Joseph Albanesi, Ph.D. - Faculty Profile

Biography

I received my undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College in 1974 and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Duke University in 1980. As a result of my postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD), I became interested in the mechanism of secretory vesicle biogenesis and trafficking. Since joining the UT Southwestern faculty in 1987, I have pursued several topics related to membrane vesiculation. At present, we are examining the functions and regulations of dynamin, a large (100kDa) GTPase that severs the necks of nascent vesicles, thereby releasing them from their parent membranes. Dynamin activity is required for receptor-mediated endocytosis and synaptic vesicle recycling, and may also be essential for Golgi budding. In previous studies we determined the physical and kinetic properties of dynamin, and established that its function is regulated in cells by binding to specific phosphoinositide lipids. As part of this work, we cloned and characterized a novel family of phosphoinositide kinases that may have key roles in vesicle biogenesis from the Golgi apparatus. We are continuing our efforts to understand how proteins and lipids cooperate to overcome energetic barriers against membrane fusion and fission.

Education

Undergraduate: Dartmouth College , Biology
Undergraduate: Dartmouth College , Chemistry
Graduate School: Duke University (1980), Biochemistry

Research Interest

Guanylyl cyclase B in cell motility and differentiation.
Phosphoinositides in Regulated Exocytosis.
Role of Dynamin in Membrane Vesiculation.

Publications

Featured Publications

Membrane guanylyl cyclase receptors: an update.: Garbers DL, Chrisman TD, Wiegn P, Katafuchi T, Albanesi JP, Bielinski V, Barylko B, Redfield MM, Burnett JC Jr. Trends Endocrinol Metab. August 2006 17(6) 251-258
Phosphatidylinositol 4 phosphate regulates targeting of clathrin adaptor AP-1 complexes to the Golgi.: Wang YJ, Wang J, Sun HQ, Martinez M, Sun YX, Macia E, Kirchhausen T, Albanesi JP, Roth MG, Yin HL. Cell August 2003 114(3) 299-310
Type II phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase beta is a cytosolic and peripheral membrane protein that is recruited to the plasma membrane and activated by Rac-GTP.: Wei YJ., Sun HQ., Yamamoto M., Wlodarski P., Kunii K., Martinez M., Barylko B., Albanesi JP., Yin HL. J Biol Chem November 2002 277(48) 46586-93
A novel family of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinases conserved from yeast to humans.: Barylko B, Gerber SH, Binns DD, Grichine N, Khvotchev M, Sudhof TC, Albanesi JP. J Biol Chem March 2001 276(11) 7705-7708
Essential role of the dynamin pleckstrin homology domain in receptor-mediated endocytosis.: Achiriloaie, M., Barylko, B., and Albanesi, J.P. Mol. Cell Biol. February 1999 19 1410-1415
Molecular determinants of activation and membrane targeting of phosphoinositol 4-kinase IIbeta: Jung, G., Wang, J., Wlodarski, P., Barylko, B., Binns, DD., Shu, H., Yin, HL., Albanesi, JP. Biochem J. January 2008 409 501-509
Phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase III-beta is required for golgi maintenance and cytokinesis in Trypanosoma brucei.: Rodgers MJ., Albanesi JP., Phillips MA. Eukaryot Cell July 2007 6(7) 1108-18
Analysis of the catalytic domain of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase type II.: Barylko B., Wlodarski P., Binns DD., Gerber SH., Earnest S., Sudhof TC., Grichine N., Albanesi JP. J Biol Chem November 2002 277(46) 44366-75
Activation of dynamin II by POPC in giant unilamellar vesicles: A two-photon fluorescence microscopy study.: Bagatolli, L.A., Binns, D.D., Jameson, D.M., and Albanesi, J.P. J. Protein Chem. 2002 21 383-391
Membrane fusion: Stalk model revisited.: Markin, V.S. and Albanesi, J.P. Biophys. J. 2002 82 693-712

Honors & Awards

Southwestern Academy of Teaching
(2006)
American Heart Association
Established Investigator Award, 1989-1994 (0)

Professional Associations/Affiliations

American Society of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Biology