Terrence X. O'Brien, M.D., F.A.C.C.

Terrence X. O'Brien, M.D., F.A.C.C.

Principal Investigator at the Gazes Cardiac Research Institute
Associate Professor of Medicine and Anatomy and Cell Biology

Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, MUSC, 96 Jonathan Lucas St., 816 CSB, P.O. Box 250623, Charleston, SC 29425

Phone: (843) 792-6622 or (843) 876-5072 / Fax: (843) 792-7771 / Page: (843) 792-2123
E-mail: obriente@musc.edu

EDUCATION:

1976-1980 Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA; B.S. Chemistry (co-awarded with M.S. degrees)

1976-1980 Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA; M.S. with Honors, Biological Sciences

1980-1984 University of California, San Diego; M.D.

Residencies & Postgraduate Education

1984-1987; Residency in Internal Medicine; University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; Parkland Memorial Hospital and VAMC, Dallas, TX

1988-1990; Cardiology Fellow; University of California Medical Center and VAMC, San Diego, CA

1991-1993; Research Postdoctoral Fellowship in Molecular Cardiology; Bugher Foundation-American Heart Association; Dept. of Medicine and Center for Molecular Genetics; University of California, San Diego, CA

Specialty/Board Certification:

Diplomate, American Board of Cardiovascular Diseases, 1991
Diplomate, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1987

Research Interest:

Our laboratory has several specific interests, revolving around applying the tools of molecular biology to the study transcriptional regulation in cellular and animal models of cardiac hypertrophy and failure. Specific projects include examining the cardiac regulation of 2 oxidative phosphorylation genes whose products increase when cardiac myocytes hypertrophy. Techniques include cell line and cardiac myocyte culture, transient transfection, models of hypertrophic stimulation as well as mouse aortic banded and pulmonary artery banded cat models. Additional effort is being put in an effort to use adenoviral vectors to allow transient transfection into adult cardiac myocytes. Cardiac-specific tanscriptional regulation is being examined by over-expressing the cardiac-specific homeobox factor Nkx2-5 and the more ubiquitous serum response transcription factor (SRF), with which Nkx2-5 associates. The expression of selected gene products that upregulate during cardiac hypertrophy are then examined. Molecular markers of abnormal cardiac hypertrophy as well as changes in protein synthesis and cellular morphogenesis are examed as end-points.

Laboratory Members

Brett Harris, Ph.D.

Mary Rackley

Past Laboratory Members

Angela Edmonson, Ph.D.

Michael O'Quinn

Recent Publications:

Thompson, JT, Rackley, MS, O'Brien, TX: Up-regulation of the cardiac homeobox gene Nkx2.5 (CSX) in feline right ventricular pressure overload. American Journal of Physiology 1998; 274:H1569-H1573.

O'Brien, TX, Schuyler, GT, Rackley, MS and Thompson, JT: F1-ATP synthase beta-subunit and cytochrome c transcriptional regulation in right ventricular hemodynamic overload and hypertrophically stimulated cardiocytes. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology 1999, 31:167-178.

Paul, SC and O'Brien, TX: Chest x-ray and vascular studies. Chapter in Primary Care Management of Heart Disease in Primary Care Practice, Taylor, GJ (ed), Mosby, 2000.

Thompson, JT and OíBrien, TX: Cardiovascular Genetic Diseases, Chapter in Primary Care Management of Heart Disease in the Primary Care Practice, Taylor, GJ (ed), Mosby, 2000.

Usher, BW and O'Brien TX. Recent advances in dobutamine stress echocardiography. Clinical Cardiology 2000; In press.

Muller JG, Thompson JT, Rackley MS, McQuinn TC, Menick DR, O'Brien TX. Co-regulation of Nkx2-5 and serum response factor induced activation of the cardiac sodium-calcium exchanger promoter. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, In revision.

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