Backx Lab


 

Research

 

Research Interests:
Molecular basis of ion channel function and identification of drug binding sites. Electrical behaviour, ion homeostasis and contractile function of hearts with acquired and inherited cardiovascular disease.

 

Detailed Description:
Our research interests focus in two main areas: the molecular structure of cardiac ion channels and the physiological role of cardiac ion channels in normal and diseased myocardium. The ultimate goal of these studies is develop therapeutic agents to treat cardiovascular disease by targeting ion channels. Our recent results in transgenic mice suggest that alterations in cardiac ion channel function can initiate and contribute to heart disease progression. In another set of studies we have developed a novel paradigm for the creation of tissue-specific agents for the modulation of ion channel function.

 

Lab Members

  

Peter Backx

Senior Scientist

p.backx@utoronto.ca

Dongling Zhao

Lab Technician

dongling.zhao@utoronto.ca

Sanja Beca

Post-Doctoral

s.beca@utoronto.ca

Gerrie Farman

Post-Doctoral

gerriefarman@gmail.com

Li Hong Huang

Post-Doctoral

huangwe68@sina.com

Jack Liu

Post-Doctoral

jack.liulr@gmail.com

Brian Panama

Post-Doctoral

chesside@gmail.com

Roman Pekhletski

Post-Doctoral

r.pekhletski@utoronto.ca

Roozbeh Sobbi

Post-Doctoral

r.aschar.sobbi@utoronto.ca

Bill Liang

Doctoral Candidate

wenbin@hotmail.com

Farzad Izaddoustdar

Masters Candidate

f.izaddoustdar@utoronto.ca

Moniba Mirkhani

Masters Candidate

moniba.mirkhani@utoronto.ca

Wallace Yang

Associate Technical Analyst

wallace.yang@utoronto.ca

 

Selected Publications


Please click here for a PubMed search of all publications

 

Dissection of the voltage-activated potassium outward currents in adult mouse ventricular myocytes: I (to,f), I (to,s), I (K,slow1), I (K,slow2), and I (ss).
Liu J, Kim KH, London B, Morales MJ, Backx PH.
Basic Res Cardiol. 2011 Mar;106(2):189-204. Epub 2011 Jan 21.

Nuclear Factor {kappa}B Downregulates the Transient Outward Potassium Current Ito,f Through Control of KChIP2 Expression.
Panama BK, Latour-Villamil D, Farman GP, Zhao D, Bolz SS, Kirshenbaum LA, Backx PH.
Circ Res. 2011 Jan 20. [Epub ahead of print]

The ShcA phosphotyrosine docking protein uses distinct mechanisms to regulate myocyte and global heart function.
Vanderlaan RD, Hardy WR, Kabir MG, Pasculescu A, Jones N, deTombe PP, Backx PH, Pawson T.
Circ Res. 2011 Jan 21;108(2):184-93. Epub 2010 Dec 9.

Remote preconditioning provides potent cardioprotection via PI3K/Akt activation and is associated with nuclear accumulation of β-catenin.
Li J, Xuan W, Yan R, Tropak MB, Jean-St-Michel E, Liang W, Gladstone R, Backx PH, Kharbanda RK, Redington AN.
Clin Sci (Lond). 2011 Jan 28;120(10):451-62.

Electrical remodelling precedes heart failure in an endothelin-1-induced model of cardiomyopathy.
Mueller EE, Momen A, Massé S, Zhou YQ, Liu J, Backx PH, Henkelman RM, Nanthakumar K, Stewart DJ, Husain M.
Cardiovasc Res. 2011 Feb 15;89(3):623-33. Epub 2010 Nov 9.

Arrhythmia and Sudden Death Associated with Elevated Cardiac Chloride Channel Activity.
Ye L, Zhu W, Backx PH, Cortez MA, Wu J, Chow YH, McKerlie C, Wang A, Tsui LC, Gross GJ, Hu J.
J Cell Mol Med. 2010 Dec 14. doi: 10.1111/j.1582-4934.2010.01243.x. [Epub ahead of print]

The role of thin filament cooperativity in cardiac length-dependent calcium activation.
Farman GP, Allen EJ, Schoenfelt KQ, Backx PH, de Tombe PP.
Biophys J. 2010 Nov 3;99(9):2978-86.

Constitutively active calcineurin induces cardiac endoplasmic reticulum stress and protects against apoptosis that is mediated by alpha-crystallin-B.
Bousette N, Chugh S, Fong V, Isserlin R, Kim KH, Volchuk A, Backx PH, Liu P, Kislinger T, MacLennan DH, Emili A, Gramolini AO.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Oct 26;107(43):18481-6. Epub 2010 Oct 11.

