Cell Physiology and Molecular Biophysics
 | Thomas A. PressleyProfessor of PhysiologyPh.D., Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, 1981 | ||||
| Full Curriculum Vitae Recent Publications Postdoctoral Position Available! Lecture Handouts Wellcome Visiting Professor DNA Sequences Photo from 2002 International Conference on the Na,K-ATPase 2005 International Conference on the Na,K-ATPase, Woods Hole Pressley Biography (via the American Physiological Society) Discoverer of Na,K-ATPase, Jens Skou, shares 1997 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Department of Physiology Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 3601 4th Street Lubbock, Texas 79430 Phone: (806) 743-4056 FAX: (806) 743-1512 Email: Thomas.Pressley@ttuhsc.edu | Molecular Biology of Membrane Transporters Since the early part of this century, physiologists have known that the interior of most animal cells is enriched in K+ and depleted in Na+ relative to the extracellular fluid. This distribution of ions is produced by the Na,K-pump (i.e., Na,K-ATPase), an intrinsic membrane protein complex that extrudes Na+ from the cell and absorbs K+ from the exterior at the expense of metabolic energy. Its turnover and the resulting ionic gradients are responsible for the potential difference across the cell membrane and indirectly control ionic balance, cellular volume, and epithelial transport. My work is focused on the function and regulation of the pump and related transporters. Exposure of cultured cells to various hormones and physiological perturbations results in changes in the abundance of Na,K-pumps. These experiments in culture serve as a convenient model to study the mechanisms by which the pump is regulated at the molecular level. A second major project in my laboratory is the study of function and structure relationships within the pump complex. To address these issues, I combine transport and enzymatic studies with the techniques of molecular biology. For the student, this multidisciplinary approach provides the opportunity to use tracer-flux and biochemical methods, electrophoresis, and DNA-mediated gene transfer to study this important transport system.
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