Dodge-Kafka Lab

Research focus

NIH R01 · 2024

Perinuclear Signaling and Cardiac Hypertrophy

Stimulation of the b-adrenergic receptor (bAR) during the flight-or-fight response increases contractility through protein kinase A (PKA)-stimulated Ca2+ fluxes at the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). However, chronic stress on the heart leads to long-term stimulation of the bAR by increased circulating catecholamines, resulting in pathological remodeling due to Ca2+-mediated gene transcription. These divergent responses to bAR activation and Ca2+ signaling suggests that multiples pools of bAR-regulated PKA activity exist in the cardiac myocyte. We suggest that internal bARs at the nuclear envelope activate a PKA-stimulated perinuclear Ca2+ signals that induce pathological gene transcription…

From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.