Check out this great review by Osama Harraz et al., Brain Capillary Ion Channels: Physiology and Channelopathies
➡️ https://ow.ly/Jenc50YCOSA
#BrainCapillaries #IonChannels

T cell polarization and NFAT activation are stiffness dependent and differentially regulated by the channels PIEZO1 and ORAI1 Target stiffness influences T cell polarization and gene expression through distinct Ca2+ channels.

Very hot from the press !

Almost every topic we work in:
#IonChannels #Leukocytes #CalciumSignaling

T cell response depends on target-cell stifness to drive Piezo1- Orai1 membrane channels activation, softening of tumours prevents this response.

Full www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @science.org

Preclinical study successfully reverses loss of blood flow to brain, an early sign of Alzheimer's disease Supriya Chakraborty might have been studying insects in a lab had it not been for an immunology college instructor in India who taught him about the superheroes inside him—immune cells that wage a battle against bacteria, parasites, and a host of other adversaries that invade our bodies.

Activation of the Piezo1 ion channel in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease restored brain blood flow and improved neurovascular function, suggesting potential for future therapeutic strategies. doi.org/hbnvgf

The molecular basis of force selectivity by PIEZO2 - Nature PIEZO2 is intrinsically more rigid than PIEZO1, and disparate mechanical stimuli paradoxically evoke opposite conformational and gating responses in each channel.

Very excited to share our new manuscript – published today!

Why are PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 are tuned to transduce different types of mechanical force? I was lucky to work with some extraordinary colleagues to begin to figure out why.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

An overview of the results below ⬇️ ⬇️

The molecular basis of force selectivity by PIEZO2 Nature - PIEZO2 is intrinsically more rigid than PIEZO1, and disparate mechanical stimuli paradoxically evoke opposite conformational and gating responses in each channel.

New paper from the lab led by @ericmulhall.bsky.social addresses how PIEZO1 and PIEZO2 are tuned to different types mechanical forces. From nanometer-scale super-resolution microscopy to in vivo experiments, links single-molecule observations to physiological function.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I am delighted to host Dr. Stephen Liberles @harvardmed.bsky.social @hhmi-science.bsky.social as he presents the Pharmacology Department Seminar today April 9th at the @uvmlarnermed.bsky.social @uvmvermont.bsky.social

“Mechanisms of body-brain communication”

Mesmerizing 🧠!

This recent study by Bianca Barreira of @ucm.es et al. investigates functional expression of inwardly rectifying and ATP-sensitive #potassium channels in human #pulmonary artery smooth muscle and endothelial cells 🔬 🫀

📜 Read the #Research: physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/...

Check out this review on brain 🧠capillary ion channels in health and disease… a topic that has evolved (and continues to grow) dramatically over the past decade.🗓️📅

Please join us on February 24th for our next installment of the graduate students' CMB seminar! There will be excellent talks and discussions!! @devdoot.bsky.social @uvmcmb.bsky.social @msymeonides.bsky.social @karenglasslab.bsky.social @wargolab.bsky.social @osamaharraz.bsky.social

PIP2 corrects an endothelial Piezo1 channelopathy | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

🧠🆕Review article: "Brain Capillary Ion Channels: Physiology and Channelopathies."

Osama F. Harraz and Ahmed M. Hashad
https://ow.ly/MUCH50YbM0p
#BrainCapillaries #CerebralBloodFlow

📣 #CallForPapers 📣 on the topic of the inaugural in-person Electrophysiology & Ion Channel (EpIC) meeting, “Emerging Research on Ion Channels in Health & Disease” – w/ Guest Editors Jelena Baranovic, @osamaharraz.bsky.social, Conor McClenaghan, & Lejla Zubcevic 👉 rupress.org/JGP/pages/ca...

