Professor, Alexander M. Dizhoor

Alexander M. Dizhoor

Professor
adizhoor@pco.edu

Education:

Ph. D. Molecular Biology, Moscow University, 1985

Role at PCO:

Hafter Chair in Pharmacology

Selected representative publications:

Dizhoor, A.M., Chen, Ch.-K., Olshevskaya, E., Sinelnikova, V.V., Philippov, P.P., Hurley, J.B.; Role of the acylated amino - terminus of recovering in Ca - dependent; membrane interaction. Science 259, 829-832 (1993) 

Dizhoor, A.M., Lowe, D.G., Olshevskaya, E.V., Laura, R.P.,  Hurley, J.B.  The human photoreceptor membrane guanylyl cyclase, RetGC, is present in outer segments and is regulated by calcium and a soluble activator. Neuron  12, 1345-1352 (1994) 

Lowe, D.G., Dizhoor, A.M., Liu, K., Gu, O., Spencer, M., Laura, R., Lu, L., Hurley., J.B.Cloning and expression of a second photoreceptor - specific membrane guanylyl cyclase (RetGC), RetGC-2. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.. 92, 5535-5539 (1995) 

Dizhoor, A.M., Olshevskaya, E.V., Henzel, W.J., Wong, S., Stults, J.T., Ankoudinova, I., Hurley, J.B. Cloning, sequencing and expression of a 24 kDa Ca2+-binding protein activating photoreceptor guanylyl cyclase. J. Biol. Chem.  270,  25200-25206 (1995) 

Dizhoor A.M., Boikov, S.G., Olshevskaya, E.V. Constitutive Activation of Photoreceptor Guanylate Cyclase By Y99C Mutant of GCAP-1: Possible Role In Causing Human Autosomal Dominant Cone Degeneration. J. Biol. Chem. 273, 17311–17314 (1998). 

Olshevskaya, E.V., Boikov, S., Ermilov, A., Krylov, D., Hurley, J.B., Dizhoor, A.M.  Mapping functional domains of the guanylate cyclase regulator protein, GCAP-2. J. Biol. Chem. 274, 10823-10832 (1999).

Ermilov AN, Olshevskaya EV, Dizhoor AM. Instead of binding calcium, one of the EF-hand structures in guanylyl cyclase activating protein-2 is required for targeting photoreceptor guanylyl cyclase.J Biol Chem. 276(51):48143-8 (2001)  

Peshenko, I.V., Dizhoor, A.M. Guanylyl Cyclase Activating Proteins (GCAPs) Are Ca2+/Mg2+-Sensors: Implications for Photoreceptor Guanylyl Cyclase (RetGC) Regulation in vitro and in vivo. Journal of  Biological Chemistry 279: 16903-16906 (2004)

Olshevskaya, E.V., Calvert P.D., Woodruff, M.L., Peshenko  I.V., Savchenko A.B.., Makino  C.L., Ho Y-S., Fain G.L., Dizhoor, A.M. The Y99C mutation in guanylyl cyclase activating protein 1 (GCAP1) increases intracellular Ca2+ and causes photoreceptor degeneration in transgenic mice. Journal of Neuroscience 24, 6078-6085 (2004)

Bi, A., Cui, J., Ma, Y.-P., Olshevskaya, E., Pu, M., Dizhoor, A.M., Pan, Z.-H. (2006) Ectopic Expression of a microbial-type rhodopsin restores visual response in mice with photoreceptor degeneration.  Neuron 50, 1-11 (2006)

Professional Activities/Recognition/Awards:

Societies & Organizations:

ARVO, Society for Neuroscience
Ad hoc, PDPE Study Section,  NIH, 2004-2005

Recognition:

Research Excellence Award, Wayne State University, 2001
Hafter Chair in Pharmacology, PCO, 2002

Awards:

Human Frontier Science Program Organization, 1992-1994,
National Institutes of Health RO1, 1996-2009
Research to Prevent Blindness Career Development Award 1997-2001
Lions of Pennsylvania Sight Preservation, 2003
Pennsylvania Department of Health, Formula 2003-2005

Research Activities:

  1. Study of  signal transduction in the retina
  2. Molecular mechanisms of congenital retinal degeneration
  3.  Gene therapy approaches to sight restoration

For more information on Research Activities