Gustavo Romero-perez

Biography

Researcher Company NameKyoto Institute of Nutrition and Pathology Dates EmployedApr 2015 – Present   Employment Duration2 yrs 9 mos LocationKyoto, Kyoto, Japan       Editor Company NameBiosScience Proofreaders Dates Employed2013 – Present   Employment Duration4 yrs LocationHamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan English proof editing of scientific manuscripts written by Japanese scientists for publication in peer-reviewed journals.   Specially Appointed Associate Researcher Company NameHamamatsu University School of Medicine Dates EmployedOct 2013 – Mar 2015   Employment Duration1 yr 6 mos LocationHamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan The current project is an extension of my previous work. The preliminary results from my previous research showed changes in the content of a lipid-derived molecule--tentatively identified as ganglioside. Except for the habenular region, this content increased across the brain tissues of juvenile rats (P9-P18) under severe stress due to isolation from siblings and the dam, when compared with those of control rats (they remained all the time in the home cage).  In this follow-up work, I am confirming these results and identifying the structure of this molecule. In the longer term I aim to characterise any bioactivity and function of this molecule during the period when the animals are experiencing stress and anxiety. Separately, I am assessing the potential of MALDI-TOF MS as a tool to measure the content and to visualise the spatial distribution of GABA and glutamate in murine brain tissues. We have just completed an experiment, which resulted in a manuscript titled "A pore forming peptide from spider Lachesana sp. venom induced neuronal depolarization and pain" by Masayoshi Okada; Gerardo Corzo; Gustavo A. Romero-Perez; Fredy Coronas; Hiroko Matsuda and Lourival D Possani. This work will be soon published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subjects.   Post-Doctoral Fellow Company NameKansai Medical University Dates EmployedAug 2012 – Sep 2013   Employment Duration1 yr 2 mos LocationMoriguchi, Osaka About 80% of young adults with adverse early-life experiences develop later in life psychiatric conditions such as anxiety and affective disorders. As social animals, rats can also suffer stress-induced illness, anxiety and depression if reared in isolation. Lipid-derived endocannabinoids modulate neuronal activity. Many other lipid derivatives may act as neuromodulators, but most are unknown due to technical limitations. I immunostained with anti-c-fos antibody (a marker for the neuronal activity) tissues from the thalamic paraventricular nucleus posterior (PVT) region of neonatal rats, which have been deprived maternal contact (3 h/10 d). My objective was to identify new lipid derivatives that also act as neuromodulators, as well as changes in the content of gangliosides in the lateral habenula region. To that end, I used cutting edge technology such as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to identify these lipid derivatives in rat brain tissues. Separately, I also tested the effect of arachnid venom and plant compounds on the gating properties of K channels in 293T cells. The aim was to identify new compounds that could be used for therapeutic purposes.

Research Interest

Medicine and Pharmaceuticals