Angiotensin II signaling and sympathetic regulation of blood pressure

Description of projects available to graduate students:
High blood pressure occurs in 30% of the adult US population and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Drugs that block activation of angiotensin 1 receptors by angiotensin II are key therapeutic tools for controlling human hypertension. The goal of this project is to test the novel hypothesis that ATII and AT1 receptors operate in sympathetic ganglia to regulate blood pressure. Current concepts have focused instead on other important regulatory sites in the kidneys, vasculature and brain. This rotation project will map expression and upregulation of key molecules in the antiotensin signaling pathway in sympathetic neurons in normal and hypertensive animals.

Techniques graduate student will learn:
Methods will include, PCR, qPCR, tissue culture and rodent models of hypertension. The rotating student will also receive an introduction to cellular methods of electrophysiology and computational models of synaptic integration