Jay S Naik
University of New Mexico, NM·Physiology
Blood vessels widen and narrow to match blood flow to each organ's needs. The endothelial cells lining the vessels drive much of this control.
- Fields
Physiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Pharmacology
- Topics
vascular physiology
endothelial cells
endothelial dysfunction
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jun 2027
What they work on
- Determine why endothelial cells in large arteries carry more membrane cholesterol than those in small resistance arteries, testing the role of the cholesterol-export proteins Abca1 and Pltp.
- Determine how endothelial membrane cholesterol and lipid domains regulate hydrogen sulfide (H2S) signaling targets, and test whether depleting cholesterol unmasks H2S-induced dilation in large arteries.
- Test, in vitro and in vivo, the hypothesis that faster cholesterol efflux in resistance-artery endothelial cells strengthens downstream H2S signaling and vessel relaxation.
More about the research
When endothelial cells stop working properly, it is one of the earliest signs of cardiovascular disease, and the resulting poor flow control damages organs. These cells release gases that relax vessels, including nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). How H2S signaling is controlled is not well understood. The lab's preliminary data show that H2S relaxes small resistance arteries, which set blood pressure and local flow, at doses that do not affect large arteries. Removing cholesterol from the endothelial cell membrane in large arteries unmasks the response. Large-artery endothelial cells also naturally contain more membrane cholesterol.
Why it matters
H2S production or activity falls in most cardiovascular diseases, and there are few ways to restore this signaling. By showing how membrane cholesterol controls H2S-driven vessel relaxation, the work could identify drug targets for hypertension, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. It could also improve understanding of how blood pressure and local blood flow are regulated.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Naomi Hamburg
Boston University, MA·Medicine & Clinical Research
Test whether type 2 diabetes and related cardiometabolic traits are linked to organelle stress (mitochondrial dysfunction and ER stress) in fresh endothelial cells from 450 Framingham Heart Study participants.
Michal Laniado Schwartzman
New York Medical College, NY·Pharmacology
Test whether removing Gpr75 only from endothelial cells, the cells lining blood vessels, protects mice from diet-driven obesity, high blood sugar, insulin resistance and hypertension.
Pooneh Bagher
University of Nebraska Medical Center, NE·Physiology
Determine whether hemoglobin alpha in artery-lining endothelial cells becomes glycated in a mouse model of diabetes, including at sites within its putative eNOS-binding domain.
The school
University of New Mexico: 27 labs on PI Pages, $355M a year on research, 182 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
A start for your email. Fill in the brackets.