Tumor necrosis factor-α enhances microvascular tone and reduces blood flow in the cochlea via enhanced sphingosine-1-phosphate signaling.
Scherer EQ, Yang J, Canis M, Reimann K, Ivanov K, Diehl CD, Backx PH, Wier WG, Strieth S, Wangemann P, Voigtlaender-Bolz J, Lidington D, Bolz SS.
Stroke. 2010 Nov;41(11):2618-24. Epub 2010 Oct 7.

Loss of PI3Kγ enhances cAMP-dependent MMP remodeling of the myocardial N-cadherin adhesion complexes and extracellular matrix in response to early biomechanical stress.
Guo D, Kassiri Z, Basu R, Chow FL, Kandalam V, Damilano F, Liang W, Izumo S, Hirsch E, Penninger JM, Backx PH, Oudit GY.
Circ Res. 2010 Nov 12;107(10):1275-89. Epub 2010 Sep 16.

Role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase {alpha}, protein kinase C, and L-type Ca2+ channels in mediating the complex actions of angiotensin II on mouse cardiac contractility.
Liang W, Oudit GY, Patel MM, Shah AM, Woodgett JR, Tsushima RG, Ward ME, Backx PH.
Hypertension. 2010 Sep;56(3):422-9. Epub 2010 Aug 9.

Pulmonary vascular and cardiac effects of peroxynitrite decomposition in newborn rats.
Belik J, Stevens D, Pan J, McIntyre BA, Kantores C, Ivanovska J, Xu EZ, Ibrahim C, Panama BK, Backx PH, McNamara PJ, Jankov RP.
Free Radic Biol Med. 2010 Nov 1;49(8):1306-14. Epub 2010 Aug 2.
Zhu Y, Gramolini AO, Walsh MA, Zhou YQ, Slorach C, Friedberg MK, Takeuchi JK, Sun H, Henkelman RM, Backx PH, Redington AN, Maclennan DH, Bruneau BG.Tbx5-dependent pathway regulating diastolic function in congenital heart disease.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Mar 31
 
Eremina V, Jefferson JA, Kowalewska J, Hochster H, Haas M, Weisstuch J, Richardson C, Kopp JB, Kabir MG, Backx PH, Gerber HP, Ferrara N, Barisoni L, Alpers CE, Quaggin SE.VEGF inhibition and renal thrombotic microangiopathy.N Engl J Med. 2008 Mar 13;358(11):1129-36.
 
Borchert GH, Giggey M, Kolar F, Wong TM, Backx PH, Escriba PV.2-Hydroxyoleic acid affects cardiomyocyte [Ca2+]i transient and contractility in a region-dependent manner.Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2008 Apr;294(4):H1948-55.
 
Oudit GY, Kassiri Z, Zhou J, Liu QC, Liu PP, Backx PH, Dawood F, Crackower MA, Scholey JW, Penninger JM.
Loss of PTEN attenuates the development of pathological hypertrophy and heart failure in response to biomechanical stress.Cardiovasc Res. 2008 Mar 14
 
Martino TA, Oudit GY, Herzenberg AM, Tata N, Koletar MM, Kabir GM, Belsham DD, Backx PH, Ralph MR, Sole MJ.Circadian rhythm disorganization produces profound cardiovascular and renal disease in hamsters.Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2008 Feb 13
 
Amfilochiadis AA, Backx PH, Floras JS.Adrenomedullary catecholamine, pressor and chronotropic responses to human coagulation beta-FXIIa mediated by endogenous kinins.J Hypertens. 2008 Jan;26(1):61-9.
 
Gramolini AO, Kislinger T, Alikhani-Koopaei R, Fong V, Thompson NJ, Isserlin R, Sharma P, Oudit GY, Trivieri MG, Fagan A, Kannan A, Higgins DG, Huedig H, Hess G, Arab S, Seidman JG, Seidman CE, Frey B, Perry M, Backx PH, Liu PP, MacLennan DH, Emili A. Comparative proteomics profiling of a phospholamban mutant mouse model of dilated cardiomyopathy reveals progressive intracellular stress responses. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2008 Mar;7(3):519-33.
 
Rose RA, Kabir MG, Backx PH. Altered heart rate and sinoatrial node function in mice lacking the cAMP regulator phosphoinositide 3-kinase-gamma. Circ Res. 2007 Dec 7;101(12):1274-82.
 
Kim KH, Oudit GY, Backx PH. Erythropoietin protects against doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy via a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-dependent pathway. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2008 Jan;324(1):160-9.
 
Keszei AP, Tislér A, Backx PH, Andrulis IL, Bull SB, Logan AG. Molecular variants of the thiazide-sensitive Na+-Cl- cotransporter in hypertensive families. J Hypertens. 2007 Oct;25(10):2074-81.  

 

 

Contact Information:



Phone: 416-946-8112
Email: p.backx@utoronto.ca 
Webpage: www.uoftphysiology.com/faculty/EDRG
Address: Heart and Stroke,Richard Lewar Centre
1 Kings College Circle, Room 3247
Medical Science Building
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 1A8


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heart and Stroke, University of Toronto