J. Larry Renfro, Ph.D.
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Visiting Faculty, University of Connecticut
Membrane Biology
Environmental Stress Biology
B.S., Oklahoma Central State University, 1966
M.S., University of Oklahoma, 1968
Ph.D., University of Oklahoma, Zoology, 1970
Professor and Head, Department of Physiology and Neurobiology
University of Connecticut
We are studying phosphate transport by the choroid plexus in the spiny dogfish shark. The choroid plexus forms 70-80% of the cerebrospinal fluid, which is very stable and highly regulated. In spite of the importance of inorganic phosphate (Pi) for control of normal neuronal and glial metabolic activity, extracellular and intracellular pH and calcium ions, our measurements of transepithelial Pi transport by the choroid plexus under short-circuited conditions appear to be the first ever done in any vertebrate.
The overall objective is to extend our understanding of the integration of factors that control Pi in the cerebrospinal fluid, utilizing a comparative physiological approach to examination of transepithelial Pi transport. We are pharmacologically characterizing the newly discovered, powerful choroid plexus active Pi transport mechanism, identifying likely molecular correlates, and exploring its control by regulatory factors.