Biomedical Research Foundation Academy Of AthensAcademy Of Athens
Scientific Personnel

Evagelia G. Evagelia G. Kranias, PhD
University Faculty, Affiliated Investigator

Telephone : +30 210 6597 450
Fax : +30 210 6597 545


Center :

Basic Research

Lab Site :

Kranias & Sanoudou Lab


Brief Bio

Research Interests

Research in our labs has focused on the role of Ca-handling and Ca-signaling in regulation of myocardial function and survival in health and disease. In particular, we are interested in unraveling the mechanisms underlying the impaired regulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca-cycling in heart failure with the aim to provide fundamental mechanistic insights and to identify new therapeutic modalities. We have used an integrative approach with state-of-the-art techniques, spanning the molecular, biochemical, cellular, intact organ and intact animal levels. We generated and characterized a large number of genetically altered mouse models that provided significant insights into regulation of cardiac function, apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy in the “stressed heart”. These models have demonstrated that restoring the depressed SR Ca-cycling in heart failure, through targeting the PLN/SERCA axis, may benefit the failing heart. Indeed, some of the Ca-cycling targets are currently in preclinical trials, as they hold promise for further therapeutic development. More recently, we have uncovered new regulators of the PLN/SERCA axis, namely HAX-1, inhibitor-1, Hsp20 and HRC, which may represent additional targets. Our laboratory studies have been extended from the bench to the clinic and we identified human variants in the key Ca-cycling genes that may serve as potential prognostic or diagnostic markers for heart failure and arrhythmia development.

These findings have been published in numerous original articles and invited reviews. The Kranias labs have been funded by the NIH for over 30 years, the EU and the Hellenic Cardiology Society. Dr. Kranias has trained a large number of Ph.D. students and post-doctoral fellows. She has given a large number of national and international presentations and she is the inventor of several patents. Dr. Kranias has organized and chaired numerous conferences and she has served on several review panels and Editorial Boards.

To see detailed description of Dr. Kranias' lab at BRFAA, please click here.

Education

Ph.D.: Northwestern University, 1974
M.S.:   Northwestern University, 1974
B.A.:    University of Chicago, 1970

Post Graduate Training/Education

Postdoctoral Work: 1974-1977
Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL, with Dr. Richard A. Jungmann
Department of Biochemistry, Phosphorylative and functional modification of the nucleoplasmic
RNA polymerase activity by nuclear protein kinases

Positions

1978-1982 Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
1982-1988 Associate Professor, Dept. of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics, University of Cincinnati
1988-present  Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics, University of Cincinnati
1995-present Director, Cardiovascular Biology, Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics, UC
2007-present Co-Director, Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, University of Cincinnati
2008-2011 Chair, Department of Pharmacology & Cell Biophysics, University of Cincinnati
2008-present Hanna Professor of Cardiology, University of Cincinnati
2002-present Professor, Affiliated Investigator, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens

 

Selected Publications

Haghighi, K., Kolokathis, F., Gramolini, A.O., Waggoner, J.R., Pater, L., Lynch, R.A., Fan, G.C., Tsiapras, D., Parekh, R.R., Dorn, G.W. 2nd, MacLennan, D.H., Kremastinos, D.T., Kranias, E.G. A mutation in the human phospholamban gene, deleting arginine14, results in lethal, hereditary cardiomyopathy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1388-93, 2006. PMCID:1360586

Fan, G.C., Yuan, Q., Song, G., Wang, Y., Chen, G., Qian, J., Zhou, X., Lee, Y.J., Ashraf, M., Kranias, E.G. Small heat-shock protein Hsp20 attenuates beta-agonist-mediated cardiac remodeling through apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1. Circ Res. 99(11):1233-42, 2006. PMID:17068291

