CSB Faculty
Holly Van Remmen, Ph.D.
Professor
Barshop (210) 617-5673
VANREMMEN@UTHSCSA.EDU
Dr. Van Remmen joined the department in 2003 and she has also held a position as Research Health Scientist in the South Texas Veterans Health Care System at Audie Murphy VA Hospital since 1992. She is a member of the Society for Free Radical Biology and Medicine, the American Physiologic Society and the American Aging Association, for which she serves on the Board of Directors. She is currently the Leader of the Oxidative Stress Core in The Nathan Shock Center for Excellence in Biology of Aging.
The primary focus of her research is to study the relationship between oxidative damage and aging using transgenic and knockout mouse models, with a particular emphasis on the effect of oxidative stress on mitochondrial function in loss of skeletal muscle during aging. Her laboratory has studied mitochondrial function during aging in a variety of transgenic and knockout models and her research has shown that lifespan is not altered in several mouse models with compromised antioxidant defense; data that do not support the long standing Oxidative Stress Theory of Aging. These studies suggest that oxidative stress is critically important in age related disease, but may not be the major factor underlying aging per se. Her current studies focus on the role of oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory pathways on age related muscle atrophy and in the neurodegenerative disease ALS. She is also studying the role of mitochondria in maintaining the neuromuscular junction and muscle innervation during aging.
PUBLICATIONS:
Muller FL, Liu Y, Jernigan A, Borchelt D, Richardson A, Van Remmen H. (2008)
MnSOD deficiency has a differential effect on disease progression in two different ALS mutant mouse models. Muscle Nerve. 2008 Sep;38(3):1173-83.
Muller FL, Song W, Jang YC, Liu Y, Sabia M, Richardson A, Van Remmen H. (2007) Denervation-induced skeletal muscle atrophy is associated with increased mitochondrial ROS production. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. Sep;293(3):R1159-68. Epub 2007 Jun.
Muller FL, Lustgarten MS, Jang Y, Richardson A, Van Remmen H. (2007) Trends in oxidative aging theories. Free Radic Biol Med. Aug 15;43(4):477-503. Epub 2007 Apr 10.
Mansouri A, Muller FL, Liu Y, Ng R, Faulkner J, Hamilton M, Richardson A, Huang TT, Epstein CJ, Van Remmen H. (2006) Alterations in mitochondrial function, hydrogen peroxide release and oxidative damage in mouse hind-limb skeletal muscle during aging. Mech Ageing Dev. Mar;127(3):298-306. Epub 2006 Jan 6.
Muller FL, Song W, Liu Y, Chaudhuri A, Pieke-Dahl S, Strong R, Huang TT, Epstein CJ, Roberts LJ 2nd, Csete M, Faulkner JA, Van Remmen H. (2006) Absence of CuZn superoxide dismutase leads to elevated oxidative stress and acceleration of age-dependent skeletal muscle atrophy. Free Radic Biol Med. Jun 1;40(11):1993-2004. Epub 2006 Feb 17.
Muller FL, Liu Y, Van Remmen H. (2004) Complex III releases superoxide to both sides of the inner mitochondrial membrane. J Biol Chem. Nov 19;279(47):49064-73. Epub 2004 Aug 17.
Van Remmen H, Ikeno Y, Hamilton M, Pahlavani M, Wolf N, Thorpe SR, Alderson NL, Baynes JW, Epstein CJ, Huang TT, Nelson J, Strong R, Richardson A. (2003) Life-long reduction in MnSOD activity results in increased DNA damage and higher incidence of cancer but does not accelerate aging. Physiol Genomics. 2003 Dec 16;16(1):29-37.