My laboratory identified a family of cardioprotective proteins called Regulators of Calcineurin (RCANs) that function as endogenous feedback inhibitors of the calcium regulated protein phosphatase calcineurin. Transgenic mice with elevated Rcan1 expression are protected from diverse forms of cardiac stress. Studies in the Rothermel Lab are designed to better understand the biochemistry of the RCAN/calcineurin interaction, identify transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms controlling RCAN levels, and determine the biological consequences of RCAN regulation of the calcineurin signaling cascade in the heart and other organs.
