Taste receptor systems in the heart: investigation of novel cardiac G protein-coupled receptors

Event Details

Date:

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

Level 3, Large Seminar Room

UQ Location:

Queensland Bioscience Precinct (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qaafi.uq.edu.au/qaafi-science-seminars-2015

Event category(s):

Full Description:: QAAFI Science Semianr
Presented by Dr Simon Foster
Post-Doctoral Researcher, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

ABSTRACT
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are seven transmembrane-spanning proteins that mediate cellular and physiological responses – they are critical for cardiovascular function and are targeted by frontline therapies for the treatment of hypertension and heart failure. Nevertheless, these therapies only target a small fraction of the cardiac GPCR repertoire, indicating that there are aspects of heart biology that remain to be investigated. Although taste receptors are generally considered as exclusive mediators of taste, recent evidence suggests that taste GPCRs have specific functions in tissues beyond the oral cavity, including in the brain, gastrointestinal tract and respiratory system. I will be presenting work largely from my PhD studies, on the expression, regulation and function of taste GPCRs in the heart. These data foreshadow a novel role for previously unappreciated cardiac GPCRs.