CURTINO, Juan A.

Hired Retired Principal Investigator CONICET / Consultant Professor UNC
Phone: +54 351 5353855 ext 3413
E-mail: jcurtino@fcq.unc.edu.ar

Research Topic

Proteoglycogen, Glycogenin and Branching Enzyme: structural, biochemical and functional studies

Our work points to the following yet unresolved topics on the initiation of proteoglycogen biosynthesis. One refers to the increase in glucopolymerization degree of glycogeninin, beyond the 13 glucose units acquired by autoglucosylation, produced by glycogen synthase and required for branching enzyme to introduce the first branch into the proteoglycogen precursor. The other topics deal with the probable modulation of proteoglycogen biosynthesis at the level of glycogenin autoglucosylation, and the branching enzyme structure and its reaction mechanism.

Selected publications

• Evidence for the glycoprotein nature of retina glycogen. M.A. Aon and J.A. Curtino (1984) Eur. J. Biochem. 140, 557-556.
• Protein-bound glycogen is linked to tyrosine residues. M.A. Aon and J.A. Curtino (1985) Biochem. J. 229, 269-272.
• The intramolecular autoglucosylation of monomeric glycogenin. S. Bazan, F. M. Issoglio, M. E. Carrizo, J. A. Curtino, (2008) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 371, 2, 328-332.
• Mechanisms of monomer and dimer glycogenin autoglucosylation. F.M. Issoglio, M.E. Carrizo, J.M. Romero and J.A. Curtino, (2012) J. Biol. Chem., 287, 1955-1961.
• Structural and biochemical insight into glycogenin inactivation by the glycogenosis-causing T82M mutation. M.E. Carrizo, J.M. Romero, F.M. Issoglio and J.A. Curtino (2012) FEBS Lett. 586, 254-257.

(See more publications-CONICET)

Researchers members of the group

• CARRIZO Maria Elena, PhD, Associate Researcher, CONICET.
• Jorge Miguel ROMERO. PhD, Adjunct Researcher, CONICET.

Fellows

• SOSA MUÑOZ, Cristian J.

Current Grants

• STRUCTURAL STUDIES AND INITIATION biochemists biosynthesis PROTEOGLUCOGENO PICT-2013, 2719, FONCYT.
• STRUCTURAL STUDIES AND INITIATION biochemists PROTEOGLUCOGENO biosynthesis PIP-2013/2015, CONICET.

Brief CV

Academic Formation

• Pharmacist, Institute of Chemical Sciences, National University of Córdoba, 1959.
• Biochemist, Institute of Chemical Sciences, National University of Córdoba, 1962.
• PhD in Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, National University of Córdoba, 1972. Subject: “Enzymatic synthesis of glucosylsphingosine and its posible participation in the biosynthesis of glucosylceramide”.

Research Background

Contribution to the biochemistry of the initiation of glycogen biosynthesis:

• First demonstration of protein covalently bound to glycogen (Aon y Curtino, Eur.J.Biochem, 1984).
• First evidence for protein-bound glycogen linked to tyrosine (Aon y Curtino, Biochem. J., 1985).
• Characterization of the new glycoconjugate named proteoglycogen (Miozzo et al., Biochem. J., 1989, Lacoste et al., Biochem. J., 1990).
• Proteoglycogen and glucogenina in Neurospora crassa (Goldraij et al., Biochem.Biophys.Res.Commun.,1996).
• Isolation of muscle proteoglycogen and glycogenin in a native form (Reed et al., Glycobiology, 1997).
• Inactivation and termal stabilization of glycogenin by linked glycogen (And Col. Romero, Biochem.Biophys.Res.Commun., 2001).
• Modulation of glycogenin expression during development (Reed et al., Biochem.Biophys.Res.Commun., 2001).
• Isolation of the oligosaccharide C-chain of proteoglycogen (Romero y Curtino, Biochem.Biophys.Res.Commun., 2001).
• Polimerization degree of the oligosaccharide C-chain of proteoglycogen (Bazan and Curtino, Glycobiology, 2005).
• Autoglucosylation of monomer glycogenin (Bazan, Issoglio et al., Biochem.Biophys.Res.Commun., 2008).
• Autoglucosylation mechanism of monomeric and dimeric glycogenin (Issoglio et al., J. Biol. Chem., 2012).
• Structural and biochemical insight into glycogenin inactivation by the glycogenosis-causing T82M mutation (Carrizo et. to, FEBS Lett., 2012).

Teaching Background

• Assistant Professor (1976-1978) and Professor (1978-1989) of Biological Chemistry , Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, National University of Cordoba.
• Professor of Biochemistry of Macromolecules, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, National University of Cordoba, 1989-2002.
• Consultant Professor of the National University of Córdoba, 2002-present.

Institutional Management Background

• Director of the Department of Biological Chemistry, Faculty of Chemical Sciences, National University of Cordoba, 1992-1994.

Directed Ph.D. Theses

• Miguel A. Any, 1986, Proteoglycogen, a new glycoconjugate..
• Mary C. Miozzo, 1992, Purification and characterization of membrane associated proteoglycogen precursor of glycogen in retina.
• Ariel Goldraij, 1995, M-glycogenin, the autoglucosyltransferase constituent of proteoglycogen on microorganism.
• Maria Elena Carrizo Garcia, 2000, Zimogen proteoglycogen, active GP-200 proteoglycogen and glycogenin: isolation and structural and functional properties.
• Jorge Miguel Romero, 2003, Stability and inhibition of the glucosyltransferase activity of glycogenin by the bound polysaccharide moiety. Partial characterization of the polysaccharide core branch chain-C.
• Soledad Bazán, 2007, The glycogenin-bound maltosaccharide. Polymerization degree, autoglucosylation mechanism and its effect on the amphypathicity of the protein.
• Federico M. Issoglio, 2014, Structural and biochemical studies of enzymes involved in the initiation of the proteoglycogen biosynthersis.