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Josephine Lai,
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Professor of Pharmacology, Ph.D., Imperial College, London,
1985
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lai@u.arizona.edu |
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Molecular Mechanisms of Neuropathic Pain; Opioid Receptor Pharmacology;
Gene Targeting; Drug Discovery.
Research Activities
My current research focuses on the neuropathology of chronic
pain that arises as a result of nerve injury from physical trauma,
or nerve injury associated with a number of diseases including
inflammation, diabetes, viral infection and cancer. My experimental
strategies aim to elucidate the molecular basis of neuropathic
pain, particularly the apparent resistance to opioids, and the
neuroplasticity that underlies the development of this pain syndrome.
The experimental approaches routinely used in the laboratory include,
but are not limited to, radioligand binding analysis, a variety
of functional assays for G-protein coupled receptors, immunohistochemistry,
fluorescence ratiometric imaging, tissue culture, antisense strategies
in vivo and in vitro, recombinant DNA techniques, RT-PCR, in situ
hybridization and Western analysis.
Publications (Query PubMed for this investigator)
J. Lai, M.S. Gold, C. Kim, D. Bian, M.H. Ossipov, J.C. Hunter
and F. Porreca, Inhibition of neuropathic pain by decreased expression
of the tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channel, Nav1.8. Pain 95:
143-152, 2002.
S.E., Burgess, L.R. Gardell, M.H. Ossipov, T.P Malan, Jr., T.W.
Vanderah, J. Lai and F. Porreca, Time-dependent descending facilitation
from the rostral ventromedial medulla maintains, but does not
initiate, neuropathic pain. J. Neurosci. 22:5129-5136, 2002.
J. Lai, M.H. Ossipov, T.W. Vanderah, T.P. Malan, Jr and F. Porreca,
Excitatory Actions of Spinal Dynorphin in Experimental Neuropathic
Pain. Mol. Intervention 1:160-167, 2001.
F. Porreca, S. Burgess, L.R. Gardell, T.W. Vanderah, T. Philip
Malan, Jr., M.H. Ossipov, D. A. Lappi and J. Lai, Inhibition of
neuropathic pain by selective ablation of brainstem medullary
cells expressing the mu opioid receptor. J. Neurosci.21:5281-5288,
2001.
Z. Wang, L.R. Gardell, M.H. Ossipov, T.W. Vanderah, M.B. Brennan,
U. Hochgeschwender, V.J. Hruby, T.P. Malan, Jr., J. Lai and F.
Porreca: Pronociceptive actions of dynorphin maintain chronic
neuropathic pain. J. Neurosci., in press, 2001.
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