Research interests
My research interests include signal transduction in endocrine cells, membrane-permeabilizing effects of bacterial peptides, physiology and behavior of ciliates, and hearing and lateral line physiology in fish. In our cellular studies, we are using a combination of electrophysiological (patch clamp), microfluorometric (calcium imaging), and molecular tools. The endocrine cells explored comprise lactotropes, gonadotropes, and adrenal chromaffin cells. The membrane permeabilizing effects of PlnA, a peptide produced by lactic acid bacteria, are studied on eukaryotic cells. For some cell types, PlnA permeabilizes cancer cells, but not their normal counterparts. Our results suggest that glycosylated membrane proteins have a key role in this process. The relation between electrophysiological properties and behavior in different species of ciliates is also investigated. Although the swimming behavior is mainly controlled by electrical signaling in ciliates, the electrophysiological properties vary greatly between species. Finally, the role of the swim bladder in hearing, mechanisms for directional hearing, and the separate roles of the auditory and the lateral line systems in fish have been studied for several decades. Among our most interesting findings is that fish are acutely sensitive to infrasound, even below 1 Hz, and that infrasound has strong behavioral effects on Fish.