Louch group: Cardiomyocyte function in health and disease

Louch group

Our research is aimed at understanding abnormal cellular calcium handling, with focus on the structures and proteins that control calcium cycling.

Cardiac function is tightly controlled by the contraction and relaxation of these cells; processes which are in turn reliant on carefully controlled calcium homeostasis. Indeed, cardiac dysfunction during diseases such as heart failure and atrial fibrillation can often be traced to abnormal cellular calcium handling.

Our research is aimed at understanding these abnormalities, with focus on the structures and proteins that control calcium cycling. How are these structures and proteins put together during development, and what causes them to disassemble during disease? What is the consequence of such alterations? To examine these questions, we combine molecular biology and electrophysiology techniques with advanced 3D imaging (super-resolution, confocal, and electron microscopy).

Ultimately, we strive to mechanistically link subcellular structure and calcium handling to whole-heart function, and to reverse dysfunction during disease for the benefit of patients.

Group leader William (Bill) Louch is a Professor of Medicine and Head of the Core Facility for Advanced Light Microscopy. He has recently held a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council, and currently holds a Researcher Grant from the Norwegian Research Council. His group’s research is focused on understanding the structure and function cardiac muscle cells.

Group Leader

William (Bill) Louch

Group Leader & Professor

Group members

Adelle Basson

Doctoral Research Fellow

Anna Bergan Dahl

Doctoral Research Fellow

Christopher Le

Doctoral Research Fellow

Harmonie Perdreau-Dahl

Postdoctoral fellow

Jia Li

Postdoctoral fellow

Magnhild Sekse Erdal

Doctoral Research Fellow

Martin Laasmaa

Postdoctoral fellow

Michael Frisk

Postdoctoral fellow

Ornella Manfra

Postdoctoral fellow

Per Kristian Lunde

Senior Researcher

Simona Kavaliauskiene

Postdoctoral fellow

Victoria Becker

Doctoral Research Fellow & Safety representative (VO)

Xin Shen

Postdoctoral fellow

Yufeng Hou

Postdoctoral fellow

Latest publications

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Skogestad J, Albert I, Hougen K, Lothe GB, Lunde M, Søvik Eken O, Veras I, Thi-Huynh NT, Børstad M, Marshall S, Shen X, Louch WE, Louise Robinson E, Cleveland JC, Ambardekar AV, Schwisow JA, Jonas E, Calejo AIC, Morth JP, Taskén K, Melleby AO, Lunde PK, Sjaastad I, Carlson CR, Aronsen JM (2023)
Disruption of Phosphodiesterase 3A Binding to SERCA2 Increases SERCA2 Activity and Reduces Mortality in Mice With Chronic Heart Failure
Circulation
PubMed 36876489 DOI 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.054168
Gamage TH, Grabmayr H, Horvath F, Fahrner M, Misceo D, Louch WE, Gunnes G, Pullisaar H, Reseland JE, Lyngstadaas SP, Holmgren A, Amundsen SS, Rathner P, Cerofolini L, Ravera E, Krobath H, Luchinat C, Renger T, Müller N, Romanin C, Frengen E (2023)
A single amino acid deletion in the ER Ca2+ sensor STIM1 reverses the in vitro and in vivo effects of the Stormorken syndrome-causing R304W mutation
Sci Signal, 16 (771), eadd0509
PubMed 36749824 DOI 10.1126/scisignal.add0509
Heimli M, Flåm ST, Hjorthaug HS, Trinh D, Frisk M, Dumont KA, Ribarska T, Tekpli X, Saare M, Lie BA (2023)
Multimodal human thymic profiling reveals trajectories and cellular milieu for T agonist selection
Front Immunol, 13, 1092028
PubMed 36741401 DOI 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1092028
Rypdal KB, Olav Melleby A, Robinson EL, Li J, Palmero S, Seifert DE, Martin D, Clark C, López B, Andreassen K, Dahl CP, Sjaastad I, Tønnessen T, Stokke MK, Louch WE, González A, Heymans S, Christensen G, Apte SS, Lunde IG (2022)
ADAMTSL3 knock-out mice develop cardiac dysfunction and dilatation with increased TGFβ signalling after pressure overload
Commun Biol, 5 (1), 1392
PubMed 36539599 DOI 10.1038/s42003-022-04361-1
Rixon C, Andreassen K, Shen X, Erusappan PM, Almaas VM, Palmero S, Dahl CP, Ueland T, Sjaastad I, Louch WE, Stokke MK, Tønnessen T, Christensen G, Lunde IG (2022)
Lumican accumulates with fibrillar collagen in fibrosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
ESC Heart Fail
PubMed 36444917 DOI 10.1002/ehf2.14234
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