NEPHROLOGIST STUDIES NEW ANGLE TO PREVENT VASCULAR DISEASE
Michael S. Goligorsky, M.D., Ph.D., examines kidney patients, especially those on dialysis, for signs that cardiac disease or stroke is in the offing.
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He's come to the right place. "There are wonderful people at New York Medical College working on vascular biology, and since it is my occupation, I thought it would be a good idea to join them," he says.
Dr. Goligorsky is professor of medicine and pharmacology, and director of the New York Medical College/Westchester Artificial Kidney Foundation (WAKF) Institute for Renal Research. He was recruited from the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island where he was professor of medicine and physiology. Some of the "wonderful people" who persuaded him to come were Alberto Nasjletti, M.D., professor of pharmacology with whom he previously had collaborated; John C. McGiff, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Pharmacology; William H. Frishman, M.D., the Barbara and William Rosenthal Professor and chairman of the Department of Medicine; and Alvin I. Goodman, M.D., professor of medicine and former director of the nephrology division.
New realization
"Kidney patients have a 20-fold higher mortality rate than the general population and they are at very high risk for vascular problems," begins Dr. Goligorsky. "So I started looking for ways to prevent senescence and dysfunction as the basis of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The main subject of our investigations is the characterization of endothelial cell dysfunction from the cellular standpoint. (The inner side of the heart and all vessels—arteries, veins and capillaries— are endothelial cells.) This syndrome has emerged as the foundation for development of many cardiovascular diseases and progression of diverse renal disease." He goes on to list its characteristics, which if one is looking for them, might easily precede a diagnosis of endothelial dysfunction:
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TEAM IN LAB: These members of Dr. Goligorsky's laboratory are developing independent lines of investigation with funding from the NIH. Standing, from left are Jun Chen, M.D., who studies molecular mechanisms of premature cell senescence; Matthew Plotkin, M.D., who is investigating renal stem cells; Edmond O'Riordan, M.D., who uses mass spectrometer to detect proteins in the urine of patients after renal transplantation; and sitting, Sergey V. Brodsky, M.D., Ph.D., who is examining endothelial microparticles. |
- An inappropriate production of nitric oxide, a vasorelaxing molecule
- Impaired angiogenesis—the formation and differentiation of blood vessels
- The generation of endothelial microparticles
- The propensity of endothelial cells to become prematurely senescent
- The development of microalbuminuria—an excess of the protein in urine that signals possible kidney disease or the presence of some other disease.
More collaboration
The nephrologists are also working with Julian Stewart, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pediatrics, to adapt laser Doppler flowmetric techniques to detect early, preclinical signs of impending cardiovascular catastrophes. And they have added proteomic analysis procedures to discover urinary preclinical diagnostic markers of disease.
There is one researcher in the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences who is particularly happy to have Dr. Goligorsky as a neighbor— Thomas H. Hintze, Ph.D. '80, professor of physiology, whose work is similar to Dr. Goligorsky's. This is what Dr. Hintze has to say about their research:
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OVERVIEW OF A BLOOD VESSEL: Vascular endothelial cells form a thin layer on the interior surface of all vessels and are known to function in a variety of important physiological processes. The white striations are the endothelial cells. Reprinted with permission by the American Journal of Clinical Pathology, (1989), "The Complexity of Endothelial Cells," L.F. Fajardo, 241- 250. |
"One evaluates the contribution of senior scientists based on the quality of publications, the superiority of their coauthors and trainees, and the ability to sustain a research program. By all counts, Dr. Michael Goligorsky has made his mark on biomedical research and has established an international reputation, which he brings to New York Medical College."
2006 symposium
Drs. Hintze and Goligorsky have joined to organize an international symposium in Harriman, N.Y., in 2006 that will unite all those captivated by endothelial dysfunction, an approach only a decade old. In the interim Dr. Goligorsky can attend to his three NIH grants, supplemented by joint funding from the university's Institute of Renal Research and WAKF. One of those grants deals with an offshoot— exploring the role played by the VEGF growth factor in microvascular abnormalities in diabetes mellitus.
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ANATOMY OF A BLOOD VESSEL: Endothelial tissue plays a major role in the human body. The skin, the coverings of most organs and the lining of blood vessels are composed of endothelial tissue. Essentially all of the endothelial cell functions involve interactions with neighboring cells or extracellular matrix, in which the endothelial cell surface components must play an important role. Endothelial cells secrete a number of factors that may elicit biological responses by various signaltransduction mechanisms. Such mediators are implicated in regulating the permeability of the endothelium and can promote chemotactic responses like inflammation and blood clotting. Reprinted with permission by the American Journal of Clinical Pathology, (1989), "The Complexity of Endothelial Cells," L.F. Fajardo, 241- 250. |
On the personal side, Dr. Goligorsky is less serious when he talks about his career as "the best trained nephrologist on the planet." There may be some truth to the claim as he is three times board certified, and in three languages, Russian, Hebrew and English. Born in Ukraine, he graduated from Kiev Medical Institute where he did a residency and fellowship in internal medicine. In 1980 he moved to Israel and repeated three years of residency training at Soroka Medical Center at Ben Gurion University. The year 1983 is significant for his having met his wife Rose, who is a teacher of Hebrew at a school not far from their home in Riverdale, N.Y. They had moved in 1984 to the U.S. where he undertook a three-year fellowship in nephrology at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. Their son, David, is an engineering student at Boston University.
Michael Goligorsky is passionate about sharing credit for his accomplishments. He is especially pleased with the number of collaborators, who in addition to Stewart and Nasjletti, include Stephen Adler, M.D., professor of medicine and physiology; Veronica Delaney, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine and surgery; Renee Garrick, M.D., professor of clinical medicine; Praveen Chander, M.D., professor of pathology; Jun Chen, M.D., instructor of medicine; Sergey V. Brodsky, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine; Matthew Plotkin, M.D., assistant professor of medicine; and Edmond O'Riordan, M.D., instructor in medicine. Dr. Goligorsky mentions that by spring, he will have three new postdoctoral fellows and one professor on sabbatical joining the ranks from abroad.
To reassure that he is here for the duration, Dr. Goligorsky explains in measured words, with a tone so low and quiet you might think he was giving away a state secret:
"This is a project for many years. There are people all over the world trying to understand this dysfunction. The attraction of New York Medical College is why I came."