月: 2019年2月

Heart cells sense that they are stretched when the heart is subjected to high blood pressure. But how? It is known that concentration of calcium ion in cardiomyocytes increases when they are stretched. Takahashi and co-workers found that a specific protein, L-type calcium channel, is the key to this calcium increase event using rat cardiomyocytes. The article “L-type calcium channel modulates mechanosensitivity of the cardiomyocyte cell line H9c2” was published in Cell Calcium journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceca.2019.02.008 As the L-type calcium channels are one of the fundamental components of cardiomyocytes involved in beating of the heart, every medical student learns about them. If you have high blood pressure, you might be taking…
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Ken Takahashi attended a lecture “Twins in Space” by Dr. Brinda K. Rana, an associated professor at UCSD, about how space alters the human body, at Knafel Center of Harvard University on February 4, 2019. The topic is closely related to his space medicine research. While several things were revealed in this famous twins study, what happens to our bodies in space is not yet understood very well. Further study is needed to make the future space travel safe.