Ana Coutinho

Collaborating researcher, assistant professor

L-3755-2014

Web of Science profile

iBB Group: bsirg

ana.coutinho@tecnico.ulisboa.pt

Expertise: Membrane proteinsLipid-protein interactions, Membrane biophysics, Fluorescence spectroscopy FRET

Short Bio:

Ana Coutinho is an Assistant Professor at DQB, Faculdade de Ciências, Ulisboa (FCUL) and a researcher at iBB, IST, ULisboa. She graduated in Biochemistry (FCUL, 1988) and obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry (FCUL, 2000). She was a post-doctoral fellow at Instituto de Química-Física “Rocasolano” (Madrid, Spain, 2003/2004) under the supervision of Dr. M. Pillar Lillo.Her research interests are centred on Molecular Biophysics, with a strong emphasis on Membrane Biophysics and Lipid-Protein Interactions. Ana´s main research topics include (i) studying the conformational dynamics of membrane proteins and (ii) investigating the role of lipid membranes on the self-assembly mechanisms of amyloidogenic peptides/proteins from several pathological disorders through a combination of advanced fluorescence techniques.

ORCID

SCOPUS

CIÊNCIA VITAE

Research Focus:

Investigation of protein-lipid interactions and the conformational dynamics of membrane proteins using advanced fluorescence techniques

LipReleaseTau: The role of the plasma membrane in the unconventional secretion of tau: insights into the progression of tauopathies (2022.01454.PTDC), https://sciproj.ptcris.pt/175719PRJ (Team member)

SingleMolHTTex1: The aggregation-prone structures of Huntingtin exon 1 at the single-molecule level: Influence of membranes and implications in Huntington disease (PTDC/BIA-BFS/30959/2017) (Team member)

Lipid oxidation in membrane and cell biophysics: From functional nanosensors to impact on amyloid formation. Application of advanced fluorescence, X-Ray scattering and microscopy techniques (FAPESP/20107/2014) (Team member)

Modulation of Calcitonin Amyloid Formation by Lipid Membranes and Extracellular Matrix: Implications for the Mechanism of Cytotoxicity of Amyloidogenic Polypeptides” (PTDC/BBB-BQB/2661/2012) (Team member)

Amyloidogenic proteins: role of lipid-protein interaction in amyloid-like fibril formation” (PTDC/QUI-BIQ/099947/2008) (Team member)

Morán-Lalangui, M., Coutinho, A., Prieto, M., Pérez-Gil, J., Loura, L.M.S. & García-Alvarez, B. (2024) Exploring Protein-Protein Interactions and Oligomerization State of Pulmonary Surfactant Protein C (SP-C) through FRET and Fluorescence Self-Quenching. Protein Sci,. 33(1): e4835. https://doi.org/10.1002/pro.4835

Díaz-García, C., Renart, M.L., Poveda, J.A., Giudici, A.M., González-Ros, J.M., Prieto, M. & Coutinho, A. (2021) Probing the Structural Dynamics of the Activation Gate of KcsA using Homo-FRET measurements. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 22(21): 11954. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms222111954

Scanavachi, G., Coutinho, A., Fedorov, A.A., Prieto, M., Melo, A.M. & Itri, R. (2021) Lipid hydroperoxide compromises the membrane structure organization and softens bending rigidity. Langmuir, 37(33): 9952-9963. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c00830

Pinto, S.N., Dias, S.A., Cruz, A.F., Mil-Homens, D., Fernandes, F., Valle, J., Andreu, D., Prieto, M., Castanho, M.A.R.B., Coutinho, A. & Veiga, A.S. (2019) The mechanism of action of pepR, a viral-derived peptide, against Staphyloccoccus aureus biofilms. J. Antimicrob. Chemoter., 74(9): 2617-2625. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkz223

Renart, M.L., Giudici, A.M., Poveda, J.A., Fedorov, A., Berberan-Santos, M.N., Prieto, M., Díaz-García, C., González-Ros, J.M. & Coutinho, A. (2019) Conformational plasticity in the KcsA potassium channel pore helix revealed by homo-FRET studies. Scientific Reports 9(1): 6215. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-42405-5

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Ana Coutinho