Virginia Huxley, Ph.D.
Research Interests
Our laboratory effort is directed towards understanding
the structure and regulation of the barriers separating circulating blood from tissue. This barrier is
formed by the vessel walls of microscopic capillaries.Studies of the transcapillary barrier are conducted on single capillaries as they lie
in functioning tissue. Thesevessels are chosen from tissues of contrasting function
in a variety of animals.
New models of arterioles and venules isolated from previously thought to be "inaccessible" organs, such as the heart, have been developed. These approaches
provide useful insight into how the barriers to solutes (such as nutrients,
hormones, and proteins) and water are structured. Further, we want to know how
these structures change to meet changes in metabolic status. These perfused
microvessel techniques offer the unique opportunity to define the location of the
vessel under study and make physical measurements of the exchange surface size
and shape. We define the physical forces at the capillary wall (e.g., osmotic,
oncotic, and hydrostatic pressures) and manipulate the composition of the media
perfusing and superfusing the vessel. Additionally, our laboratory uses and
continues to develop new techniques for measuring transcapillary movement of
water and solutes. With these preparations we can make detailed quantitative
transport measurements in a well- defined and physiologically active system. Our
goal is to develop a greater understanding of how these microvessels are
controlled in health and disease and how their behavior affects organ
homeostasis.
Professional Background
- A.B. from Hollins College, chemistry and computer science
- Received Ph.D. in biophysics, University of Virginia
- Completed postdoctoral studies, University of California, Davis
- Joined the Department in 1984
- Elected member of several national societies including The Biophysical
Society, The American Physiological Society, The Microcirculatory Society,
and The Society of Biomedical Engineering
- Serves as a reviewer for national and international journals and the National
Institutes of Health
- On the editorial boards of the American Journal of Physiology, Microvascular
Research, and Microcirculation
- Established Investigator of the American Heart Association (1987-1992)
- Merit Awardee of the NIH
- Research supported by the National Institutes of Health
- Past President of the Microcirculatory Society
Selected Publications
- Kimura, M., H.H. Dietrich, V.H. Huxley, D.R. Reichner and R.G. Dacey, Jr.
Measurement of hydraulic conductivity in isolated arties of rat brain cortex.
Am. J. Physiol. 264:H1788-H1797, 1993.
- Huxley, V.H., M.K. McKay, D.J. Meyer, Jr., D.A. Williams and R.-S. Zhang.
Vasoactive hormones and autocrine activation of capillary exchange barrier function. Blood Cells 19:309-324, 1993.
- Williams, D.A. and V.H. Huxley. Brady-Kinin induced deviations of hydraulic conductivity display spatial and temporal variations in fng capillaries. Am. J. Physiol. 264:H1575-H1581, 1993.
- Rumbaut, R.E., M.K. McKay and V.H. Huxley. Capillary hydraulic conductivity is decreased by nitric oxide synthase inhibition. Am. J. Physiol. 268:H1856- H1861, 1995.
- Huxley, V.H. and D.A. Williams. Basal and adenosine-mediated protein flux from isolated coronary arterioles. Am. J. Physiol. 27:H1099-H1099-H1108, 1996.
- Huxley, V.H., D.A. Williams, D.J. Meyer and M.H. Laughlin. Altered basal and adenosine-mediated protein flux from coronary arteries isolated from exercise trained pigs. Acta Physiol. Scand., 1997 (in press).
Methodology/Techniques
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