Yi Pan
Title :
Research Technician
Degree(s) : MD Phone #s : 416-864-6060/3582 Fax # : 416-864-5497
Research Interests : PBEF/Visfatin/Nampt: significance in endothelium cell functions
My research interest is focused on exploring importance of visfatin on endothelial cell function. Visfatin, an adipokine recently identified in the visceral fat of humans, corresponds to pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF). PBEF was proposed to be a cytokine that stimulates the maturation of pre-B-cells in the presence of IL-7 and stem cell factor. Visfatin exerted insulin-mimetic effects via binding and activation of the insulin receptor in cultured adipocytes, hepatocytes and myocytes cells and lowered plasma glucose levels in mice. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that visfatin possesses nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (Nampt) activity which is the rate-limiting enzyme in the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide ( NAD+) biosynthesis. This activity was shown to be important for vascular smooth muscle cell maturation, indicating its possible involvement in vascular pathology. Despite the growing availability of visfatin/PBEF/Nampt data in the literature, little is known about visfatin/PBEF/Nampt in endothelium cells. In our studies we will evaluate the role of visfatin/PBEF/Nampt on the endothelial function
»