Ronald J. Lukas,

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor biology using clonal cell lines and transgene expression systems; neurotrophic factors; neurodegenerative diseases; neuronal differentiation.

Research Activities

Our research principally concerns nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR).  nAChR exist as diverse subtypes composed of different combinations of genetically-distinct subunits.  nAChR  subtypes are found throughout the nervous system.  By functioning as acetylcholine-gated sodium/calcium ion channels, they play critical roles ranging from mediation of excitatory synaptic transmission to the regulation of neuronal death.  nAChR also are targets of nicotine and models for studies of molecular mechanisms of drug addiction.  Cell lines that naturally express specific nAChR subtypes, or genetically engineered cells that express nAChR of defined composition, are used as models for much of our work.

Publications (Query PubMed for this investigator)

Lukas, R.J., Changeux, J.-P., Le Novère, N., Albuquerque, E.X., Balfour, D.J.K., Berg, D.K., Bertrand, D., Chiappinelli, V.A., Clarke, P.B.S., Collins, A.C., Dani, J.A., Grady, S.R., Kellar, K.J., Lindstrom, J.M., Marks, M.J., Quik, M., Taylor, P.W. and Wonnacott, S.  International Union of Pharmacology.  XX.  Current Status of the Nomenclature for Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Their Subunits.  Pharmacol. Rev. 51, 397-401, 1999.

Peng, J.-H., Lucero, L., Fryer, J., Herl, J., Leonard, S.S. and Lukas R.J. Inducible, heterologous expression of human alpha7-neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in a native nicotinic receptor-null human clonal line. Brain Res. 825, 172-179, 1999.

Reitstetter, R., Lukas, R.J. and Gruener, R.  Dependence of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor recovery from desensitization on the duration of agonist exposure.  J. Phamacol. Exper. Thera. 289, 656-660, 1999.

Ke, L., Eisenhour, C.E., Bencherif, M. and Lukas, R.J.  :Effects of chronic nicotine treatment on  expression and function of diverse nicotinic receptor subtypes. I. Dose-and time dependent effects of nicotine treatment.  J. Pharmacol. Exper. Thera. 286, 825-840, 1998.

Fryer J.D. and Lukas, R.J.  Non-competitive functional inhibition at diverse, human nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes by bupropion, phencyclidine, and ibogaine.  J. Pharmacol. Exper. Thera. 286: 825-840, 1998.

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