Arvanitis, D.A., Sanoudou, D., Kolokathis, F., Vafiadaki, E., Papalouka, V., Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, A., Theodorakis, G.N., Paraskevaidis, I.A., Adamopoulos, S., Dorn, G.W. 2nd, Kremastinos, D.T., Kranias,E.G. The Ser96Ala variant in histidine-rich calcium-binding protein is associated with life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Eur Heart J. 29(20):2514-25, 2008. PMCID:2567024

Fan, G.C., Zhou, X., Wang, X., Song, G., Qian, J., Nicolaou, P., Chen, G., Ren, X., Kranias, E.G. Heat shock protein 20 interacting with phosphorylated Akt reduces doxorubicin-triggered oxidative stress and cardiotoxicity. Circ Res. 103(11):1270-9, 2008. PMCID:2763388

Nicolaou, P., Rodriguez, P., Ren, X., Zhou, X., Qian, J., Sadayappan, S., Mitton, B., Pathak, A., Robbins, J., Hajjar, R.J., Jones, K., Kranias, E.G. Inducible expression of active protein phosphatase-1 inhibitor-1 enhances basal cardiac function and protects against ischemia/reperfusion injury. Circ Res. 104(8);1012- 20, 2009. PMCID:2752882

Qian, J., Ren, X., Wang, X., Zhang, P., Jones, W.K., Molkentin, J.D., Fan, G.C. Kranias, E.G. Blockade of Hsp20 phosphorylation exacerbates cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury by suppressed autophagy and increased cell death. Circ Res. 105(12):1223-31, 2009.  PMCID:2799045

Zhao, W., Waggoner, J.R., Zhang, Z.G., Lam, C.K., Han, P., Qian, J., Schroder, P.M., Mitton, B., Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, A., Robia, S.L. Kranias, E.G. The anti-apoptotic protein HAX-1 is a regulator of cardiac function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 106(49):20776-81, 2009. PMCID:2791603

Qian, J., Vafiadaki, E., Florea, S.M., Singh, V.P., Song, W., Lam, C.K., Yuan, Q., Pritchard, T.J., Cai, W., Haghighi, K., Rodriguez, P., Wang, H.S., Sanoudou, D., Fan, G.C., Kranias, E.G. Small heat shock protein 20 interacts with protein phosphatise-1 and enhances sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium cycling. Circ Res. 108(12):1429-38, 2011. PMCID:3125589

Haghighi, K., Pritchard, T., Bossuyt, J., Waggoner, J.R., Yuan, Q., Fan, G.C., Osinska, H., Anjak, A., Rubinstein, J., Robbins, J., Bers, D.M., Kranias, E.G. The human phospholamban Arg14-deletion mutant localizes to plasma membrane and interacts with the Na/K-ATPase. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 52(3):773-82, 2012. PMCID:3376549

Cai, W.F., Pritchard, T., Florea, S., Lam, C.K., Han, P., Zhou, X., Yuan, Q., Lehnart, S.E., Allen, P.D., Kranias, E.G. Ablation of junction or triadin is associated with increased cardiac injury following ischaemia/reperfusion. Cardiovasc Res. 94(2):333-41, 2012. PMCID:3331615

Lam, C.K., Zhao, W., Cai, W., Vafiadaki, E., Florea, S.M., Ren, X., Liu, Y., Robbins, N., Zhang, Z., Zhou, X., Jiang, M., Rubinstein, J., Jones, W.K., Kranias, E.G. Novel role of HAX-1 in ischemic injury protection involvement of heat shock protein 90. Circ Res. 112(1):79-89, 2013. PMCID:3537902

Singh, V.P., Arvanitis, D.A., Ren, X., Gao, X., Haghighi, K., Gilbert, M., Rubinstein, J., Iyer, V.R., Wang, H.S., Jones, K., Lorenz, J., Kim, D.H., Cho, C., Armstrong, C.F., Gyorke, S., Kranias, E.G. Abnormal Calcium Cycling and Cardiac Arrhythmias Associated with the Human S96A Genetic Variant of Histidine-Rich Calcium Binding Protein. J Am Heart Assoc. 2(5):e000460, 2013. PMCID:3835262

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