Research Initiation Award: Using Zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model to assess the role of insulin receptor signaling in renal epithelial transport function.

研究启动奖为传统黑人学院和大学的初级和中期职业教师提供支持，他们正在建立新的研究项目或重新指导和重建现有项目。期望该奖项有助于提高教师的研究能力和效率，改善所在机构的研究和教学，并使本科生参与研究经验。马里兰大学东岸分校将开发一种新的方法来评估脊椎动物体内的水和钠调节，并将推进我们对脊椎动物肾脏运输和液体平衡基本机制的了解。该项目的目标是研究胰岛素在调节肾脏钠和水运输中的作用。上皮细胞排列在肾近端小管（PT）重吸收过滤钠和水的显著部分，因此，在调节体液渗透稳态中起关键作用。钠质子交换剂3 （NHE3）在PT中表达，占总Na+和水上皮运输的大部分。胰岛素通过增加NHE3活性刺激Na+和水上皮在这一段的运输。斑马鱼（Danio rerio）将被用作模型，以进一步阐明胰岛素与近端小管特异性钠氢质子交换剂3 （NHE3）活性增加相关的信号机制。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Research Initiation Awards provide support for junior and mid-career faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities who are building new research programs or redirecting and rebuilding existing programs. It is expected that the award helps to further the faculty member's research capability and effectiveness, improves research and teaching at the home institution, and involves undergraduate students in research experiences. The award to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore will develop a novel methodology to assess the water and sodium regulation in vertebrates and will advance our knowledge of basic mechanism of vertebrate kidney transport and fluid balance.The goal of the project is to investigate the role of insulin in regulating sodium and water transport in the kidney. Epithelial cells that line the renal proximal tubule (PT)reabsorb a significant fraction of filtered sodium and water, and therefore, play a key role in regulating body fluid osmotic homeostasis. The sodium proton exchanger 3 (NHE3) is expressed in the PT and accounts for the majority of total Na+ and water epithelial transport. Insulin has been shown to stimulate Na+ and water epithelial transport in this segment via increased NHE3 activity. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) will be used as a model to further elucidate the signaling mechanisms that link insulin to an increase in proximal tubule specific sodium hydrogen proton exchanger 3 (NHE3) activity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.