417 projects will be financed in the OPUS 21 call announced by the National Investment Science Center which is 18% of all submitted applications. One of them is a project by Ph.D Jakub Dybas, entitled In search of the unexplored aspects of ferric heme protein-dependent regulation of nitric oxide signaling in the erythrocyte and vessel wall.
Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the major transmitters involved in maintaining of the proper vascular homeostasis in the circulatory system through contribution in lowering blood pressure and vasodilating smooth muscle cells. Bioactivity of NO is controlled, among the others, by heme proteins which participate in both – promoting and suppression of NO vasodilating property. Significance of heme proteins depend on the oxidation state of porphyrin-bound iron ion – ferrous heme proteins (with Fe2+ iron ion) scavenge and attenuate NO while ferric heme proteins (with Fe3+ iron ion) interact reversibly with NO allowing its diffusion and permitting bioactivity. However, precise role of ferric heme proteins remain elusive due to the lack of methodology allowing for simultaneous detection, differentiation and spatial distribution characterization of ferrous and ferric heme proteins. The aim of this project is to design the unique imaging methodology based on resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopy allowing examination of unexplored aspects of NO bioactivity regulation by ferric heme proteins and better understanding of mechanisms regulating NO signaling in erythrocyte and vessel wall.
- Budget: PLN 2 275 858
- Implementation period: 36 months