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Achilles J. Pappano
Professor of Cell Biology
pappano@nso1.uchc.edu

• B.S., St. Joseph's College
• Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
• Cell Biology Graduate Program
• Neuroscience Graduate Program
• Not accepting students for Lab Rotations

Areas of Interest:
My laboratory’s research interests include development of autonomic innervation and of autonomic neuroeffector transmission in the embryonic chick heart and excitation-contraction coupling in mammalian heart cells and its regulation by autonomic neurotransmitters. These themes require evaluation of signal transduction pathways in single ventricular myocytes by simultaneous measurements of ionic currents, intracellular calcium transients and contractions. Ionic currents are measured under voltage clamp conditions with the whole cell patch electrode technique. Single cell contractions are recorded with a sensitive video edge detector system. Intracellular calcium transients are detected with the fluorescent indicator, fura-2. The role of intracellular messengers (cAMP, cGMP, Ins 1,4,5-P₃) in the action of neurotransmitters (acetylcholine, norepinephrine) is studied by intracellular dialysis through the patch pipette.

Selected Publications:

Gomez AM, Kerfant BG, Vassort G, Pappano AJ. 2004. Autonomic regulation of calcium and potassium channels is oppositely modulated by microtubules in cardiac myocytes. Am J Physiol (in press).

Pappano, AJ and Katzung, BG. 2004. “Cholinoceptor-Blocking Drugs” in Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (9th Edition), Katzung, BG ed. MacGraw-Hill, New York. 109-121.

Pappano, AJ 2004. “Cholinoceptor-Activating and Cholinesterase-Inhibiting Drugs” in Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (9th Edition), Katzung, BG ed. MacGraw-Hill, New York. 94-108.

Pappano, AJ, Imai, Y and Jiang, B. 2002. Reply to letter to the editor. Cardiovasc. Res. 54:699-700.

Shen JB, Pappano AJ. 2002. On the role of phosphatase in regulation of cardiac L-type calcium current by cyclic GMP. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. May;301(2):501-6.

Imai Y, Jiang B, Pappano AJ. 2001. Mechanism for muscarinic inhibition of I(Ca(L)) is determined by the path for elevating cyclic AMP in cardiac myocytes. Cardiovasc Res. Aug 1;51(2):331-43.

Shen JB, and Pappano AJ. 2001. Carbachol inhibits the L-type Ca2+ current augmented by 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid in guinea pig ventricular myocytes: calcium-sensitivity hypothesis for muscarinic inhibition. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. Aug;298(2):857-64.

Shen, J.-B., Jiang, B. and Pappano, A. J. 2000 A Comparison of L-type Calcium Channel Blockade by Nifedipine and/or Cadmium in Guinea Pig Ventricular Myocytes. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 294:562-570.