教授

方艾凡: (706) 721 - 7890
传真: (706) 721 - 7299
电子邮件: paoconnor@augusta。edu
办公室: cb - 2206
实验室: cb - 2210

研究兴趣

Our laboratory’s interests lie in the physiological pathways involved in the regulation of kidney function and how disruptions in these pathways can lead to disease。 In the laboratory, we utilize a number of approaches to study kidney function from the level of the awake animal down to cellular and molecular pathways。 Dr。 O’Connor’s early work focused on the mechanisms that regulate renal oxygen tension and are highlighted in Brenner and Rectors the Kidney 9th Edition。

O 'Connor实验室的主要研究贡献包括：

1。 Identification and characterization of the voltage-gated proton channel in the kidney including identification of mitochondrial derived reactive oxygen species as the source of Hv1 dependent reactive oxygen species in the kidney。

a。 Voltage gated proton channels modulate mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production by complex I in renal medullary thick ascending limb。 《氧化还原生物学2019》

b。 Hv1 acts as a sodium sensor and promotes superoxide production in medullary thick ascending limb of Dahl salt-sensitive rats。 2014年高血压

2。 Demonstrating the NaHCO3 ingestion promotes a systemic anti-inflammatory response in rats and healthy human subjects and that stimulation of gastric acid secretion may promote the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway。

a。口服NaHCO3激活脾抗炎途径； evidence vagal signals are transmitted via mesothelial cells。 免疫学杂志2018。 *** Most downloaded article of 2018 in JI ***

b。 A basic solution to activate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway via the mesothelium? 药理学研究2019。

3。 Demonstrating that vasa recta pericytes protect the kidney from vascular congestion following periods of ischemia。

a。 Vasa recta pericyte density is negatively associated with vascular congestion in the renal medulla following ischemia reperfusion in rats, Am J Physiol 2017。

_{Voltage-gated proto channel (Hv1) expression in medullary thick ascending limb (mTAL) of the human kidney}

当前的项目

O 'Connor实验室目前的项目主要集中在三个主题上：

1。 探讨直血管在肾髓质血管充血中的作用。 The renal medulla is susceptible to aggregation of RBC’s following periods of ischemia which can lead to prolonged hypoxia and cell death。 The O’Connor laboratory is investigating methods to prevent vascular congestion and determine whether this can reduce long term renal injury as well as cardiovascular consequences following renal ischemia。

肾血管充血是由皮质和髓质灌注不匹配引起的

^{Vascular congestion (dark red) in the renal outer-medulla of the rat and human kidney following a period of ischemia}

2。 Determining the mechanisms through which NaHCO3 ingestion slows the decline in renal function in CKD。A number of small clinical trials have demonstrated that oral ingestion of NaHCO₃ markedly slows the decline in kidney function in CKD patients。 The mechanisms underlying this protective effect of NaHCO₃ supplementation however, remain unclear。 Our group has shown that ingestion of NaHCO₃ promotes an anti-inflammatory polarization within the innate immune system, promoting more regulatory or M2 macrophages and less classically activated or inflammatory M1 macrophages in the kidney。 Our data indicate that this anti-inflammatory effect of NaHCO₃ ingestion requires the spleen and may be related to activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, an innate anti-inflammatory pathway that can be promoted by electrical stimulation of the vagal nerve。 As inflammation may play an important role in the progression of CKD, cost-effective and simple interventions that can modulate the immune system and promote renal protection may be of great benefit to CKD patients。 O’Connor laboratory members are currently investigating how NaHCO₃ ingestion promotes an anti-inflammatory response in the kidney and, in collaborations with the Baban and Harris groups, whether this occurs in CKD patients and may underlie the protective effect of NaHCO₃

3。 Investigating the role of mesothelial cell communication toward splenic capsular fibrosis and anti-inflammatory signaling in the spleen。 In investigating the role of the spleen in polarization of the immune system to NaHCO₃, we found that simply moving the spleen during surgery was sufficient to abolish the renal anti-inflammatory response。 This observation prompted us to investigate how anti-inflammatory signals reach the splenic parenchyma。 We found that mesothelial cells appear to form connections to the splenic capsule and that when these connections are broken, mesothelial cells on the splenic capsule proliferate and hypertrophy。 这种反应随后发展为脾包膜纤维化。 Remarkably, these mesothelial cells stain positive for the pan neuronal marker PGP9。5 and contain ultrastructural organelles similar to those observed in neurons。 These observations led us to hypothesize that specialized mesothelial cells may act to communicate anti-inflammatory signals to the spleen。 O’Connor laboratory members are currently investigating whether mesothelial cells are able to transmit signals to the splenic capsule and whether disruption of this signaling results in splenic capsular fibrosis and immune dysregulation。

Jenny Nguyen received the Barbara A。 Horowitz and John M。 Horowitz Outstanding Undergraduate Abstract Award titled, "'Assessment of temporal changes in glomerular filtration rate in male and female rats using transcutaneous FITC-sinistrin clearance。" The competition was held at the APS meeting located in Long Beach, CA April 2024 and Ms。 Nguyen represented the O'Connor Lab。 祝贺珍妮·阮！

奖项及荣誉

2019 Hamilton Scholar in 生理学 - for contributions to the Department of 生理学 and 乔治亚医学院

2019 乔治亚医学院基础科学教学杰出教师奖

2017 - 18 乔治亚医学院模范教学奖

2018 卓越教学奖（奥古斯塔大学研究生院）

2015 Arthur Guyton Award for Excellence in Integrative 生理学, American Physiological Society

2014 New Investigator Awardee for the Water and Electrolyte Homeostasis Section of the American Physiological Society

2013 当选为美国心脏协会会员

2012 Kidney Council New Investigator Award American Heart Association, Council for High Blood Pressure 研究

2012 美国生理学会肾科研究表彰奖

精选专业服务

格兰特评论家:
American Heart Association (AHA), Cardio-Renal Section
Department of Veterans Affairs, Nephrology Study section
National Institutes of 健康 (NIH), Re-building a kidney consortium

副主编:

Molecular Medicine (2020-2023)。 Molecular Medicine is a peer-reviewed open access medical journal published by The Feinstein Institute for Medical 研究。 如果4。096 https://molmed。biomedcentral。com/about

综合生理学（2020-至今）。 Comprehensive 生理学 occupies a unique niche among physiology journals and in the APS community as a co-production of APS and Wiley Publishing Co。 It is in the top 5 journals in physiology, with an I。F of 6。604。

编辑部:
American Journal of 生理学, 肾的生理
Physiological Reports

机构:
Co-Program director, 生理学 研究生项目

代表的出版物

相关链接

• 使我们的内脏光滑的细胞也使我们的脾脏平静（医学快报）
• 《免疫学杂志》（The JI） 2018年下载量最高的文章。
• 每日少量小苏打能对抗自身免疫性疾病吗？ (Reach医学博士)
• Drinking baking soda could be an inexpensive, safe way to combat autoimmune disease (EurekAlert!)
• 小苏打可以帮助对抗自身免疫性疾病（WRDW 12频道）
• Beyond Capacity （MCG Medicine）
• $9。4 million grant helps scientists explore how cell death fuels high blood pressure (JagWire)

^{《男性杂志》2018年9月第27卷第9期111页}