The Ohio Physiological Society is holding their 34th annual meeting at Wright State University September 20th-21st!
The Keynote Address of the meeting will be given by Dr. Robert T. Dirksen, Professor and Chair at the University of Rochester.
Dr. Dirksen’s research focuses on how muscular dystrophy and heart disease develop as well as potential treatments for these conditions. His talk is titled, “Why do mice run better with SOCCs?”
No, that wasn’t a typo. SOCCs stands for Store-Operated Calcium Channels. These are channels in cell membranes that are activated by drops in calcium levels inside a specialized compartment inside the cells called the endoplasmic reticulum. SOCCs play an important role in helping to bring calcium into the cells to replenish the lost stores of calcium. This ability to react to decreases in calcium is important because calcium signaling is involved in many functions in the body, including muscle contraction. In fact, many animals ranging from nematodes to primates rely on SOCCs.
Sources:
Ohio Physiological Society
RT Dirksen. Checking your SOCCs and feet: the molecular mechanisms of Ca2+ entry in skeletal muscle. Journal of Physiology. 587(Pt 13):3139-3147, 2009.
M Prakriya, RS Lewis. Store-operated calcium channels. Physiological Reviews. 95(4): 1383-1436, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00020.2014
Categories: Diet and Exercise, Physiology on the Road
Tags: American Physiological Society, Calcium, Exercise, muscle, Ohio, Physiological Reviews, physiology, running
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