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Julio F. Cordero-Morales, PhD

Assistant Professor
Department of Physiology
The University of Tennessee
Health Science Center

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
71 S. Manassas Street
TSRB Rm 330J
Memphis, TN 38163
Office: 901.448.8206
Lab: 901.448.8205
Email: Julio F. Cordero-Morales
Website: http://corderovasquezlab.weebly.com

Education

  • Postdoctoral: University of California at San Francisco, Department of Physiology
  • PhD: University of Virginia, Department of Physiology, Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics Program
  • Licentiate in Biology: Universidad Central de Venezuela, Department of Cell biology

Research Interests

Our research is focused on understanding the biochemical, structural, and cellular mechanisms by which sensory receptors (e.g., transient receptor potential and potassium ion channels) contribute to somatosensation. These sensory receptors are polymodal membrane proteins that respond to a broad range of physical (e.g., heat, cold, and pressure) and chemical (e.g., acid, irritants, and inflammatory mediators) stimuli to depolarize sensory neurons and elicit or intensify inflammatory pain. Specifically, we are interested in determine how different stimuli induce channel activation and identifying regions that specify stimuli detection. Our laboratory follows two main avenues: (1) in vitro biochemical and biophysical approaches to study ion channel regulation in response to different physical and chemical stimuli. (2) in vivo approaches to characterize sensory receptors with novel physiological roles. Our research involves a multidisciplinary approach that includes biochemical procedures, electrophysiological and structural methods together with molecular genetics and behavior experiments.

Representative Publications

  • Nikolaev YA, Cox CD, Ridone P, Rohde PR, Cordero-Morales JF, Vásquez V, Laver DR, Martinac B. Mammalian TRP ion channels are insensitive to membrane stretch. J Cell Sci. 2019 Dec 10;132(23). pii: jcs238360. doi: 10.1242/jcs.238360. PubMed PMID: 31722978.
  • Romero LO, Massey AE, Mata-Daboin AD, Sierra-Valdez FJ, Chauhan SC, Cordero-Morales JF, Vásquez V. Dietary fatty acids fine-tune Piezo1 mechanical response. Nat Commun. 2019 Mar 13;10(1):1200. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09055-7. PubMed PMID: 30867417; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6416271.
  • Li D, Zou XY, El-Ayachi I, Romero LO, Yu Z, Iglesias-Linares A, Cordero-Morales JF, Huang GT. Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells and Gingival Mesenchymal Stem Cells Display Action Potential Capacity In Vitro after Neuronogenic Differentiation. Stem Cell Rev Rep. 2019 Feb;15(1):67-81. doi: 10.1007/s12015-018-9854-5. PubMed PMID: 30324358; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6358481.
  • Sierra-Valdez F, Azumaya CM, Romero LO, Nakagawa T, Cordero-Morales JF. Structure-function analyses of the ion channel TRPC3 reveal that its cytoplasmic domain allosterically modulates channel gating. J Biol Chem. 2018 Oct 12;293(41):16102-16114. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.005066. Epub 2018 Aug 23. PubMed PMID: 30139744; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6187627.
  • Sierra-Valdez FJ, Stein RA, Velissety P, Vasquez V, Cordero-Morales JF. Purification and Reconstitution of TRPV1 for Spectroscopic Analysis. J Vis Exp. 2018 Jul 3;(137). doi: 10.3791/57796. PubMed PMID: 30035769; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6102038.
  • Azumaya CM, Sierra-Valdez F, Cordero-Morales JF, Nakagawa T. Cryo-EM structure of the cytoplasmic domain of murine transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily C member 6 (TRPC6). J Biol Chem. 2018 Jun 29;293(26):10381-10391. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.003183. Epub 2018 May 11. PubMed PMID: 29752403; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6028952.

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May 26, 2022