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Stephen
M. Baylor, M.D.
Professor, Department of Physiology
School of Medicine
A406 Richards Building/6085
(215) 898-5559
email: baylor@mail.med.upenn.edu
Click here for selected publications since Dr. Baylor's arrival at Penn
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Excitation-contraction coupling in striated muscle cellsRESEARCH TECHNIQUES
Intact single muscle fibers; ion indicator dyes; optical measurements (fluorescence, absorbance, birefringence); confocal microscopy; computer modeling.RESEARCH SUMMARY
The Baylor lab studies excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling in vertebrate skeletal muscle and the role of the calcium ion (Ca) as an intracellular chemical messenger. The methodology relies on optical, electrical and mechanical measurements, primarily from living single muscle fibers. Much of the recent work has involved testing hypotheses about calcium and E-C coupling in fast twitch fibers of frog muscle, with some work also carried out on fiber types found in other species (e.g., fast-twitch fibers of mouse, super-fast fibers of toadfish and rattlesnake, slow twitch fibers of mouse and toadfish).
Areas of active investigation include: (a) use of laser-scanning confocal microscopy to measure myoplasmic calcium "sparks", i.e., brief localized increases in fluorescence measurable with a Ca-indicator such as fluo-3, thought to be reflective of the transient opening of a small number of Ca release channels of the sarcoplasmic reticulum (=ryanodine receptors, RyRs); (b) estimation of local Ca movements within the sarcomere by means of computer modeling; (c) study of the mechanism whereby the RyRs are activated and the possibility that it may involve both voltage-gating and Ca-gating; (d) study of the mechanism whereby Ca release is inactivated by a rise in myoplasmic free [Ca]; (e) investigation of the possibility that either activation or inactivation of Ca release may vary with the RyR isoform composition (RyR1, RyR3, etc.).
KEY WORDS:
Cytoplasmic calcium; muscle; excitation-contraction coupling; sarcoplasmic reticulum
The Baylor Lab
