Welcome to the Michel Lab Website!
Our lab explores signal transduction pathways in the cells and tissues of the cardiovascular system. We have a particular focus on applying biochemical methods and cell imaging approaches using informative biosensors to probe nitric oxide synthase signaling pathways and their interactions with reactive oxygen species in endothelial cells and cardiac myocytes, studying cultured cell systems, animal models of cardiovascular disease states, and human cells and tissues.
Some of our recent studies have exploited novel biosensors in cellular imaging studies to explore the relationship between nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species. For example
- We have been studying receptor-modulated nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) metabolism using live cell imaging approaches in cardiac myocytes and in endothelial cells.
- We have also been exploring the roles of “statin” drugs (HMG CoA reductase inhibitors commonly used in the treatment of cardiovascular disease) in eNOS and H2O2 signaling
- We developed “chemogenetic” approaches that allow us to selectively generate oxidative stress in cardiac myocytes or vascular endothelial cells in vivo using a yeast D-amino acid oxidase, which generates hydrogen peroxide when provided with D-amino acids. We can generate heart failure in transgenic mice expressing DAAO in the heart simply by providing D-alanine in the animals’ drinking water.
- We are using similar chemogenetic approaches along with multispectral imaging technologies to probe the roles of hydrogen peroxide in endothelial signal transduction pathways that modulate nitric oxide.
LAB NEWS
September 28, 2023
It’s awards season in the Michel Lab!
From left to right: Taylor Covington, recipient of the 2024 John LaDue Memorial Fellowship from Harvard Medical School; Thomas Michel, recipient of the 2023 Shackelford Teaching Award from HMS; Arvind Pandey with the Cardiovascular Innovation Award from BWH; and Fotios Spyropoulos with his newly-awarded K08 from the NIH. Congratulations, team!
