Ernesto Carafoli M.D.

Visiting Professor

Shanghai Institute for Advanced Immunochemical Studies, ShanghaiTech University
Laboratory: Lab of Cell calcium signaling


Born 1932, in Italy. M.D. 1957, University of Modena, Italy.

Abilitation in General Pathology (1965) and in Biochemistry (1968).

Fogarty International Post-doctoral Fellow in the Dept. of Physiological Chemistry of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA (1963-1965)

Visiting Lecturer in the same department (1968-1969).

Assistant Professor of General Pathology in the University of Modena School of Medicine, Italy (1959-1965)

Associate Professor of General Pathology at the same School (1965-1972)

Professor of General Pathology, University of Padova School of Medicine (Italy) (1973)

Professor of Biochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) (Zurich, Switzerland), (1973 - 1998)

Chairman of the Dept. of Biochemistry of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in 1978 and 1987-1991

Professor of Biochemistry, University of Padova, School of Medicine, Italy (since 1990).

From 1971-1991 Visiting Professor for various periods in several Italian Universities, at the University of Nairobi (Kenya) at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma of Mexico, Mexico City (Mexico) at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas (Venezuela), and at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland (OH, USA).

Scientific Director of the Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine (Padova, Italy), (2000 - 2005).


Publications:

About 500 articles in refereed journals on topics of muscle biochemistry, membrane biochemistry, mitochondrial bioenergetics, membrane transport of ions (calcium, specially by pumps) regulation of calcium metabolism. Close to 100 book chapters and more than 80 invited review articles on the same topics. Editor or co-editor of about 30 books on topics of membrane biochemistry, cell signaling (emphasis on calcium), mitochondrial bioenergetics.

Current H Index = 110, Current number of citations= about 45,000


A selection of papers describing important findings

1. Biochemical changes in pigeon breast mitochondria following nervec section.

E. CARAFOLI, A. MARGRETH, and P. BUFFA  Nature 196, 1101-1102, 1962

2.Uptake of adenine nucleotides by respiring mitochondria during active accumulation of calcium and phosphate.

E. CARAFOLI, C. S. ROSSI, and A.L. LEHNINGER J. Biol. Chem. 240, 2254-2261, 1965

3. In vivo effect of uncoupling agents on the incorporation of calcium and strontium into mitochondria and other subcellular fractions of rat liver.

E. CARAFOLI J. Gen. Physiol. 50,1849-1854, 1967

4. Calcium metabolism in yeasts cells and mitochondria.

E. CARSFOLI, W.X. BALCAVAGE, A.L.  LEHNINGER, and J.R. MATTOON Biochim. Biophys. Acta 205, 18-29, 1970

5. The release of calcium from heart mitochondria by sodium.

E. CARAFOLI, R. TIOZZO, G. LUGli, F. CROVETTI, and C. KRATZING J. Molec. Cell. Cardiol. 6, 361-371, 1974

6. Purification of the calcium-magnesium  ATPase from human

erythrocyte membranes using a calmodulin affinity column.

V. NIGGLI, J. T. PENNISTON, and E. CARAFOLI J. Biol. Chem. 254, 9955-9959, 1979

7. An ATP-dependent calcium pumping system in dog heart sarcolemma.

P. CARONI, and E. CARAFOLI Nature, 283, 765-767, 1980

8. Complete primary structure of a human plasma membrane calcium pump.

A.K. VERMA, A.G. FILOTEO, D.R. STANFORD, E.D. WIEBEN, J.T. PENNISTON, E.E. STREHLER, R. FISCHER, R. HEIM, G. VOGEL, S. MATHEWS, M.A. STREHLER-PAGE, P. JAMES. T. VORHERR, J. KREBS, and E. CARAFOLI J. Biol. Chem. 263, 14152-14159, 1988

9. Nature and site of phospholamban regulation of the calcium pump of sarcoplasmic reticulum.

P. JAMES, M. INUI, M. TADA, M. CHIESI, and E. CARAFOLI Nature, 342, 90-92, 1989

10. Total synthesis and functional properties of the membrane-intrinsic protein phospholamban.

T. VORHERR, A. WRZOSEK, M. CHIESI, and E. CARAFOLI Protein Science, 2, 339-347, 1993

11. The expression of plasma membrane calcium pump isoforms in cerebellar granule neurons is modulated by calcium.

D. GUERINI, E. GARCIA-MARTIN, A. GERBER, A. VOLBRACHT, M. LEIST, C. GUTIERREZ-MERINO, and E. CARAFOLI J. Biol. Chem. 274, 1667-1676, 1999

12. NMR solution structure of phospholamban.

S. LAMBERTH, H. SCHMID, M. MUENCHBACH,T. VORHERR, J. KREBS, E. CARAFOLI, and C. GRIESINGER Helv. Chim. Acta, 83 2141-2152, 2000

13. A functional  study of plasma membrane calcium pump isoform 2 mutants causing digenic deafness.

R. Ficarella, F. Di Leva, M. Bortolozzi, S. Ortolano, F. Donaudy, M. Petrillo, S. Melchionda, A. Lelli, T. Domi, L. Fedrizzi, D. Lim, G.E. Shull, P. Gasparini, M. Brini, F. Mammano, And E. Carafoli Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. Usa, 104, 1516-1521, 2007