Assistant Professor
Department of Molecular and Cellular Medicine
Room 204 Reynolds Medical Building
College Station,
Texas 77843
Phone: 979-845-7832
Fax: 979-847-9481 or 979-862-1299
Email: gbwells@medicine.tamhsc.edu
Education and Post-Graduate Training
Gregg B. Wells is an Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Medicine. He received his B.A. (with distinction) in Chemistry from Northwestern University in 1981. He earned his Ph.D. in Biophysical and Theoretical Biology from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1987 and his M.D. was awarded from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1989. From 1989-1996 he completed his residency in anatomic pathology and fellowship in neuropathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He is certified in anatomic pathology with special certification in neuropathology by the American Board of Pathology. He joined the faculty at Texas A&M Health Science Center in 1999.Research Interests
The general theme of the research in my laboratory is the role of protein structure in disease, particularly in neurological disease. Our work generally involves the study of ion channels encompassing ligand-gated, voltage-gated, and mechanosensitive channels. One area of study is the structure and function of the superfamily of neurotransmitter-gated ion channels that includes nicotinic acetylcholine, serotonin 5HT3, glycine, and GABAA receptors, and nicotinic-like receptors from bacteria. Members of this superfamily are involved in drug addiction and alcoholism, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease, genetic forms of epilepsy, and neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and depression. We are developing new approaches to elucidating the molecular structures of these ion channels. Cyclic nucleotide gated channels are a second area of study. We are interpreting their electrophysiological properties in terms of structure and thermodynamics. Third, we are developing computational models of voltage-gated and ligand-gated ion channel function in auditory hair cells with the goal of explaining whole-cell and single channel electrophysiological data. Explaining specific neurological diseases in terms of protein structure is a theme linking neuroscience with neuropathology, my medical specialty.Selected Publications
Wells, GB and Tanaka, JC. (1997) "Ion Selectivity Predictions from a Two Site Permeation Model for the Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channel of Retinal Rod Cells." Biophysical Journal. 72, 127-140.
Wells, GB, Anand, R, Wang, F and Lindstrom, J. (1998) "Water-soluble Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Formed by alpha7 Subunit Extracellular Domains." Journal of Biological Chemistry. 273, 964-973.
Wells, G. B., Lin, L., Jeanclos, E. M., and Anand, R. (2001) “Assembly and Ligand Binding Properties of the Water-Soluble Extracellular Domains of the Glutamate Receptor GluR1 Subunit.” Journal of Biological Chemistry. 276, 3031-3036.
Person, A.M., Bills, K.L., Liu, H., Botting, S.K., Lindstrom, J., and Wells, GB. (2005) Extracellular Domain Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors formed by Alpha4 and Beta2 Subunits. J. Biol. Chem. 280, 39990-40002.
Farris HE, Wells GB, and Ricci AJ. (2006) "Steady-State Adaptation of Mechanotransduction Modulates the Resting Potential of Auditory Hair Cells, Providing an Assay for Endolymph [Ca2+]." Journal of Neuroscience. 26, 12526-12536.
Wells, G.B. (2008) Structural answers and persistent questions about how nicotinic receptors work. Front Biosci. 13:5479-5510. Review.
