Department of Pharmacology

Corresponding:okamura@belle.shiga-med.ac.jp
Link to the detailed department page:

Staff and specialities

Professor:  Tomio OKAMURA
   Vascular Pharmacology and physiology 
Associate Professor:  Takeshi IMAMURA
   Circulatory Pharmacology
Assistant Professor:  Masashi Tawa
   Cardiovascular pharmacology

Outline of the department

Research in this department is directed toward pharmacological and biochemical 
analyses of vascular disorders such as vasospasm, hypertension, insulin-
resistance and so on. The main research projects focus on : 

1) Regulation of vascular smooth muscle contractility by endogenous substances 
   released from endothelial cells and nerves innervating the vascular wall. Our 
   attention is currently focused on regulation of synthesis of the endothelium-
   derived relaxing factors including nitric oxide (NO), EDHF, etc., and on 
   characterization of the perivascular nerve in which NO acts as a 
   neurotransmitter. 

2) Pre - and postjunctional mechanisms of vascular actions of chemical and 
   physical stimuli, and biochemical and biological measurements of inter- and 
   intracellular modulators involved in these actions. 

3) Elucidation of the pathophysiology of vascular disorders by comparing the 
   vascular function, especially endothelial function, in control animals and 
   pathological animal models (hypertension, insulin-resistance, 
   hypercholesterolemia, etc.). 

4) Nitrergic nerve function related to penile erection

5) Pharmacological and biochemical studies of the vascular renin-angiotensin 
   system and NO-cGMP pathway. 

6) Mechanisms underlying re-perfusion injury in the heart

7) Heterogeneity of vascular function in relation to age, animal species, 
   organs and tissues. 

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