University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics

Neurobiology and Circulatory Control Laboratory

Description
Projects
Recent Publications
Lab Photographs

Description

The Laboratory of Neurobiology is located in research buildings at the Iowa City Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Over the past 20 years it has been funded by grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Heart Association, and the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The seminal focus of the laboratory is the study of central autonomic control as it relates to regulation of the cardiovascular system. The laboratory integrates physiological, pharmacological, neurochemical, immunohistochemical, microscopy (light, confocal and electron microscopy), and molecular/cellular techniques to study neurotransmitter systems that may mediate transmission of signals at central synapses in cardiovascular reflex pathways.

Projects

• Identification of the link between glutamate and nitric oxide in transmission of cardiovascular reflex signals in the brain stem. These studies test the hypothesis that glutamate transmission is critically linked to synthesis of nitric oxide by local cardiovascuneurons in the brain stem but that transduction of signals by ionotropic glutamate receptors differs from that by metabotropic receptors.
• Identification of the role played by preganglionic parasympathetic neurons of the pontine superior salivatory nucleus in cerebrovascular control. These studies have already established for the first time that arterial baroreflexes may modulate cerebral circulation through direct projections from the nucleus tractus solitarii, where baroreceptor nerves terminate, to the superior salivatory nucleus. We now seek to test the hypothesis that the baroreceptor projections to the pons use glutamate as an excitatory transmitter and to determine how this pathway participates in protecting the brain from damage caused by ischemia.
• Identification of the role played by the substance P receptor in cardiovascular reflex transmission by neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarii. We have shown that selective destruction of neurons that express the substance P receptor alters baroreflex transmission but also leads to cardiac changes and sudden death in some treated animals. The cardiac changes in these animals in many ways mirror those seen in humans after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
• In summary the projects have potentially important bearing on stroke, hypertension, and sudden death and could lead to novel therapies based on their pharmacological findings.

Recent Publications / Reviews

Lin, L-H., Talman, W.T. Soluble guanylate cyclase and neuronal nitric oxide synthase colocalize in rat nucleus tractus solitarii. J.Chem.Neuroanat. 29:127-136, 2005

Lin, L-H., Talman, W.T. Nitroxidergic neurons in rat nucleus tractus solitarii express vesicular glutamate transporter 3. J.Chem.Neuroanat. 29:179-191, 2005

Lin, L-H., Talman, W.T. Vesicular glutamate transporters and neuronal nitric oxide synthase colocalize in aortic depressor afferent neurons. J. Chem. Neuroanat. 32(1):54-64, 2006

Talman, W.T. Nitric Oxide and Central Cardiovascular Control: a Simple Molecule with a Complex Story. Editorial Commentary. Hypertension 48(4):552-4, 2006.

Talman, W.T., Nitschke Dragon, D., Corr, J., Wang, D. Parasympathetic Stimulation Elicits Cerebral Vasodilatation in Rat. Autonomic Neuroscience: Basic and Clinical 2007 May 30;133(2):153-7.

Talman, W.T., Nitschke Dragon, D. Neuronal nitric oxide mediates cerebral vasodilatation during acute hypertension. Brain Research 1139:126-32.

Musch TI, Carroll RG, Just A, Lane PH, Talman WT.A broader view of animal research. BMJ. 2007 Feb 10;334 (7588):274

Lin, L-H, Taktakishvili, O. Talman, W.T. Identification and localization of cell types that express endothelial and neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the rat nucleus tractus solitarii. Brain Research 2007 1171:42-51.

Lin, L.-H., Taktakishvili, O., Talman, W.T. Colocalization of neurokinin-1, NMDA, and AMPA receptors on neurons of the rat nucleus tractus solitarii. Submitted – Neuroscience- 2008 Jun 23;154(2):690-700

Nayate, N., Moore, S.A., Weiss, R., Taktakishvili, O., Lin, L.-H., Talman, W.T. Cardiac Damage after Lesions of the Nucleus Tractus Solitarii. – Amer. J. Physiol. Reg. Integ. Physiol. 2009 Feb;296(2):R272-9.

Boysen, N.C., Nitschke Dragon, D., Talman, W.T. Parasympathetic Tonic Dilatory Influences on Cerebral Vessels. Autonom. Neurosci.: Basic and Clin. 147(1-2):101-4, 2009

Lin, L.-H., Langasek, J.E., Talman, L.S. Taktakishvili, O.M., Talman, W.T. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus as a Gene-Transfer Vector in the Rat Nucleus Tractus Solitarii, Cell. Mol Neurobiol. 30(3):339-346, 2010.

Taktakishvili, O.M., Lin, L.-H., Vanderheyden, A.D., Nashelsky, M.B., Talman, W.T. Nitroxidergic innervation of human cerebral arteries. Auton. Neurosci: Basic and Clin. 2010 Aug 25;156(1-2):152-3.

Lin LH, Dragon DN, Jin J, Talman WT. Targeting neurons of rat nucleus tractus solitarii with the gene transfer vector adeno-associated virus type 2 to up-regulate neuronal nitric oxide synthase. Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2011 Aug;31(6):847-59.

Lab Photographs

Julie Corr, Deq Wang, Bill Talman, Li-Hsien Lin,
Deidre Nitschke Dragon, and Kristofor Agassandian after a power lunch.

Khristofor Agassandian (research scientist), Li-Hsien Lin (research scientist),
Jeffrey Riley (UI summer medical student fellow), Deoclecio Chianca
(visiting Brazilian scientist), and Deidre Nitschke Dragon.

Andrew Lawrence, visiting Australian scientist and 2002 UI Levitt Professor,
and Bill Talman collaborate in studying amino acid receptors.

Bill Talman and Li-Hsien Lin present work at the
Society for Neuroscience meeting in 2001.

Valeria Fazan (visiting Brazilian predoctoral fellow) and Khristofor
Agassandian present work at the Experimental Biology meeting in 2000.

Final preparations of a manuscript.