Coronary and Pulmonary Vascular Endothelial Dysfunction in Diabetes

Cardiopulmonary and vascular complications associated with diabetes are major contributors to mortality of patients with diabetes. Vascular endothelial cells play a critical role in vascular function, as they are involved in regulation of vascular tone, formation of new vessels, and serving as an anticoagulant barrier between blood and the vascular wall. Many cardiovascular diseases result in endothelial cell damage and subsequent vascular complications. Here at the University of Arizona, we investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms of coronary and pulmonary vascular endothelial dysfunction in diabetes. We utilize a variety of techniques including isolation of primary coronary and pulmonary endothelial cells, dissection of mouse coronary and pulmonary vessels to perform isometric tension experiment, in vivo measurement of cardiac functions using the Millar system, electrophysiological experiments and advanced molecular biological experiments. In addition, we perform gene transfection to restore endothelial functions in ex vivo and in vivo.