Ion Channels and Disease

• Ion Channel Structure and Function
• Skeletal Muscle Physiology
• Central Nervous System Regulation
• Cardiac Electrical Functions

Ion channel proteins are expressed in essentially every cell in the body and are often targets of disease mechanisms and therapeutic drugs. These proteins control the selective movement of ions across cell membranes. Voltage-gated ion channel proteins are responsible for the electrical activity of nerves and the excitability and contraction of skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscles. Calcium-sensitive ion channels control neurotransmitter release and fluid secretion properties of epithelial cells in salivary glands, pancreas, and kidneys. Ion channels in intracellular organelles release calcium necessary for muscle contraction and for activating calcium-sensitive channels involved in fluid secretion described above. Hundreds of genetic defects in ion channels are known to lead to various debilitating disease and life-threatening disorders. Members of this research group are working toward unraveling the molecular details that determine normal channel function and how defects in these channels lead to human disease

Dirksen, Robert T.
Calcium channel structure and function.

Gross, Robert A.
Cellular mechanisms of opioid desensitization and tolerance; mechanisms underlying altered Ca homeostasis in excitotoxic injury; role of growth factors in regulating excitability in epilepsy models.

Kammermeier, Paul J.
G protein coupled receptor signaling and modulation of ion channels in neurons.

Lopes, Coeli M.B.
Molecular mechanisms of cardiac potassium channel regulation in health and disease.

Melvin, James E.
Exocrine gland physiology - water movement and ion transport.

Nehrke, Keith
Integrative physiology in the nematode C. elegans.

Porter, George
Regulation of cardiac development by intracellular calcium signaling and mitochondrial biogenesis.

Yule, David I.
Mechanisms underlying Ca 2+ signaling events in exocrine cells.