The primary research focus of my laboratory is on cellular mechanisms of brain water and electrolyte homeostasis in health and disease. In current studies we are investigating 1) the role of the Na-K-Cl cotransporter and Na/H exchanger in normal blood-brain barrier function as well as the pathophysiology of stroke with a special emphasis on ischemia-induced cerebral edema formation; 2) the effects of estrogen on ion transport processes of the brain microvascular endothelial cells and astrocytes; and 3) brain microvascular endothelial cell and astrocyte pathophysiology in diabetic ketoacidosis. We use a variety of experimental methods, including cell culture and microvessel isolation, protein biochemistry, molecular biology, immunoelectron microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance, including diffusion weighted imaging and localized Na spectroscopy to image water and Na changes in a rat model of ischemic stroke.
2004 O'Donnell, M.E., L. Tran, T. Lam, X.B. Liu and S.E. Anderson. Bumetanide inhibition of the blood-brain barrier Na-K-Cl cotransporter reduces edema formation in the rat middle cerebral artery occlusion model of stroke. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, 24: 1046-1056.
2005 T. I. Lam, S.E. Anderson, N. Glaser and M. E. O'Donnell. Bumetanide reduces cerebral edema formation in rats with diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetes 54: 510-516.
2005 O'Donnell, M.E., V. Duong, S. Suvatne, S. Foroutan, and D. M. Johnson. Arginine vasopressin stimulation of cerebral microvascular endothelial cell Na-K-Cl cotransport activity is V1 receptor- and [Ca]-dependent. American Journal of Physiology, 289: C283-C292.
2005 Foroutan, S., J. Brillault, B. Forbush, and M.E. O'Donnell, Moderate to severe ischemic conditions increase activity and phosphorylation of the cerebral microvascular endothelial cell Na-K-Cl cotransporter. American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology 289: C1492-C1501.
2005 O'Donnell, M.E., T. I. Lam, L.Q. Tran, S. Foroutan and S.E. Anderson. Estradiol reduces activity of the blood-brain barrier Na-K-Cl cotransporter and decreases edema formation in permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism 26: 1234-1249.
2006 Pedersen, S.F., M.E. O'Donnell, S.E. Anderson, and P.M. Cala. Physiology and pathophysiology of Na+/H+ exchange and Na+/K+/2Cl- cotransporter in the heart, brain, and blood. American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 291: R1-R25.
2007 Brillault, J., T.I. Lam, J.M. Rutkowsky, S. Foroutan and M.E. O’Donnell. Hypoxia effects on cell volume and ion uptake of cerebral microvascular endothelial cells. American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology 294: C88-C96.
2007 Chang, E., M.E. O’Donnell and A.I. Barakat. Shear stress and 17b-estradiol modulate cerebral microvascular endothelial Na-K-Cl cotransporter and Na/H exchanger protein levels. American Journal of Physiology: Cell Physiology 294: C363-C371.
2008 Yuen, N., S.E. Anderson, N. Glaser, D.J. Tancredi and M.E. O’Donnell. Cerebral blood flow and cerebral edema in rats with diabetic ketoacidosis. Diabetes 57: 2588-2594.
2008 M.E. O’Donnell. Ion Transport. In: A. Kastin and W. Pan, eds., The Blood-Brain Barrier: Understanding the Regulatory Gatekeeper Between Brain and Body, Henry Stewart Talks Ltd, London., online publication.
2009 M.E. O’Donnell. Ion and water transport across the blood-brain barrier. In: F.J. Alvarez-Leefmans and E. Delpire, eds, Physiology and Pathophysiology of Chloride Transporters and Channels in the Nervous System: From Molecular to Diseases. Elsevier-Academic Press, San Diego, CA, in press.
2009 Lam, T.I., P.M. Wise and M.E. O’Donnell. Cerebral microvascular endothelial cell Na/H exchange: evidence for the presence of NHE1 and NHE2 isoforms and regulation by arginine vasopressin. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00093.2009.
Faculty