DEPARTMENT OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS
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DALE J. BENOS, Ph.D. Professor and Chair
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Email:
benos@uab.edu |
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Dale J. Benos, Professor and Chair, received his B.A. degree in Biology (1972) at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Ph.D. degree at Duke University in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in 1976. After two additional years of postdoctoral study at Duke, he moved to the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and the Laboratory of Human Reproduction and Reproductive Biology at the Harvard Medical School, where he was assistant and then associate professor, and an Andrew W. Mellon Scholar. He joined UAB in 1985. In 1996, Dr. Benos became the Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. |
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The main research objectives of the laboratory are directed towards an elucidation of the molecular basis of operation of epithelial and astrocyte ion channels and transporters. Specifically, we are focusing on the biochemical, biophysical, and molecular biological characterization of amiloride-sensitive Na+ channels that are present in the apical membranes of Na+-reabsorbing epithelia such as renal collecting tubules and alveolar epithelia, secretory epithelial Cl- channels, including CFTR, whose regulation is compromised in cystic fibrosis, and voltage-independent K+ channels in mammalian astrocytes. In addition, we are studying the role of cytokines and gp120, the major envelope glycoprotein of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), on astrocyte ion and solute transport function, in the hope of evaluating potential mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of HIV-associated cognitive/motor complex, a frequent manifestation of HIV infection. Various research tools that are in use in our laboratory include radio-tracer labeling and fluxes, single channel recording, molecular biological protocols, antibody production, HPLC, intracellular fluorescence, and oocyte expression of ion channels. |
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| Selected Publications
Berdiev, B.K., J. Xia, L.-A. McLean, J.M. Markert, G. Y. Gillespie, T. B. Mapstone, A. P. Naren, B. Jovov, J.K. Bubien, H.-L. Ji, C. M. Fuller, K. L. Kirk, and D.J. Benos. Acid-sensing ion channels in malignant gliomas. J. Biol. Chem., 278:15023-34, 2003. Jovov, B., A. Tousson, L.L. McMahon, and D.J. Benos. Immunolocalization of the acid-sensing ion channel 2a in the rat cerebellum. Histochem. Cell Biol., 119:437-446, 2003. Xia, J., Z.-H. Zhou, J. K. Bubien, C.M. Fuller, J.M. Markert, T. B. Mapstone, G.Y. Gillespie, and D.J. Benos. Molecular cloning and characterization of human ASIC2 gene promoter. Gene, 313:91-101, 2003. Berdiev, B.K., B. Jovov, H.-L. Ji, W. C. Tucker, A. P. Naren, C. M. Fuller, E. R. Chapman, and D. J. Benos. Effects of Syntaxin 1A on ENaC. Am J Physiol – Renal Physiol, submitted 2003. Jovov, B., B. K. Berdiev, C. M. Fuller, H.-L. Ji, and Dale J. Benos. The serine-protease cleaves c-termini of b and g subunits of ENaC. J. Biol. Chem., 277:4134-4140, 2002. Ji, H.-L., B. Jovov, J. Fu, L.R. Bishop, H. C. Mebane, C.M. Fuller, B. A. Stanton, and D.J. Benos. Up- regulation of acid-gated Na+ channels (ASICs) by CFTR co-expression in Xenopus oocytes. J. Biol. Chem., 277:8395-8405, 2002. Brockway, L.M., Z-H. Zhou, J.K. Bubien, D.J. Benos, and K.T. Keyser. Rabbit retinal neurons and glia express a variety of ENaC/DEG subunits. Am. J. Physiol.: Cell Physiol., 283:C126-C143, 2002. Ji, H.-L., C. Fuller, and D. J. Benos. Intrinsic gating mechanisms of epithelial sodium channels (ENaC). Am. J. Physiol. Cell Physiol., 283:C646-C650, 2002. Reyes, J. G., E. Herrera, L. Lobos, K. Salas, N. Lagos, R. Jorquera, P. Labarca and D. J. Benos. Dynamics of intracellular (Ca2+) induced by lactate and glucose in rat meiotic and postmeiotic spermatogenic cells. Reproduction, 123:701-710, 2002.
Reviews (selected)
Books:
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