Section: Research

Hui Zou, Ph.D.

Academic Role: Research Assistant Professor

Faculty Appointment(s) In:
   Physiology

Ion channels and Ca²⁺ signaling in cardiac and smooth muscles

I have been interested in the involvement of ion channels and Ca²⁺ signaling in cardiac and smooth muscle function.  This interest has led to the studies of localized Ca²⁺ fluorescence transients due to Ca²⁺ entry through a single opening of plasma membrane Ca²⁺-permeable channels (Single Channel Ca²⁺ Fluorescence Transients, or SCCaFTs).  Such studies were made possible using simultaneous Ca²⁺ imaging and patch-clamp techniques.  The significance of these studies lies in several aspects: investigating Ca²⁺ buffering inside the cell, determining the Ca²⁺ current going through a channel where the current cannot be directly recorded (either because of contamination from other currents, as in the case of non-selective cation channels; or because of physical inaccessibility, as in the case of intracellular Ca²⁺ release channels), examining the effect of opening a single ion channel on the cell membrane potential, and locating Ca²⁺-permeable channels on the plasma membrane. 

My research is currently focused on two projects: 1) Caffeine-activated large conductance plasma membrane cation channels in cardiac myocytes; and 2) Stretch-activated cation channels in normal and overactive bladders. 

Office: Biotech 5, Suite 250
Phone: 508 856 1554
Fax: 508.856.1552
E-mail: Hui.Zou@umassmed.edu

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