Mohamed Trebak
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Physiology
Calcium ions act as messages inside almost every cell, telling it when to change gene activity, metabolism and behavior. Calcium enters through the outer membrane and then moves into internal compartments such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), mitochondria and lysosomes.
- Fields
Physiology
Pharmacology
Biochemistry
- Topics
calcium signaling
Ca2+ channels
store-operated calcium entry
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2033
What they work on
- Determine how native ORAI1–3 calcium channels and STIM1/STIM2 ER calcium sensors move, associate, dissociate and are internalized at PM–ER junctions.
- Define how ORAI/STIM signaling communicates with mitochondrial (MCU/NCLX) and lysosomal (TRPML1) calcium channels to shape local calcium microdomains, gene transcription and metabolism.
- Test the roles of specific ORAI and STIM isoforms in tissue physiology and in obesity, hypertension and vascular remodeling, using mouse models.
More about the research
These organelles take up and release calcium at contact points with one another, creating small, local calcium signals called microdomains. How these microdomains form, and how they help keep blood vessels and airways healthy or drive disease, is largely unknown.
Why it matters
Faulty calcium channel activity contributes to many vascular, airway and metabolic diseases. Mapping how specific channels such as ORAI, STIM, MCU and TRPML1 work together could identify drug targets to prevent or reverse conditions like hypertension, obesity and harmful remodeling of blood vessels and airways.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Murali Prakriya
Northwestern University, IL·Neuroscience
Map the binding interface between the Orai1 channel and the calcium sensor STIM1. Use photocrosslinking with unnatural amino acids that can be locked in place by light.
Trayambak Pathak
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-New Orleans, LA·Physiology·Early-career
Test whether calcium entry through Orai3 channels drives mitochondrial heat production in brown adipose tissue to limit fat buildup, by measuring mitochondrial metabolism in Orai3 knockout mice.
Huijuan Hu
Rutgers University-New Brunswick, NJ·Neuroscience
Determine whether deleting or knocking down STIM2, a calcium-store sensor, in the mouse spinal cord reduces chronic itch in models of chronic itch, including DNFB- and DCP-induced dermatitis.
The school
University of Pittsburgh: 83 labs on PI Pages, $1.5B a year on research, 403 research doctorates a year.
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