Eric Lazartigues, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics
Education & Affiliations
Biography
Dr. Eric Lazartigues, Associate Professor, received his Bachelor of Sciences in 1993 from University Paul Sabatier of Sciences in Toulouse, France. His Master of Sciences was awarded in 1994 from the University of Pharmacy Claude Bernard of Lyon, France. He received his PhD from University Paul Sabatier of Sciences in Toulouse in 1999. He completed his postdoctoral training at The University of Iowa, School of Medicine in the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology. Dr. Lazartigues joined the department of Pharmacology at LSU Health Sciences Center-NO in August 2005 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in July 2011. Dr. Lazartigues is internationally renowned for his research in hypertension and type 2 diabetes, with collaborations in Austria, France and Brazil. He has authored over 50 publications dealing with the central regulation of blood pressure, local renin-angiotensin systems in health and disease. He is the principal investigator of research grants from the National Institutes of Health and has received awards from organizations including the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association. He is an Established Investigator and a fellow of the American Heart Association. Dr. Lazartigues is also the Joint-Programming Committee Representative of the Neural Control and Autonomic Regulation Section of the American Physiological Society and Associate Editor for Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology.
LSUHSC-NO: http://www.medschool.lsuhsc.edu/pharmacology/lab_lazartigues_index.aspx
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eric_Lazartigues?ev=prf_highl
Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=2Gip9voAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Research
Ongoing research projects related to diabetes obesity
Angiotensin-II (Ang-II) exerts its profound cardiovascular and volume homeostatic properties through activation of specific receptors, primarily Ang-II type 1 (AT1), located both in the periphery (e.g. vasculature and pancreas) and in the brain. Evidence has shown the importance of the brain renin-angiotensin system in the development of hypertension and the pancreatic renin-angiotensin system in type 2 diabetes. Although, new genetic and pharmacological tools have improved our understanding of the global functioning of these systems, the role of individual components and their interactions remain poorly understood due to the difficulty in experimentally dissecting them from the whole organism. Recently, a new element of the RAS, named ACE2, has been identified and is believed to degrade Ang-II to angiotensin-1-7 (Ang1-7), which has great potential for treatment of hypertension and diabetes. Previously, we identified the presence of ACE2 in the brain and pancreas. Our interests focus on the role of this enzyme in modulating the activity of the local renin-angiotensin systems during the development of neurogenic hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Using non-transgenic and genetically-engineered mice in combination with molecular, physiological, and pharmacological tools, our laboratory is dedicated in assessing the relative physiological significance of ACE2 in normal and pathophysiological regulation of blood pressure and glucose homeostasis.
Ongoing projects include
- Role of ACE2 shedding in neurogenic hypertension and diabetes.
- Therapeutic significance of secreted ACE2 in health and disease.
- Characterization of transcription factors involved in the regulation of ACE2 expression in hypertension and diabetes.
- Role of ACE2 in pancreatic beta-cell function and insulin secretion during the development of type 2 diabetes
- Genetic modeling to assess the therapeutic role of sartans in traumatic brain injury.
Publications
View Dr. Lazartiques' publications on PubMed
Role of the pancreatic β-cell Renin-Angiotensin System in glycemic control