📣 #CallForPapers 📣 Submit your research on the topic of the inaugural in-person Electrophysiology & Ion Channel (EpIC) meeting, “Emerging Research on #IonChannels in Health & Disease” – w/ Guest Editors Jelena Baranovic, Osama Harraz, Conor McClenaghan & Lejla Zubcevic 👉 rupress.org/JGP/pages/ca...

Leukocyte stalling in 🐭Retinal microvasculature
2PM

In 20 s, "~7% tracked leukocytes stalled for at least one time along their path", up to 9 stalls

87% stalls occur at vessel junctions, where 71% occupied with #Pericyte

⏫RBC flow irregularity

#JCBFM 2025
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

😖

My Name is Doddie Foundation Catalyst Awards 2026 are now open. Funding bold early stage MND research ideas with up to £100k to generate data and open new treatment pathways.

www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/funding/my-n...

This work wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of all authors and the support from The NIH, @chanzuckerberg.bsky.social, @ahajournals.bsky.social, @uvmlarnermed.bsky.social, @uvmvermont.bsky.social, and the Bloomfield Professorship.

💡GPCR signaling amplifies Piezo1 mechanotransduction, potentially representing a general mechanism beyond the brain endothelium.
💡PIP₂ normalizes overactive Piezo1 in genetic and disease contexts, improving endothelial function and highlighting new therapeutic strategies.

Led by a talented former postdoc, Ahmed Hashad, with key contributions from Mohammad Elmahdy, Xin Rui Lim and Natalia Mathieu, our study uncovers new biology at the intersection of mechanotransduction, GPCR signaling, and regulation of ion channels.

🎉 New Publication in @pnas.org

Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)

Key phospholipid points to potential treatment for vascular dementia A possible new treatment for impaired brain blood flow and related dementias is on the horizon. Research by scientists at the University of Vermont Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine provides novel insights into the mechanisms that regulate brain blood flow and highlights a potential therapeutic strategy to correct vascular dysfunction.

Restoring levels of the phospholipid PIP₂ may help normalize brain blood flow and reduce symptoms in vascular dementia by regulating the activity of the Piezo1 protein.

When a larval zebrafish twitches its tail, the vascular endothelium lights up with a calcium signal, mediated by Piezo1. We used to think mechanosensing in endothelial cells was about sensing blood flow, but at least in this case it's about sensing body motion.

Most insects slow down in bitter cold. Not snow flies. - UW Medicine | Newsroom

Grateful to @pewtrusts.org for funding our snow fly work, in collaboration with Sebastian Brauchi at Universidad Austral de Chile.

We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.

newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...

This work couldn't be possible without funding 💵from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to the Bracko and Harraz labs.
@uvmlarnermed.bsky.social @uvmvermont.bsky.social

💊Our findings suggest Piezo1 (likely non-vascular Piezo1) as a therapeutic target to address early cerebrovascular dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease.

🙏Grateful to all trainees who made this possible (Zeynab Tabrizi, @xinruilimemily1.bsky.social, Supriya Chakraborty).

💡 Key highlights:
- Using in vivo imaging, we demonstrate impaired brain capillary blood flow and neurovascular coupling in an Alzheimer’s mouse model.
- Systemic activation of the mechanosensor Piezo1 improved cerebral blood flow in Alzheimer’s disease mice.

🧵Excited to share our work with the Bracko @bloodflowlab.bsky.social lab published in Alzheimer's & Dementia @alzassociation.bsky.social :

Systemic Piezo1 activation improves cerebrovascular function in Alzheimer’s disease

🔗alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.71016

#UVMLarnerMed research publication alert! #Brainresearch by authors Osama Harraz, Ph.D., and Ahmed Hashad, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology, Larner College of Medicine, Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health.
@uvmvermont.bsky.social @apspublications.bsky.social

Excited to share the latest from our lab (final version, open access):

Brain Capillary Ion Channels: Physiology and Channelopathies

Physiology | @apspublications.bsky.social

journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10....

@uvmlarnermed.bsky.social