RESEARCH INTERESTS
Cardiac muscle cannot regenerate and consequently, infarcts heal by scar formation. The thinning scar, comprised of vascular and connective tissue, continually remodels, eventually resulting in inadequate pumping and consequent heart failure. Understanding the normal wound repair process is crucial to developing strategies to overcome deleterious remodeling. One strategy may be to increase and maintain the vascular network in the heart. This would also provide a foundation for grafting replacement cells/tissue into the injured heart. Among the myriad of factors that modulate vasculogenesis, the role of angiopoietins and the ephrin signaling system have not been fully explored in the setting of myocardial infarction. The ying-yang relationship exhibited by angiopoietins may be exploited to induced the formation of leakage- resistant vessels and negatively regulate pro-inflammatory agents. Similarly, the role of ephrins in vascular budding and maturation and their differential expression on the arterial versus the venous trees may provide a means of preferentially enhancing and maintaining new vessels.
We employ a murine model of chronic myocardial infarction to investigate cardiac remodeling. We examine the heart from the level of cardiac function using echocardiography and pressure-volume loops to the protein level using immunohistochemistry and proteomic analyses. We also perform cell culture and molecular assays to help resolve mechanistic questions. Interested people may inquire about possible openings in the laboratory.
EMPLOYMENT / EDUCATION
Assistant Professor
Brody School of Medicine
East Carolina State University, Greenville, NC
Research focus: Revascularization of the infarcted heart
Research Scientist (September 2004 - October 2005)
Universities Space Research Association, Division of Space Life Sciences, Center for Advanced Space Studies
Cardiovascular Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, NASA, Houston, TX
Research focus: The Effects of Microgravity on the Heart
Senior Fellow (1999-2004)
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Advisor: Dr. Charles E. Murry, M.D., Ph.D.
Post-doctoral research project: Murine Myocardial Infarct Repair.
Doctor of Philosophy, Physiology (1994 –1999)
Louisiana State University Medical Center (LSUMC), New Orleans, LA
Advisor: Dr. Kathleen H. McDonough, Ph.D.
Dissertation title: Mechanisms of Sepsis-Induced Dysfunction and Protection from Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
Bachelor of Science with Honors, Biology (1989 -1993)
Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Advisor: David Layzell, Ph.D.
Research project: Nitrogenase Activity in Soybean Root Nodules
PUBLICATIONS
Virag, JAI, Whitney, ML, Feigl, EO, and Murry, CE. Basic FGF Regulates Myocardial Infarct Repair: Effects on Cell Proliferation, Scar Contraction, and Ventricular Function (accepted, Am J Pathology)
Stevens KR, Rolle MW, Minami E, Ueno S, Nourse MB, Virag JI, Reinecke H, Murry CE. Chemical Dimerization of FGFR-1 Induces Myoblast Proliferation, Increases Intracardiac Graft Size, and Reduces Ventricular Dilation in Infarcted Hearts. Human Gene Therapy, Online May 7, 2007.
Nussbaum, J., Laflamme, M. Minamie, E., Virag, JAI, Ware, CB., Murry, CE Transplantation of Undifferentiated Murine Embryonic Stem Cells in the Heart: Teratoma Formation and Immune Response (FASEB J, online Feb. 6, 2007)
Kathleen H. McDonough and Jitka Ismail Virag. Sepsis-Induced Myocardial Dysfunction and Myocardial Protection from Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury. Front Biosci. 2006 Jan 1; 11:23-22
Hans Reinecke, Elina Minami, Jitka I. Virag, and Charles E. Murry. Gene transfer of connexin43 into skeletal muscle. Human Gene Therapy 15(7):627-36, 2004.
Murry, CE, Soonpaa, MH, Reineke H, Nakijima H, Nakijima, HO, M, Pasumarthi, KBS, Virag, JAI, Bartemez, SH, Poppa, V, Bradford, G, Dowell, JD, Williams, D, Field, LJ. Absence of Cardiac Transdifferentiation after Direct Injection of Adult Hematopoietic Stem Cells into Myocardial Infarcts. Nature Apr 8;428(6983):664-8, 2004 (Epub Mar 21, 2004).
Jitka Ismail Virag and Charles E. Murry. Cell Proliferation Kinetics and Remodeling During Murine Myocardial Infarct Repair. American Journal of Pathology 163(6):2433-40, 2003
Jitka A. Ismail, Veronica Poppa, Lynn Kemper, Marta Scatena, Cecilia M. Giachelli, J. Douglas Coffin, and Charles E. Murry. Immunohistologic labeling of Murine Endothelium. Cardiovascular Pathology 12(2):82-90, 2003.
Jitka A. Ismail and Kathleen H. McDonough. The role of K+ATP channels in the control of pre- and post-ischemic CF and LVDP of septic rat hearts. Can J Physiol Pharm, 79(3):213-219, 2001.
Jitka A. Ismail and Kathleen H. McDonough. The role of coronary flow and adenosine in the post-ischemic recovery of LVDP in septic rat hearts. Am J Physiol (Heart and Circ Physiol 44) 275: H8-H14, 1998.
Additional publications at PubMed (click here)
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