Peter Light
PhD
Professor of Pharmacology
Director, Alberta Diabetes Institute
Clinical & Academic Offices:
Mazankowski Heart Institute
Office / Clinic Information:
Address: Alberta Diabetes Institute
1-005 Li Ka Shing Centre
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1
Phone: 780-492-3077
E-mail: peter.light@ualberta.ca
Professional Overview:
Postdoctoral Students, Graduate Students:
Current Students
 Scott Campbell (MSc student)
 Kristian Jaeger (MSc student)
 Nermeen Youssef (PhD student)
 Ahmed Abdelmoneim (PhD student) – co-supervisor
 Chris Carter (Postdoctoral fellow)
 Yi (Eva) Yu (Postdoctoral fellow)
 Deepak Narang (PhD student) – co-supervisor
Scientific Focus:
Current Research Interests:
Islet signaling and diabetes
My laboratory studies the ionic events that control insulin secretion and how dysfunction can
lead to impaired/incorrect insulin secretion contributing to the development of type 2 diabetes.
In pancreatic beta-cells, hormonal and metabolic control of ion channel and exchanger function
is crucial in transducing the correct insulin secretory response. We are studying the links
between common genetic variations in the ATP-sensitive potassium channel in relation to fat
metabolism. In addition, we are also investigating the potential for development of novel
"glucose-sensitive" therapeutic agents that target ion transport processes within the beta-cell.
Islet engineering
The "Edmonton Protocol" has now become the gold standard for islet transplantation. However,
there is still a clear need to improve both the longevity and function of the islet grafts. My lab is
using molecular and gene delivery techniques in the in vitro donor islets to facilitate islet graft
survival and insulin secretory capacity.
Cardiac ischemia reperfusion injury
Our continuing studies on cardiac tissue have direct implications for the reversible (arrhythmias
and stunning) and irreversible (necrosis/apoptosis) damage that occurs during myocardial
ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury. In this regard, it is a current focus of my laboratory’s research
program to provide important new information on the cellular ionic events that occur during IR
injury and identify mechanisms that may be harnessed to reduce myocardial damage.
Specifically we are studying the roles of ATP-sensitive potassium channels and sodium/calcium
exchangers (NCX1) in the etiology of IR injury, cardiac surgery and transplantation.
Publications:
KATP channels
KATP channels sit at the intracellular crossroads between metabolism and cellular excitability,
acting as vital transducers of metabolic signals in many diverse cell types. In this regard, my
laboratory has made the following contributions:
1. How intracellular esters of fat metabolism (acyl coenzyme As) may control whole body
glucose homeostasis (Nature 2008) and activate the KATP channel complex (Metabolism,
Molecular Endocrinology, Endocrinology).
2. The properties, regulation and pharmacology of cardiac and b cell KATP channels (J Physiol, BJP
- 2 articles, FASEB J, PNAS, Diabetes, J Cardiovasc Pharmacol, J Mol Endocrinology, Molecular
Endocrinology, JBC, J Physiol).
3. KATP channels containing common type 2 diabetes (T2D) susceptibility genetic variants
(Diabetes - 3 articles, Human Genetics).
Collectively, these studies have increased our current understanding of the following: The
mechanisms by which cardiac cell dysfunction occurs and can be protected against during
ischemia/reperfusion injury; Why chronic elevation of intracellular fats, that occurs in obesity,
may affect some individuals more than others in triggering type 2 diabetes; Novel
pharmacogenomic approaches for the improved treatment of T2D.
NCX1
NCX1 is a key membrane protein that is involved in the maintenance of intracellular calcium
homeostasis in many tissues including the heart and endocrine pancreas. We have been
investigating the metabolic regulation and pharmacology of NCX1 with respect to cardiac
ischemia reperfusion injury and the control of endocrine hormones involved in glucose
homeostasis. These continuing studies have made the following contributions:
4. The metabolic and molecular regulation of NCX1 (EMBO J, Molecular Endocrinlogy, JMCC) and
potential new avenues to improve cardiac function after elective surgery (J Physiol, BJP, FASEB J)
5. NCX1 pharmacology and the development of glucose-sensitive insulinotropic drugs for T2D
(Diabetes 2009.
In addition to these two major research initiatives in my laboratory, I am actively pursuing
several other funded projects as follows: 1) b-cell engineering for islet transplantation 2) design
of novel drugs for atrial fibrillation and cardiac hypertrophy based on the red grape polyphenol
resveratrol (JBC, Circulation). My laboratory also has a number of active and continuing fruitful
collaborations at the institutional, national and international levels.