About SMRG
The Smooth Muscle Research Group (SMRG) was created in 1994 with the mandate to develop an internationally recognised programme of excellence for investigation and training in the field of Smooth Muscle Function in Health and Disease. To accomplish this goal, established and newly recruited scientists and their research teams were housed within contiguous laboratories in the Heritage Medical Research Building. Group members were recruited for their common interest in smooth muscle (and in particular vascular smooth muscle), with diverse expertise in the disciplines of biochemistry, molecular biology, biophysics, cell biology, structural biology, physiology (including electrophysiology) and pharmacology. The rationale for the creation of this unique organisation was that it would facilitate a collaborative, trans-disciplinary research and training environment and foster innovative approaches for the investigation of smooth muscle biology.
At present, the research interests of SMRG scientists include:-
contractile and regulatory proteins involved in smooth muscle contraction and relaxation, and signal transduction pathways that control these processes;
- bioactive lipid second messengers and metabolism of the diacylglycerol second messenger;
- ion channel function and regulation, in particular potassium and chloride channels;
- control of cytosolic free calcium concentration and the involvement of intracellular organelles (sarcoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria);
- protein structure, structure-function relations and protein-protein interactions;
- receptor biology, e.g. proteinase-activated receptors;
- enzymology, in particular of protein kinases and phosphatases;
- endothelium-smooth muscle interactions: endothelium-derived relaxing and contracting factors;
- regulation of the renal microvasculature: signal transduction pathways in the afferent and efferent arterioles and the regulation of glomerular capillary pressure;
- smooth muscle and endothelial cell dysfunction in specific disease conditions such as persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, cerebral vasospasm, diabetes mellitus and end-stage renal disease;
- the physiology of lymphatic vessels and mechanisms of spontaneous lymph propulsion;
- genetic basis of vasculogenesis in development; and
- cell-to-cell communication in control of arterial vasomotor activity.