 187–196, 1987
  59. Purification and characterization of the voltage-dependent anion channel from the outer mitochondrial membrane of yeast
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 99, no. 1, pp. 65–72, 1987
  60. Regulation of the mitochondrial outer membrane channel, VDAC
    Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes, vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 309–320, 1987
  61. Ultrasteep Voltage Dependence in a Membrane Channel
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 84, no. 14, pp. 4896–4900, 1987
  62. Biochemistry, vol. 25, no. 5, pp. 1015–1021, 1986
  63. Channel formation in phospholipid bilayer membranes by the toxin ofHeminthosporium maydis, race T
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 151–157, 1985
  64. Evidence for titratable gating charges controlling the voltage dependence of the outer mitochondrial membrane channel, VDAC
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 86, no. 1, pp. 51–59, 1985
  65. Voltage dependence and ion selectivity of the mitochondrial channel, VDAC, are modified by succinic anhydride
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 83, no. 1-2, pp. 81–86, 1985
  66. The mitochondrial voltage-dependent channel, VDAC, is modified asymmetrically by succinic anhydride
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 83, no. 1-2, pp. 87–94, 1985
  67. Evidence that the crystalline arrays in the outer membrane of Neurospora mitochondria are composed of the voltage-dependent channel protein
    Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Biomembranes, vol. 774, no. 2, pp. 206–214, 1984
  68. Purification of VDAC (Voltage-dependent anion-selective channel) from rat liver mitochondria
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 74, no. 2, pp. 115–121, 1983
  69. Structural and Functional Evidence for Multiple Channel Complexes in the Outer Membrane of Neurospora crassa Mitochondria
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 80, no. 8, pp. 2243–2247, 1983
  70. Diphtheria Toxin Fragment Forms Large Pores in Phospholipid Bilayer Membranes
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 78, no. 8, pp. 4950–4954, 1981
  71. Pore size and properties of channels from mitochondria isolated fromNeurospora crassa
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 79–84, 1980
  72. STRUCTURE AND MODE OF ACTION OF A VOLTAGE DEPENDENT ANION-SELECTIVE CHANNEL (VDAC) LOCATED IN THE OUTER MITOCHONDRIAL MEMBRANE DEPENDENT ANION-SELECTIVE CHANNEL (VDAC)
    Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 341, no. 1 Anion and Pro, pp. 552–563, 1980
  73. A candidate for the permeability pathway of the outer mitochondrial membrane
    Nature, vol. 279, no. 5714, Article ID 279643a0, 2 pages, 1979
  74. Reconstitution in planar lipid bilayers of a voltage-dependent anion-selective channel obtained from paramecium mitochondria
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 99–120, 1976
  75. Na+-Dependent amino acid transport in plasma membrane vesicles from ehrlich ascites cells
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 261–276, 1974
  76. Na+-gradient-stimulated AIB transport in membrane vesicles from Ehrlich ascites cells
    The Journal of Membrane Biology, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 315–334, 1974