How do olfactory receptors and other chemosensory GPCRs help to maintain homeostasis?
Chemosensory GPCRs in the Kidney and Cardiovascular System
How do host GPCRs and gut microbial metabolites work together to influence blood pressure regulation?
Microbiome and Blood Pressure Regulation
Our Research
Chemosensory GPCRs in the Kidney and Cardiovascular System
Chemosensory GPCRs in the Kidney and Cardiovascular System
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play important roles in helping the kidney to maintain homeostasis, but, there are many GPCRs which are well-expressed in the kidney but do not have a known functional role. We are interested in uncovering the roles of these “understudied” renal GPCRs. Many of these receptors are “chemosensory” GPCRs – olfactory or taste receptors – thus, we are working to understand how the kidney leverages these powerful chemosensors to help support kidney function. Several of the receptors we study are also expressed in the cardiovascular system, and thus we are also interested in how these receptors help to modulate cardiovascular function.
Microbiome and Blood Pressure Regulation
Microbiome and Blood Pressure Regulation
Several of the GPCRs we study are receptors for metabolites, known as short chain fatty acids, which are made by gut microbes. We also find that short chain fatty acids can influence both blood pressure regulation, and, other aspects of cardiovascular function. Thus, we have developed a strong focus in understanding how host-microbiome interactions influence blood pressure regulation and cardiovascular function in both health and disease.
``Recognizing that we have the kind of blood we have because we have the kind of kidneys we have, we must acknowledge that our kidneys constitute the major foundation of our philosophical freedom. Only because they work the way they do has it become possible for us to have bones, muscles, glands and brains. Superficially, it might be said that the function of the kidney is to make urine; but in a more considered view one can say that the kidneys make the stuff of philosophy itself.``
-Homer Smith ``From fish to philosopher``