INDEX

PROTON TRANSPORT GROUP
Intracellular pH regulation in heart

Members

CURRENT MEMBERS LISTED

Dr. Francisco C. Villafuerte BSc, DPhil (Exeter College)

University Laboratory of Physiology
Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PT.

(+44)- 1865-272500 (Switchboard)
(+44)- 1865-272469 (Fax)

I obtained my B.Sc. degree in Biology at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) in Lima, Peru in May 2003. In 2000, while as an undergraduate, I joined Prof. Carlos Monge’s lab at UPCH to work on the respiratory, circulatory and metabolic consequences of chronic hypoxia. My work there made me deeply interested in homeostatic mechanisms (physiological regulation) and among these the importance of intracellular pH (pH_i) control.
As of May 2004, I joined Prof. Vaughan-Jones’ Proton Transport Group in Oxford as a DPhil student supported by a Wellcome Prize Studentship (Wellcome Trust, UK) and an Overseas Research Student (ORS) Award (Universities UK).

I am currently studying the role of bicarbonate in the spatio-temporal regulation of pH_i within and between cardiac cells and the effect of pH_i heterogeneity on cytoplasmic and SR Ca²⁺ in cardiac myocytes.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

· Ch'en FF, Villafuerte FC, Swietach P, Cobden PM, Vaughan-Jones RD. 2008. S0859, an N-cyanosulphonamide inhibitor of sodium-bicarbonate cotransport in the heart. Br J Pharmacol. Jan 21; [Epub ahead of print]

· Villafuerte FC, Cárdenas-Alayza R, Macarlupú JL, Monge-C C, León-Velarde F. 2007. Ventilatory response to acute hypoxia in transgenic mice over-expressing erythropoietin: effect of acclimation to 3-week hypobaric hypoxia. Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2007 Sep 30;158(2-3):243-50.

· Vaughan-Jones RD, Villafuerte FC, Swietach P, Yamamoto T, Rossini A, Spitzer KW. 2006. pH-Regulated Na(+) influx into the mammalian ventricular myocyte: the relative role of Na(+)-H(+) exchange and Na(+)-HCO Co-transport. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol. May;17 Suppl 1:S134-S140. Review.

· Vaughan-Jones, RD., Villafuerte, FC., Swietach, P., Yamamoto, T., Rossini, A., Spitzer, KW. 2005. pH-regulated Na⁺ influx into the mammalian ventricular myocyte: the role of Na⁺-HCO₃^- co-transport. Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology (in press).

· Villafuerte, FC., Swietach, P., Cardenas, R., Vaughan-Jones, RD. 2005. Functional interaction between cardiac sodium-bicarbonate cotransporter and carbonic anhydrase in isolated rat ventricular myocytes. Proceedings of the Joint International Meeting of The Physiological Society and FEPS. 88P (Abstract).

· Villafuerte, FC., Cárdenas, R., Monge-C, C. 2004. Optimal Hemoglobin Concentration at High Altitude: A Theoretical Approach for Andean Men at Rest. Journal of Applied Physiology. 96: 1581 – 1588.
Reeves, JT. 2004. Is increased Hematopoiesis needed at high altitude? Invited Editorial, Journal of Applied Physiology. 96: 1579 – 1580.

·Cárdenas, R., Villafuerte, FC. 2003. Cellular Mechanisms in the Response to Hypoxia. In: El Reto Fisiológico de Vivir en los Andes. Monge, C and León-Velarde, F. (eds). Institut Français d´ Études Andines (IFEA)/Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH)-Fondo Editorial, Lima. p. 243-276 [In Spanish].

· Monge-C, C., León-Velarde, F., Villafuerte, FC. 2003. Blood Function in Tissue Oxygenation. In: El Reto Fisiológico de Vivir en los Andes. Monge, C and León-Velarde, F, (eds). Institut Français d´ Études Andines (IFEA)/Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH)-Fondo Editorial, Lima. p. 107-117 [In Spanish].

· Villafuerte, FC., Monge-C, C. 2002. HIF-1a and Glycolytic Enzyme Activities in Rat Brain Cortex during Hypoxia. FASEB J. 16: A816-A817 (Abstract).

· Villafuerte, FC., Cárdenas, R., Gamboa, J., Monge, C. 2002. Na⁺/K⁺ Adenosine Triphosphatase (Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase) Activity in Mice Sciatic Nerves in Hypoxia. FASEB J. 16: A816-A817 (Abstract).

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS

· 2004
Wellcome Prize DPhil Studentship. Oxford Cardiovascular Research Initiative (CVRI). The Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom.

· 2003
Overseas Research Student (ORS) Award. The Overseas Research Students Awards Scheme. Universities UK. United Kingdom.

· 2002
Travel Award. France/Peru “Raúl Porras Barrenechea” University Cooperation Network. Research Project: “Chronic Hypoxia Induced Physiopathology: A Public Health Problem in High Altitude Populations”.

· 2002
Travel Award to attend the Experimental Biology Meeting 2002, New Orleans, USA. Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program. The American Physiological Society.

· 2001
Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship. The American Physiological Society

Mr Philip Cobden BSc, MSc

Dr. Pawel Swietach BA, DPhil

Dr. Ke-Li Tsai, BSc, MSc, DPhil