The TWIK 2 POTASSIUM CHANNELS ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

描述（由申请人提供）： 项目概要/摘要本职业发展计划旨在为主要研究者Lavannya M. Pandit拥有必要的知识，技能和经验，使她成为肺动脉高压领域的独立翻译研究者。Pandit博士是一位训练有素的肺科专家，在过去的八年里，他一直在照顾因晚期肺病而患肺动脉高压的退伍军人。她为这个项目带来了强大的研究背景，包括获得和处理人类肺组织的独特技能。Pandit博士概述了一项为期四年的计划，以研究一种新的钾通道TWIK-2调节肺动脉张力的基本机制，特别是它如何参与肺血管收缩，这是肺动脉高压的一个定义特征。这项工作将在医学副教授Rolando Rumbaut博士的指导下进行，他是Michael E. DeBakey VA医疗中心（MEDVAMC）。本提案的共同指导人是罗伯特·M。他是DeBakey VAMC附属学术机构贝勒医学院的麻醉学教授和脑血管研究主任。两位导师作为血管生理学家相互合作，并有资金和指导年轻研究人员在学术医学事业上取得成功的记录。Pandit博士还得到了MEDVAMC，贝勒医学院和卫理公会医院的杰出合作者团队的支持。此外，Pandit博士将通过贝勒医学院临床科学家培训计划的结构内的心血管生理学教学课程获得培训。 Pandit博士过去的学术经验强调了她对学术医学的承诺和她对肺动脉高压转化研究的渴望。自2011年以来，她完成了NIH研究培训补助金，她的研究重点是钾通道在肺血管张力调节中的作用，以努力将她的研究与她的临床专业知识融合在一起。 肺动脉高压她现在需要在人类和小鼠疾病模型中进行肺生理学培训，以指导科学研究。 本研究将重点关注TWIK-2在肺动脉高压发生发展中的作用。科学方法将涉及利用TWIK-2基因已被基因敲除的小鼠的肺血管，以及肺移植时获得的来自患有和不患有肺动脉高压的患者的新鲜移植的天然人肺血管。该项目的具体目标是描述TWIK-2如何影响肺平滑肌细胞的电特性、细胞内钙水平和肺血管的收缩特性。通过该资助获得的科学培训将导致出版物和经验，使候选人能够在未来四年内获得独立资助，并成为肺动脉高压的翻译研究者。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This career development proposal is designed to provide the Principal Investigator, Dr. Lavannya M. Pandit, with the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience required for her transition to an independent translational researcher in the field of pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Pandit is a well-trained pulmonary specialist who has cared for veterans with pulmonary hypertension due to advanced lung disease for the last eight years. She brings a strong research background to this project including unique skills in obtaining and handling human lung tissue. Dr. Pandit outlines a four-year plan to investigate the basic mechanism by which a novel potassium channel, TWIK-2, regulates pulmonary arterial tone, and specifically how it participates in pulmonary vasoconstriction, a defining characteristic of pulmonary hypertension. This work will be performed under the mentorship of Dr. Rolando Rumbaut, Associate Professor of Medicine, and Section Chief of the Pulmonary/Critical Care/Sleep Medicine section at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center (MEDVAMC). The co-mentor on this proposal is Dr. Robert M. Bryan, Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of Cerebrovascular Research at Baylor College of Medicine, the affiliated academic institution of the DeBakey VAMC. Both mentors have collaborated with each other as vascular physiologists and have the funding and track record of mentoring young investigators for successful careers in academic medicine. Dr. Pandit also has the support of a team of exceptional collaborators at MEDVAMC, Baylor College of Medicine, and the Methodist Hospital. In addition, Dr. Pandit will acquire training through didactic coursework in cardiovascular physiology within the structure of the Baylor College of Medicine Clinical Scientist Training Program. Dr. Pandit's past academic experiences underscore her commitment to academic medicine and her desire to pursue translational research in pulmonary hypertension. Having completed an NIH research training grant, since 2011, her research has evolved to focus on the role of potassium channels in the regulation of pulmonary vascular tone in an effort to meld her research with her clinical expertise in pulmonary hypertension. She now requires training in pulmonary physiology in both human and murine models of disease during this mentored period of scientific investigation. The research in this proposal will focus on the role of TWIK-2 in the development of pulmonary hypertension. The scientific approach will involve the utilization of pulmonary vessels of mice in which the TWIK-2 gene has been genetically knocked out as well as freshly explanted native human pulmonary vessels from patients with and without pulmonary hypertension, obtained at lung transplantation. Specific Aims of the project are to delineate how TWIK-2 affects the electrical properties of pulmonary smooth muscle cells, intracellular calcium levels, and the contractile properties of pulmonary vessels. The scientific training obtained through this grant will lead to publications and experience that will enable the candidate to secure independent funding within the next four years and establish herself an a translational investigator in pulmonary hypertension.