Heike Wulff, Ph.D.
Research/Academic Interests
Potassium channel modulators for the treatment of autoimmune and cardiovascular disease.
Research Synopsis:
My laboratory focuses on the design of new potassium channel modulators as research tools and as
potential drugs. We are particularly interested in the voltage-gated Kv1.3 and the calcium-activated
KCa3.1 channels in immune cells and in the calcium-activated KCa2/3 channels in the
cardiovascular and nervous system.
In human T and B lymphocytes Kv1.3 and KCa3.1 are critically involved in regulation of
membrane potential, calcium signaling, proliferation and cytokine secretion. Expression of these
two channels changes dramatically as T and B cells differentiate from naïve into memory cells,
allowing the selective targeting of memory T and B cells with Kv1.3 blocking compounds. We
further demonstrated that Kv1.3 is over-expressed on autoreactive T cells in the blood from
patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and type-1 diabetes as well as in the infiltrating T cells in
active MS brain lesions. Kv1.3 is therefore regarded as a promising target for the treatment of
memory T cell mediated autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, type-1 diabetes and
psoriasis. Through a combination of synthetic medicinal chemistry and electrophysiology we have
successfully developed selective small molecule blockers for both KCa3.1 and Kv1.3 and are
currently evaluating these in various animal models of autoimmune disease and transplant
rejection. For example, our small molecule Kv1.3 blocker PAP-1 suppresses allergic contact
dermatitis and prevents type-1 diabetes in rats, while our KCa3.1 blocker TRAM-34 can prevent
restenosis in rats and pigs and atheriosclerosis in mice. Another project in my laboratory is the
design of activators of small- and intermediate-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel
modulators as potential therapeutics for the treatment of ataxia, epilepsy and hypertension.
Graduate Group Affiliations:
Chemistry Graduate Group
Immunology Graduate Group
Pharmacology and Toxicology Graduate Group
Title
Professor
Specialty
Pharmacology
Department
Pharmacology
Division
Pharmacology
Heike Wulff, Ph.D.
Address/Phone
Genome and Biomedical Sciences Building, Genome & Biomedical Sciences Facility, 451 Health
Sciences Drive Suite 3503 Davis, CA 95616
Phone: 530-752-3200
Additional Phone
Email
Languages
Education
Phone: 530-754-6135
hwulff@ucdavis.edu
German
Ph.D., University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany, 1998
M.S., University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany, 1993
Professional Memberships
American Chemical Society
American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Biophysical Society
German Pharmaceutical Society
International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, Subcommittee on Potassium Channels:
KCa Group
Honors and Awards
Select Recent Publications
Laverna Titus Award, American Heart Association, 2005
See: Complete List of Publications
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