Blood Pressure Regulation During Early Vertebrate Organogenesis

该项目旨在了解脊椎动物早期发育阶段心脏和血管系统的功能和控制。心脏是最早形成和承担成人功能的器官之一，但在发育中的神经系统到达它之前很久它就已经这样做了。这个项目将有助于确定新生的心血管系统在没有神经系统协助的情况下自我调节的能力。人们怀疑，在这些非常早期的发育阶段，血管本身可能提供了调节的关键。这一领域的研究受到脊椎动物胚胎和幼虫微小尺寸的阻碍，直到最近才有可能在技术上确定胚胎和幼虫的血压和血流。鉴于心血管系统对其产生的压力和流量做出反应并能够对压力的升高或降低做出反应的知识，血压调节的问题特别有趣。因此，在发育过程中保持适当的压力和流量可能是适当的心血管形态出现的关键。异常的压力或血流可能会导致病理异常，但也可能解释心脏形状和血管几何形状的进化能力，从而支持脊椎动物差异很大的生活方式。这里提出的研究还将涉及培训大量从高中到新墨西哥州立大学研究生的学生。这在这个地区特别有价值，因为我们的少数民族学生密度很高。这项研究将作为一个训练场，为这些学生提供实践研究经验。

This project is directed at understanding the function and control of the heart and vascular systems of vertebrates during the early stages of development. The heart is one of the first organs to form and assume its adult function, yet it does so long before the developing nervous system can reach it. This project will help define the ability of the nascent cardiovascular system to regulate itself without the assistance of the nervous system. It is suspected that the blood vessels themselves may provide the key to regulation during these very early stages of development. Research in this area is hampered by the minute size of vertebrate embryos and larvae, and only recently has it been technologically possible to determine blood pressure and blood flow in embryos and larvae.The question of blood pressure regulation is especially interesting in light of the knowledge that the cardiovascular system is responsive to the pressures and flows it generates and is capable of remodeling in response to increased or decreased pressure. Thus, maintaining appropriate pressures and flows during development may be critical for appropriate cardiovascular morphology to appear. Abnormal pressures or flows may result in pathological abnormalities, but may also account for the ability of heart shape and vascular geometry to evolve in such a fashion as to support the widely varying lifestyles of the vertebrates.The research proposed herein, will also involve training a large number of students from high school to graduate level at New Mexico State University. This is especially valuable in this locale given our high density of underrepresented minority students. This research will serve as a training ground to provide "hand on" research experience to these students.