Research Interests:
My major research focus is in the field of neuroscience, but my interests extend beyond this field to include the areas of immunology, biochemistry and pharmacology. There are currently 4 main research projects in my lab. The first project is focused on determining the neurochemical and molecular basis of cancer pain. We are utilizing microperfusion techniques to obtain extracellular fluid samples from tumors in vivo in conjunction with a unique tumor/bone explant tissue culture procedure in an attempt to identify novel pain-producing peptides and proteins that are released by tumor cells. A variety of techniques including 2-D HPLC, 2-D gel electrophoresis and protein microarrays are used to identify peptides and proteins that contribute to cancer pain. We are using a sleeping beauty transposon shRNA procedure and other siRNA techniques to knockdown specific protein expression in tumor cells to determine which proteins contribute to tumor-induced nociception. The second project is aimed at examining the role that gender plays in the development of persistent pain states and to examine the effect of both pain and gender on immune function. The third project focuses on the effects of acupuncture on tumor pain and tumor growth. We have identified CNS pathways that are involved in acupuncture-induced changes in tumor nociception, tumor growth and tumor metastasis. The fourth project examines the role of gender and endogenous opioids in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis.
Selected Publications:
(For a comprehensive list of recent publications, refer to PubMed, a service provided by the National Library of Medicine.)
Lynch, JL, Gallus, NJ, Ericson ME, Beitz AJ (2008) Analysis of nociception, sex and peripheral nerve innervation in the TMEV animal model of multiple sclerosis. Pain 136(3):293-304.
Lynch, JL, Alley, JF, Wellman L, Beitz AJ (2008) Decreased spinal cord opioid receptor expression and antinociception in a TMEV mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Brain Research. 1191:180-191.
Roh, Y-B, Kim, H-W, Yoon D-H, Seo H-S, Kwon, YB, Han, H-J, Beitz, AJ , and Lee, JH (2008) Depletion of capsaicin sensitive afferents prevents lamina-dependent increases in spinal N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor subunit 1 expression and phosphorylation associated with thermal hyperalgesia in neuropathic rats. Eur. J. Pain 12(5):552-63.
Roh DH, Kim HW, Yoon SY, Seo HS, Kwon YB, Kim KW, Han HJ, Beitz AJ , Na HS, Lee JH. (2008) Intrathecal injection of the sigma(1) receptor antagonist BD1047 blocks both mechanical allodynia and increases in spinal NR1 expression during the induction phase of rodent neuropathic pain. Anesthesiology 109(5):879-89.
Schreiber KL, Beitz AJ , Wilcox GL. (2008) Activation of spinal microglia in a murine model of peripheral inflammation-induced, long-lasting contralateral allodynia. . Neurosci Lett . 440(1):63-67.
Pacharinsak C, Khasabov SG, Beitz AJ , Simone DA. (2008) NK-1 receptors in the rostral ventromedial medulla contribute to hyperalgesia produced by intraplantar injection of capsaicin. Pain . 139(1):34-46.
Pacharinsak C, Beitz A. (2008) Animal models of cancer pain. Comp Med. 58(3):220-33.
Yoon SY, Roh DH, Kwon YB, Kim HW, Seo HS, Han HJ, Lee HJ, Beitz A J, Lee JH. (2009) Acupoint Stimulation With Diluted Bee Venom (Apipuncture) Potentiates the Analgesic Effect of Intrathecal Clonidine in the Rodent Formalin Test and in a Neuropathic Pain Model. J. Pain (in press).
Seo HS, Kim HW, Roh DH, Yoon SY, Kwon YB, Han HJ, Chung JM, Beitz AJ , Lee JH. (2009) A new rat model for thrombus-induced ischemic pain (TIIP); development of bilateral mechanical allodynia. Pain (in press)
Schiller, KA, Zillhardt, MR, Alley J, Borjesson DL, Beitz, AJ , Mauro, LJ. (2009) Secretion of MCP-1 and other paracrine factors in a novel tumor-bone coculture model. BMC Cancer (in press).
Former Graduate Students:
Ming Gu (Ph.D. 2007, Neuroscience, University of Minnesota).
Lisa Bellavance (Ph.D.,
Neuroscience, 1997), Life Sciences Marketing Specialist & Editor,
Molecular Simulations, Inc., San Diego, CA.
Uri Herzberg (Ph.D., Veterinary Biology, 1995), Research Scientist,
Acorda Therapeutics, Hawthorne, NY.
Jang-Hern Lee (Ph.D., Veterinary Biology, 1994). Professor, Department of Veterinary Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, South Korea.
Jessica Lynch (Ph.D.,
Neuroscience, 2006). |
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