Gayathri Krishnamoorthy

Research Assistant Professor

Post-doctoral training, University of Vermont
PhD, Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 2006

Phone: 785-532-4527
Email: gkrishna@vet.k-state.edu

Research Interests

Regulation of cochlear blood flow is essential to maintain the high energy demands of the sensory process of hearing. Disorders in cochlear blood flow is implicated in the progression of many hearing disorders including sensorineural hearing loss, acute acoustic trauma, Menière's disease and presbyacusis. Very little is known about the mechanisms that regulate cochlear blood flow and even less is known about how cardiovascular risk factors aggravate it. Our research focuses on the mechanisms that regulate blood flow through the cochlear vasculature consisting of the basilar artery, the anterior inferior cerebellar artery, the spiral modiolar artery and the radiating arterioles. Our research aims to define and elucidate mechanisms at the level of the vascular unit comprising of endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells and perivascular nerves, which are engaged in the local and dynamic regulation of cochlear blood flow as a result of intravascular pressure, release of neurotransmitters and vasoactive metabolites, such as might occur in response to sound stimulation or risk factors, such as hyperlipidemia and inflammation. We use confocal microfluorometry, high-speed calcium imaging, pharmacology, immunohistochemistry, molecular biology and electrophysiology to study the physiology of cochlear vessels and the regulation of cochlear blood flow.

Selected Publications

Gayathri Krishnamoorthy, Keil Regehr, Samantha Berge, Elias Q. Scherer, Philine Wangemann. "Calcium sparks in the intact gerbil spiral modiolar artery." BMC Physiology, 2011 Aug 26, 11:15.

Katrin Reimann, Gayathri Krishnamoorthy, Withrow Gil Wier, Philine Wangemann. "Gender differences in myogenic regulation along the vascular tree of the gerbil cochlea." PLoS One, 2011 6(9).

Masayo Koide, Matthew A. Nystoriak, Gayathri Krishnamoorthy, Kevin P. O'Connor, Adrian D. Bonev, Mark T. Nelson, George C. Wellman. "Reduced Ca2+ spark activity after subarachnoid hemorrhage disables BK channel control of cerebral artery tone." Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 2011 Jan, 31(1):3-16. Epub 2010 Aug 25.

Yang J., Krishnamoorthy G., Saxena A., Zhang G., Shi J., Yang H., McFarland K., Sept D., Cui J. "An epilepsy/dyskinesia-associated mutation enhances BK channel activity by potentiating Ca2+ sensing." Neuron, 2010 Jun 24, 66(6):871-83.

Krishnamoorthy G., Shi J., Sept D., Cui J. "The N-terminus of RCK1 domain regulates Ca2+ dependent BKCa channel gating." Journal of General Physiology, 2005 Sep, 126(3):227-41.

Lei Hu, Jingyi Shi, Zhongming Ma, Gayathri Krishnamoorthy, Fred Sieling, Guangping Zhang, Frank T. Horrigan, Jianmin Cui. "Participation of the S4 voltage sensor in the Mg2+ dependent activation of large conductance (BK) channels." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 2003 Sep 2, 100(18):10488-93.

Jingyi Shi, Gayathri Krishnamoorthy, Yanwu Wang, Lei Hu, Neha Chaturvedi, Dina Harilal, Jun Qin, Jianmin Cui. "Mechanism of magnesium activation of calcium-activated potassium channels." Nature, 2002 Aug 22, 418(6900):876-880.