Gregory Dick, Ph.D.
Research Associate Professor, Department of Physiology & Anatomy
University of North Texas Health Science Center
“Ion channels, myogenic responses, and coronary vascular regulation”
Coronary arterioles demonstrate myogenic reactivity, as caliber is actively adjusted in response to the intraluminal distending pressure. The teleological purpose of myogenic reactivity remains unclear, but it has been proposed that it acts to mitigate pressure-induced changes in circumferential wall stress. Whether this is true for the coronary circulation is unknown. I will discuss a modeling study testing the hypothesis that myogenic contractions keep wall stress relatively constant over a wide range of pressures. Contraction of coronary smooth muscle is influenced by ion channels controlling membrane potential and calcium influx. We are investigating ion channels whose opening would depolarize membrane potential, increase calcium, and promote contraction. A candidate for study is TMEM16A, a calcium-activated chloride channel expressed in a variety of smooth muscles. I will discuss an ex vivo study designed to test hypothesis that drugs which influence TMEM16A alter coronary contraction.
Friday, April 9, 2021, 11:00AM-12:00PM,
Zoom: https://unthsc.zoom.us/j/81333475049?pwd=NjExQVpydytyN0ViKy9qT2ZFb0djZz09
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Fort Worth, Texas