Integrative Physiology Section
Robert S Balaban, PhD - Principal Investigator
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This is an image of NAD(P)H fluorescence of the tibialis anterior of a living mouse taken with two-photon microscopy. Read more |
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The focus of the integrative physiology program is the understanding
of the regulatory network in the heart that controls the flow
of energy. This includes the delivery of oxygen and metabolic
substrates from the blood, to the energy conversion processes
in the cell, to the actual muscle contraction and ion transport
associated with the pumping of blood. Currently, a major effort
is in place determining the cytosolic factors that balance
the interaction of work with the production of ATP at the
mitochondria. This is being accomplished at the level of the
intact cell using confocal microscopy techniques as well as
on isolated organelles and proteins. The basic hypothesis
being tested is that the activation of work and ATP production
occurs in parallel via intracellular Ca. We are currently
working on the mechanisms that Ca can regulate muscle energy
metabolism in mitochondria in the intact cell.
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Department of
Health and Human Services
National
Institutes of Health
National Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute
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