Research OverviewExcitation-Contraction Coupling (ECC) Excitation-contraction coupling is a term coined in 1952 to describe the physiological process of converting an electrical stimulus to mechanical response. This process is fundamental to muscle physiology, whereby the electrical stimulus is usually an action potential and the mechanical response is contraction. ECC can be improperly regulated in many disease conditions. Though ECE has been known for over half a century, it is still an active area of biomedical research. The general scheme is that an action potential... Complete Information... | Research DescriptionResearch Specialties: atherosclerosis; heart failure; ultrastructure of cardiac myocytes; and crosstalk between mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum. My research has focused on the study of excitation-contraction coupling (ECC). Since 1995, I have been studying the mechanisms of Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in ventricular myocytes. The functional activity of cardiac Ca2+ release channels (RyR) and the Ca2+-ATPase pump (SERCA) can be modulated under physiological conditions by numerous regulators, including Ca2+. Failure to control Ca2+ release from the SR and/or Ca2+ uptake into the SR leads to a variety of cardiac dysfunctions, including certain forms of of heart failure and arrhythmia. Currently, the mechanisms that provide for the stability of the SR Ca2+-uptake-Ca2+-release (CUCR) system under normal and pathological conditions are not well defined. The long-term objective of my research is to understand the processes involved in contractility disorders in cardiac cells... Complete Information... |
Representative PublicationsSalnikov, V.V., Frederick, C.A., Lederer, W.J., and Lukyanenko, V. 2007. Probing the outer mitochondrial membrane in cardiac mitochondria with nanoparticles. Biophysical Journal 92:1058-1071, PMID: 17098804. Parfenov, A.S., Salnikov, V., Lederer, W.J., Lukyanenko, V. 2006. Aqueous diffusion pathways as a part of the ventricular cell ultrastructure. Biophysical Journal 90:1107-1119, PMID: 16284268. Tikhonov, I., Deetz, C., Paca, R., Berg, S., Lukyanenko, V., Lim, J.K., Pauza, C.D. 2006. Human V?2V?2 T cells contain cytoplasmic RANTES. International Immunology 18(8):1243-1251, PMID: 16740603. Complete Listing... |
