Janet L. Parker, Ph.D.
Professor
Systems Biology and Translational Medicine
342B Reynolds Medical Building
College Station,
Texas 77843-1114
Phone: 979-458-1033
Fax: 979-862-4638
Email: jparker@medicine.tamhsc.edu
Curriculum Vitae
(PDF)
Education and Post-Graduate Training
B.S., Biology/Chemistry, 1969, North Texas State University
M.S. Physiology (Cardiovascular) Michigan State University
Ph.D. Physiology (Cardiovascular) Michigan State University
Postdoc. Pharmacology, Univ Texas Health Sci. Ctr., Southwestern Medical School
Research Interests
Briefly, research in my laboratory involves areas of cardiovascular pathophysiology and chronic adaptive responses of the heart and vasculature to stress (i.e., chronic coronary occlusion, exercise training). Currently, specific projects and ongoing research projects include evaluation of:
- Effects of chronic coronary occlusion and collateral development on function of coronary vascular smooth muscle and coronary endothelium, with a specific focus on cellular mechanisms underlying altered vascular responsiveness and vascular remodeling;
- Effects of chronic exercise training on vascular smooth muscle and endothelial function of coronary vasculature isolated from a porcine model of coronary artery disease;
- Mechanisms of impaired endothelial function and altered nitric oxide production during experimental sepsis and endotoxemia;
- Mechanisms of altered smooth muscle contractile mechanisms during experimental endotoxemia;
- Mechanisms of altered myocardial contraction during experimental sepsis and endotoxemia.
We use a variety of models in these studies, including porcine and canine models of coronary occlusion and collateral development, porcine exercise training model, rodent and small animal models of sepsis and endotoxemia, cultured and freshly dispersed smooth muscle and endothelial cells, isolated arteries and microvessels, and isolated cardiac muscle preparations. A variety of techniques and experimental approaches are used to address our objectives, including: assessment of contractile properties and vascular function; evaluation of intracellular calcium handling (fura-2 microflurometry); measures of nitric oxide (chemiluminesence) and other vasoactive mediators using ELISA methods; and, with our collaborators, molecular approaches to identify underlying changes responsible for altered mediators and mechanisms in our pathophysiological models.
Selected Publications
Fogarty JA, Muller-Delp JM, Delp MD, Laughlin MH, Parker JL. Exercise training enhances vasodilation responses to VEGF165 in porcine coronary collateral-dependent arterioles. Circulation. 2004 Feb;10:109(5):664-670. PMID: 14769688; http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/109/5/664.long
Heaps CL, Mattox ML, Kelly KA, Meininger CJ, Parker JL. Exercise training increases basal tone in arterioles distal to chronic coronary occlusion. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2006 Mar;290(3):H1128-H1135. PMID: 16243909; http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/290/3/H1128.long
Lawler JM, Kwak HB, Song W, Parker JL. Exercise training reverses downregulation of HSP70 and antioxidant enzymes in porcine skeletal muscle after chronic coronary artery occlusion. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2006 Dec;291(6):R1756-63. PMID: 16873555; http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/291/6/R1756.long
Boluyt MO, Cirrincione GM, Loyd AM, Korzick DH, Parker JL, Laughlin MH. Effects of gradual coronary artery occlusion and exercise training on gene expression in swine heart. Mol Cell Biochem. 2007 Jan;294(1-2):87-96. PMID: 16937015; PMCID: PMC2662753
Thengchaisri N, Shipley R, Ren Y, Parker JL, Kuo L. Exercise training restores coronary arteriolar dilation to NOS activation distal to coronary artery occlusion: role of hydrogen peroxide. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2007 Apr;27(4):791-798. PMID: 17234725; atvb.ahajournals.org/content/27/4/791.long
Fogarty JA, Delp MD, Muller-Delp JM, Laine GA, Parker JL, Heaps CL. Neuropilin-1 is essential for enhanced VEGF(165)-mediated vasodilatation in collateral-dependent arterioles of exercise trained swine. J Vasc Res. 2009;46(2):152-161. doi: 10.1159/000152351. PMID: 18769069.
Zhou M, Widmer RJ, Xie W, Widmer AJ, Schroedre F, Parker JL, Heaps CL. Effects of exercise training on cellular mechanisms of endothelial nitric oxide synthase regulation in coronary arteries after chronic occlusion. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2010 Jun;298(6):H1857-1869. PMID: 20363881; PMCID: PMC2886619
Robles JC, Sturek M, Parker JL, Heaps CL. Ca2+ sensitization and PKC contribute to exercise training-enhanced contractility in porcine collateral-dependent coronary arteries. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2011 Apr;300(4):H1201-1209. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.oop57.2010. PMID: 21297028; PMICD: PMC3075019
Heaps CL, Parker JL. Effects of exercise training on coronary collateralization and control of collateral resistance. J Appl Physiol. 2011 Aug;111(2):587-598. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00338.2011. PMID: 21565987; PMCID: PMC31544694
Xie W, Parker JL, Heaps CL. Effects of exercise training on nitric oxide and superoxide/H2O2 signaling pathways in collateral-dependent porcine coronary arterioles. J Appl Physiol. 2012 Feb 9. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 22323648; http://jap.physiology.org/content/early/2012/02/02/japplphysiol.01248.2011.long
