Assistant Professor
580 S. Preston Street
Delia Baxter Bldg, Rm. 421C
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: (502) 852-5836
FAX: (502)852-3663
Email: dj.conklin@louisville.edu

Research Interests

My research is focused on the toxic effects of environmental pollutants, especially aldehydes, in blood vessels. Specifically I am interested in how exogenous aldehydes modify vascular physiology and pathophysiology, and the role that vascular metabolism plays in abrogation or potentiation of the cardiovascular toxicity of exogenous aldehydes. Recently we developed an in vitro model of human vasospasm that is amine-induced and vascular metabolism- and aldehyde-dependent. This model serves as notice of the potentially dramatic vascular responses that can be elicited by aldehyde exposure.

Recent epidemiological studies reveal that cardiovascular disease and diabetes are antagonized by environmental pollutants. The presence of aldehydes in complex mixtures of particulate matter (e.g., smog, tobacco smoke, automobile exhaust, etc) is well documented but the role these aldehydes play in causing or exacerbating cardiovascular disease is unknown. Additional sources of aldehydes include oxidative stress stimulated by environmental pollutant exposure and metabolism of endogenous compounds within cardiovascular tissues, which may induce vascular dysfunction and precipitate acute vascular events including thrombus formation and vasospasm and chronic inflammatory signaling that collectively accelerate atherosclerosis and cardiovascular mortality. Understanding the mechanisms of action and metabolism of aldehydes in the vascular wall for the purpose of developing therapeutic interventions is a long-term goal of our laboratory.

Publications

1. Conklin, D.J., H.R. Cowley, R.J. Wiechmann, G.H. Johnson, M.B. Trent, & P.J. Boor. 2004. Vasoactive effects of methylamine in isolated human blood vessels: Role of semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase, formaldehyde, and hydrogen peroxide. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Phys. 286:H667-H676.
2. Conklin, D.J., C.L. Boyce, M.B. Trent, & P.J. Boor. 2001. Amine metabolism: a novel path to coronary artery vasospasm. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 175(2):149-159.
3. Srivastava, S., Conklin D.J., Liu S.Q., Prakash N, Boor P.J., Srivastava S.K., & A. Bhatnagar. 2001. Identification of biochemical pathways for the metabolism of oxidized low-density lipoprotein derived aldehyde-4-hydroxy trans-2-nonenal in vascular smooth muscle cells. Atherosclerosis. 158:339-350.
4. Srivastava, S., Liu, S.Q., Conklin, D.J., Zacarias, A., Srivastava, S., & A. Bhatnagar. 2001. Involvement of aldose reductase in the metabolism of atherogenic aldehydes. Chemico-Biolog. Interact. 130-132(1-3):563-571.
5. Conklin, D.J., M.B. Trent, & P.J. Boor. 1999. The role of plasma semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase in allylamine and ß-aminopropionitrile cardiovascular toxicity: mechanisms of myocardial protection and aortic medial injury in rats. Toxicology. 138:137-154.