RUI: Ion Channels in Hypoxia and Hypothermia

许多脊椎动物承受与人类生活完全不相容的环境条件的能力，几个世纪以来一直引起科学家和外行人的兴趣。我们现在知道，有些鱼、两栖动物（如青蛙的幼虫）和爬行动物（如乌龟）能够在冰冻池塘底部的泥浆中存活几天、几周甚至几个月，即使那里可能根本没有氧气。虽然一些物种仍然处于冬眠状态，在此期间它们的身体新陈代谢几乎停止，但许多其他动物在体温对人类来说很快就会致命的情况下仍然完全活跃。这些动物忍受如此极端环境的机制，人们知之甚少。因此，这个项目的目标是开始理解在许多方面与人类相似的动物能够在与我们的生存如此陌生的条件下运作的基本机制。这种理解的关键可能是钠和钙等物质被允许穿过关键器官（如大脑和心脏）细胞壁的方式不同。如果是这样的话，最终有可能鉴定出能够增强人类对极端环境条件抵抗力的药物。

The capacity of many vertebrate animals to withstand environmental conditions that are completely incompatible with human life has intrigued scientists and laymen for centuries. We now know that some fish, amphibians (i.e. frog larvae), and reptiles (turtles, for example) are capable of surviving days, weeks, or even months buried in the mud at the bottom of frozen ponds, even though there may be no oxygen present at all. While some species remain in a state of hibernation, during which their body metabolism virtually comes to a halt, many other animals remain fully active at body temperatures that would be quickly fatal to humans. The mechanisms by which these animals tolerate such extreme conditions are very poorly understood. The goal of this project, then, is to begin to understand the fundamental mechanisms by which animals that are in many ways similar to humans are able to function under conditions so foreign to our existence. The key to this understanding may be differences in the way that substances such as sodium and calcium are permitted to move through the walls of cells in crucial organs, such as the brain and heart. If so, it may ultimately be possible to identify drugs that would expand the resistance of humans to extreme environmental conditions.