Professor of Neuroscience
Director of the Neuroscience Program
Physiology, Neuroscience
kathleen.dunlap@tufts.edu
Our laboratory is interested the roles of calcium channels
in neuronal function. In particular, our work is focused
both on calcium channels in nerve terminals that are responsible
for transmitter release and on calcium channels in cell bodies
that are responsible for regulating membrane excitability
and gene transcription. Our studies in nerve terminals involve
the tottering mouse, which carries a point mutation
in the gene coding P-type calcium channels; these animals
exhibit frequent epileptic seizures and a dramatic gait disorder.
Our results suggest that the mutation leads to an alteration
in the balance of excitation/inhibition in the cerebellum,
providing a possible explanation for the motor deficits in
this animal. Given that human mutations in the homologous
gene also result in similar gait disorders, we anticipate
that our results will likely impact on the understanding
of human motor disease.
Our work on somatic calcium channels has focused on the
molecular mechanisms by which the channels are modulated
by receptor-G protein-coupled pathways. We have identified
three biochemically and biophysically distinct mechanisms
that bring about channel inhibition. We are now exploring
the physiological implications of such modulation on calcium-dependent
responses in cell bodies. Specifically, we would like to
determine the consequences of modulating calcium influx on
membrane excitability (via calcium-activated chloride channels)
and gene transcription (via calcium-activated transcription
factors).
Visit the Dunlap research web site |
