Current work

Our group works with three integral plasma membrane proteins: water channels (aquaporins), dopamine receptors, and the ion pump Na⁺, K⁺ - ATPase. The common denominator for these proteins is that they all have a profound effect on cell water and ion content, and that they via these effects can produce a wide variety of physiological read-outs. We address clinically relevant questions with basic science technology. We have state-of-art laboratory facilities for cell imaging studies. We have close connections with the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), where one of the laboratory leaders (HB) is professor of the Department of Cell Physics.

The water channels are the main molecular determinants of total body and local water homeostasis. Our main contribution to this field has been to show the short-term regulation of water channels. Our work has implications for the understanding and treatment of brain and lung edema, as well as for the understanding of the postnatal maturation of body water homeostasis and which precautions must be taken when dealing with infants and young children with water balance related disorders.

The role of dopamine as a major neurotransmitter has been recognized during the last four decades. More recently, the role of dopamine as an intrarenal hormone and an important modulator of arterial blood pressure has been established, and our group belongs to the pioneers in this field. Presently we are interested in how dopamine receptors become functionally available, and have demonstrated interaction between the dopamine receptor and the NMDA receptor in the brain. These results will contribute to the understanding of normal brain plasticity, as well as of the disturbances in brain function that underlie schizophrenia.

The ion pump, Na⁺, K⁺ - ATPase, is the major determinant of the electrochemical gradient across the plasma membrane in all mammalian cells. We were the first to demonstrate that this protein is regulated by protein phosphorylation and that dopamine is an important modulator of Na⁺, K⁺ - ATPase. Recently we demonstrated that this ubiquitous molecule also has a signaling function, that it interacts directly with the InsP₃ receptor, and that it modulates such vital cell functions as proliferation and the threshold for apoptosis.