Chou-Long Huang, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

	Effect of protein kinase C activation on wild type ROMK1 and S219A mutant with reduced PIP2 affinity.

My research interests are in renal ion channels in physiology and diseases: potassium channels, calcium channels and polycystic kidney disease protein-related channels. Work in my laboratory can be divided into 2 general themes. One is a more fundamental question addressing how the potassium channel protein works. We have recently described a novel mechanism for gating of inward rectifying potassium channels by phospholipid PIP2. Much work are ongoing to investigate the molecular mechanism and structural motif for PIP2 regulation of the channels. The other area of my research is to understand the role potassium channels in kidney physiology, pathophysiology and diseases. We have developed antibodies specific for the cloned renal potassium channel, ROMK, and studied the distribution of the channels in kidney. Work are on-going to examine the effect of increased dietary potassium intake and aldosterone on the abundance and the distribution of the channels in rats. Mutations in the ROMK potassium channel cause Bartter's syndrome. We are also studying the molecular basis of Bartter's mutations to cause channel dysfunction.

Selected Publications:

Zeng WZ, Liou HH, Krishna UM, Falck JR, Huang CL. Structural determinants and specificities for ROMK1-phosphoinositide interaction. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2002 May;282(5):F826-34.

Huang CL. Regulation of ROMK trafficking and channel activity. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens. 2001 Sep;10(5):693-8. Review.

Leung YM, Zeng WZ, Liou HH, Solaro CR, Huang CL. Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and intracellular pH regulate the ROMK1 potassium channel via separate but interrelated mechanisms. J Biol Chem. 2000 Apr 7;275(14):10182-9.

Liou HH, Zhou SS, Huang CL. Regulation of ROMK1 channel by protein kinase A via a phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate-dependent mechanism. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1999 May 11;96(10):5820-5.

Huang CL. Recent advances on renal inward rectifier K channels. Curr Opin Nephrol Hypertens. 1998 Sep;7(5):503-8. Review.

Kohda Y, Ding W, Phan E, Housini I, Wang J, Star RA, Huang CL. Localization of the ROMK potassium channel to the apical membrane of distal nephron in rat kidney. Kidney Int. 1998 Oct;54(4):1214-23.

Huang CL, Feng S, Hilgemann DW. Direct activation of inward rectifier potassium channels by PIP2 and its stabilization by Gbetagamma. Nature. 1998 Feb 19;391(6669):803-6.

Updated September 14, 2007                                  Created by Megan Johnson