Abstract

Blood vessels are composed of two main cell types, endothelial cells (ECs) and mural cells (MCs). Endothelial cells comprise of the inner-most layer of the vessel and sense changes in blood flow to recruit mural cells. The mechanism for how endothelial cells sense these hemodynamic changes is not well understood and deciphering this mechanism is the focus of this thesis. We hypothesize that transient receptor potential melastatin 5 (TRPM5), a transmembrane channel protein, is involved in this process. Here, using cultured human endothelial cells and the zebrafish model, we show that inhibition of TRPM5 decreases vessel formation and increases EC-MC association during vascular development.

Committee Chair

Amber N. Stratman, Cell Biology and Physiology

Committee Members

Carmen M. Halabi, Ian Duncan

Degree

Master of Arts (AM/MA)

Author's Department

Biology

Author's School

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

Spring 5-15-2023

Language

English (en)

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