BE Seminar – Corey Smith, Ph.D. (Professor, Case Western Reserve University)

Speaker: Corey Smith, Ph.D.
Affiliation: School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University

Activity-dependent differential transmitter release under the acute stress response

The adrenal medulla acts to translate different levels of sympathetic activity into specific hormonal profiles in the circulation. This fundamental behavior is a critical element in the ability of the body to react to environmental, physical and psychological stress. Moreover, dysfunction of the sympatho-adrenal stress response, if left untreated, leads to severe pathologies including hypertension, diabetes and vascular disease. Despite the elemental physiological importance of this process, remarkably little is known of its molecular basis. Low level sympathetic activation specifically elevates catecholamine release from the adrenal medulla while moderate to intense sympathetic stimulation evokes both catecholamine and peptide transmitter release from the adrenal medulla, with each peptide exhibiting a specific stimulus-secretion function (e.g. enkephalin under moderate stress and NPY, Catestatins, ANF etc. under increasing levels of sympathetic drive). We have developed a working physiological and molecular model for this behavior, based on precise activity-mediated control of the exocytic fusion pore through which transmitters are released from the secretory granule into the circulation.

Seminar Flyer_Corey Smith

Date/Time:
Date(s) - Mar 08, 2018
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Location:
Engineering V, Room 2101
410 Westwood Plaza Los Angeles CA 90095