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Professor Emeritus

Research Interests

  • Phospholipase C and inositol lipid signaling
  • P2Y receptors for extracellular nucleotides
  • G proteins

Research Synopsis

The physiological responses of many hormones, neurotransmitters, growth factors, and other extracellular stimuli are mediated through phospholipase C (PLC)-catalyzed hydrolysis of membrane phosphoinositides.   A long-term goal of our research is to delineate the molecular mechanisms whereby PLC activity is modulated by receptor-activated heterotrimeric and Ras superfamily G proteins, as well as by tyrosine phosphorylation.  This work focuses on three PLC isozymes: (1) PLC-β isozymes, which are the prototypical heterotrimeric G protein-regulated PLCs, (2) PLC-ε, which is uniquely directly activated by both Rho and Ras GTPases acting through independent domains, and (3) PLC-γ isozymes, which are activated by phosphorylation by receptor and non-receptor tyrosine kinases.

Our research also focuses on mechanistic and pharmacological aspects of a class of G protein-coupled receptors (the eight member P2Y receptor family) that are activated by extracellular nucleotides.

Publications

Click here for a complete list of his publications (PubMed)

  • Department of Pharmacology