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Venkateswaran Subramanian, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine
 Office Location: NW301B Medical Sciences Building
Lab Location: M272 Medical Sciences Building
Office Phone: 573-882-1150
vsubramanian@missouri.edu

Research Interests

  • Mechanisms of Aortic Aneurysms
  • Impact of cytoskeletal structural proteins on aortic structural wall integrity
  • Mechanisms underlying the sexual dimorphism of abdominal aortic aneurysms

Research Description

Our laboratory’s research is dedicated to identifying efficient therapeutic targets for the complex life-threatening sexually dimorphic aortic vascular disease - abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). AAA is an asymptomatic permanent dilation of the abdominal aorta which often causes death by the aortic rupture in patients. The currently available therapy is restricted to surgical repair, highlighting the need to explore mechanistic insights into AAA to develop effective, non-surgical therapeutics. To fulfill this goal, the primary focus of our lab research is to study the functional contribution of

  • Cytoskeletal Structural Proteins
  • Smooth Muscle Cell Homeostasis
  • Extracellular Matrix Protein Stability
to aortic structural wall integrity during AAA development.

Professional Background

  • AVC College, Bharathidasan University, Manampandal, Tamil Nadu, India 1990-1993, B.Sc. Chemistry Minor: Biology
  • Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India 1993-1995, M.Sc. Biochemistry
  • Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India 1995-1997, M.Phil. Biochemistry
  • Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India 1999-2003, Ph.D., Biochemistry
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA, 2003-2006; Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA, 2006-2010; Cardiovascular Pathology
  • Assistant Professor (Non-tenure-track) at the University of Kentucky - Cardiovascular Research Center, 2010-2015
  • Assistant Professor (Non-tenure-track) at the University of Kentucky - Department of Physiology, 2015-2017
  • Assistant Professor (Tenure-track) at the University of Kentucky, Saha Cardiovascular Research Center and Department of Physiology, 2018-2022
  • Received the National Institutes of Health (NIH) FIRST R01 Award in 2017
  • Obtained past funding from NIH, American Heart Association, National Marfan Foundation, and Medical Council of Research (India)
  • Acts as a current member of the American Heart Foundation (National) and ad-hoc member of NIH- AVI grant review panel
  • Acts as a member of the editorial boards of PLOS One (present), and Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine (present)

Selected Publications

Subramanian V, Golledge J, Ijaz T, Bruemmer D, Daugherty A. Pioglitazone-Induced Reductions in Atherosclerosis Occur via Smooth Muscle Cell–Specific Interaction With PPARγ. Circ Res 2010; 107: 953-958. (PMID:20798360) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2963621/

Howatt DA, Balakrishnan A, Moorleghen JJ, Muniappan L, Rateri DL, Uchida HA, Takano, J, Saido TC, Chishti AH, Baud L, Subramanian V. Leukocyte Calpain Deficiency Reduces Angiotensin II-induced Inflammation and Atherosclerosis but not Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Mice. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2016, 36:835-845. (PMID:26966280). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4850100/

Muniappan L, Javidan A, Jiang W, Mohammadmoradi S, Moorleghen JJ, Katz, WS, Balakrishnan A, Howatt DA, Baud L, Subramanian V. Calpain Inhibition Attenuates Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Fibrosis in Diet-induced Obese Mice. Scientific Reports 2017, 7:14398. (PMID:29089532). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5663911/

Okuyama M, Uchida HA, Hada Y, Kakio Y, Otaka N, Umebayashi R, Tanabe K, Fujii Y, Kasahara S, Subramanian V, Daugherty A, Sato Y, Wada J. Exogenous Vasohibin-2 Exacerbates Angiotensin II-induced Ascending Aortic Dilation in Mice. Circ Rep 2019, 1:155-161. (PMID:33693132) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7890291/

Javidan A, Jiang W, Okuyama M, Thiagarajan D, Yang L, Moorleghen JJ,Muniappan L, Subramanian V. miR-146a Deficiency Accelerates Hepatic Inflammation Without Influencing Diet-induced Obesity in Mice. Scientific Reports 2019 9:12626. (PMID: 31477775). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6718417/

Okuyama M, Jiang W, Javidan A, Chen JZ, Howatt DA, Yang L, Yamaguchi M, Yasugi T, Aono J, Vazquez-Padron, RI, Subramanian V. Lysyl Oxidase Inhibition Ablates Sexual Dimorphism of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Formation in Mice.Circulation 2020 142: 1993-1995. (PMID:33196308). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7678818/

Muniappan L, Javidan A, Thiagarajan D, Jiang W, Moorleghen JJ, Uchida HA, Takano, J, Saido TC, Subramanian V. Inducible Depletion of Calpain-2 Attenuates Angiotensin II-induced Cytoskeletal Structural Protein Destruction during Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Development in Mice. Arterioscler ThrombVasc Biol 2021 41: 1694-1709. (PMID:33761765) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8062307/

Okuyama M, Jiang W, Yang L, Subramanian V. MST1/2 Kinases Inhibitor, XMU-MP-1 Attenuates AngII-induced Ascending Aortic Expansion in Hypercholesterolemic Mice. Circ Rep 2021 20: 259-266. (PMID: 34007939) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8099673/


Published by Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, 134 Research Park Dr., Columbia, MO 65211
Phone: 573-882-7588 Email: dalton@missouri.edu