Norma C. Adragna-Lauf

Research involves the role of ion transport abnormalities in the etiology and treatment of diseases (essential hypertension, sickle cell anemia, Alzheimer's disease), and on aging. The main focus of the research is on the characterization, regulation, including signal transduction, and expression of ion transport systems and their relationship to abnormal cellular function and to cellular aging. Main cell models are cultured vascular endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, red blood cells, and lens epithelial cells. The main techniques used are measurement of ion fluxes by atomic and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometry or by radiotracers, flow cytometry, use of fluorescent dyes, and molecular biological techniques for isolation, cloning and expression, in Xenopus oocytes and by cell transfection, of transport systems, in particular, the K-Cl cotransporter.