This award will suport cooperative research between Prof. Thomas Devlin of Hahnemann University School of Medicine and Prof. Salvador Uribe of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City. The investigators intend to study the effect of prostaglandin polymers on calcium ATPase in 2 systems: the human red blood cell plasma membrane and the sarcolemma of the rabbit heart. They will also study the effect of PG polymers on the metabolism of rat hepatocytes. The work on enzymes from human erithrocytes is to be performed at Hahnemann University while the work on rabbit heart sarcolemma and muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum will be carried out at UNAM. The investigators are capable and the collaboration continues an ongoing effort. These studies should add to our understanding of the mechanisms of action of the PGB oligomers and calcium ATPase and their role in maintaining intracellular calcium levels.
