Cardiac Physiology Laboratory Carlson 106 and 1B03 phone: 303-492-2745/5712

Research Interests

• A focus of the Lab is to identify cellular mechanisms that underlie the physiological (exercise training) and pathological (heart failure, aging) alterations in cardiac contractile function. We are currently conducting work to understand the cellular basis for exercise-induced protection of the heart against ischemia-reperfusion injury, and on the influences of diet and exercise on cardiac energy metabolism, heart mitochondrial lipid composition, and the development of heart failure in the SHHF rat model.

Personnel

• Laboratory Director: Russell L. Moore, Ph.D.


• Faculty: Sylvia McCune, Ph.D.


• Research Associate: Genevieve Sparagna, Ph.D.


• Graduate Students: Jason Browder, Rachel Gioscia-Ryan


• Undergraduate Research Assistants: Daniel Finnin, Taylor Kennedy


• Collaborators: Leslie Leinwand, Ph.D., MCD Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder; Peter Watson, Ph.D., Endocrinology, University of Colorado at Denver; Robert Murphy, Ph.D., Pharmacology, University of Colorado at Denver; Joseph Y. Cheung, M.D., Ph.D., Thomas Jefferson College of Medicine, Philadelphia; Grant Hatch, Ph.D., University of Sasketchewan, Manitoba, Canada; William Stanley, Ph.D., University of Maryland.

(L to R ): Derek Zachman, Andy Edwards, Genevieve Sparagna, Meredith Moore, Sylvia McCune, Rachel Gioscia-Ryan, Daniel Finnin, Russell Moore, and Jason Browder.

Current Research Projects

• Examination of sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive K⁺ current characteristics and their relation to training-induced and sex-dependent resistance of the heart to ischemia-reperfusion injury.

• Characterization of the influence of nutrition and exercise on the development of heart failure in the SHHF rat model.

• Determination of the potential role of altered cardiolipin biosynthesis on mitochondrial function in the SHHF rat model of heart failure.

Recent Publications

• Chicco AJ, McCune SA, Emter CE, Sparagna GC, Rees ML, Bolden DA, Marshall KD, Murphy RC, Moore RL. Low-intensity exercise training delays heart failure and improves survival in female hypertensive heart failure rats. Hypertension 51: 1096-1102, 2008.


• Edwards AG, Rees ML, Gioscia RA, Zachman DK, Lynch JM, Browder JC, Chicco AJ, Moore RL. PKC-permitted elevation of sarcolemmal KATP concentration may explain female-specific resistance to myocardial infarction. Journal of Physiology 587: 5723-5737, 2009.


• Chicco AJ, Sparagna GC, McCune SA, Johnson CA, Murphy RC, Bolden DA, Rees ML, Gardner RT, Moore RL. Linoelate-rich high-fat diet decreases mortality in hupertensive heart failure rats compared to lard and low-fat diets. Hypertension 52: 549-55, 2008.


• Saini-Choban HK, Holmes MG, Chicco AJ, Taylor WA, Moore RL, McCune SA, Hickson-Bick DL, Hatch GM, Sparagna GC. Cardiolipin biosynthesis and remodeling enzymes are altered during the development of heart failure. Journal of Lipid Research 50: 1600-1608, 2009.


• Shah KB, Duda MK, O;Shea KM, Sparagna GC, Chess DJ, Khairallah RJ, Robillard-Frayne I, Xu W, Murphy RC, Des Rosiers C, Stanley WC. The cardioprotective effects of fish oil dring pressure overload are blocked by high fat intake. Role of cardiac phospholipid remodeling. Hypertension 54: 605-611, 2009.


• Sparagna GC, Chicco AJ, Murphy RC, Bristow MR, Johnson CA, Rees ML, Maxey ML, McCune SA, Moore RL. Loss of cardiac tetralinoleoyl cardiolipin in human and experimental heart failure. Journal of Lipid Research 48: 1559-1570, 2007.


• Sparagna GC, Lesnefsky EJ. Cardiolipin remodeling in the heart. Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology 53: 290-301, 2009.


• Zachman DK Chicco AJ, McCune SA, Murphy RC, Moore RL, Sparagna GC. The role of calcium-independent phospholipase A2 in cardiolipin remodeling on the spontaneously hypertensive heart failure rat heart. Journal of Lipid Research 51: 525-534, 2010.