Holbert D. Asunción

MSc. Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences 👨‍🔬📄🔬🧪
... Looking for a PhD position in vascular biology, smooth muscle physiology, and related fields.

[Martin Picard @MitoPsychoBio]

Energy metabolism is really quite remarkable

Little bits of energy we call metabolites flow continuously, converging in our mitochondria (TCA or Krebs cycle) where they are re-routed and directed where needed

The basis of life and health is the flow of energy

Great animation showing the fate, trajectory, and possible routes that glucose (top) and glutamine (bottom right) take within most of our cells

Video by @janetiwasa

[Holbert D. Asunción @DanielAsuncin1]

Delighted to share our latest publication in @BrJPharmacol, showing that CHAL13 promotes vascular relaxation through blockade of the voltage-gated L-type Ca2+ channel CaV1.2 and coordinated activation of multiple K+ channel subtypes. https://t.co/FZUg0nKIJ3

[Hao Yin @HaoYin20]

#MultisystemicSmoothMuscleDysfunctionSyndrome #MSMDS

Myh11+ Smooth Muscle Cell Acta2 R179H transgenic🐭(?Age?)
⏬Cerebral artery curviness, inner diameter
⏬Cerebral arterial contractile proteins
⏫Cerebrovascular SMC proliferation in culture
⏬Spontaneous cerebral blood volume fluctuation (BOLD)
⏬Vasoresponses to both SNP & PE
⏫Anesthetized BP (likely as compensation)
⏬Cerebral blood flow & ⏫Survival upon unilateral common carotid occlusion
⏬White matter myelination
⏬Cortical neurons
⏫Neurobehavioral anomalies

@imai_takahiko @chungmdphd bioRxiv 2026
https://t.co/l5ZU7zDn1Y

[PNASNews @PNASNews]

One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “From peptides to DNA: All required steps can be catalyzed.” Explore the article here: https://t.co/umsfwfYtgH

For more trending articles, visit https://t.co/9ub9fwCMDm.

[nature @Nature]

Older people with exceptional memory have a surprisingly high number of young neurons

https://t.co/dTA4ghR5Hu

[Holbert D. Asunción @DanielAsuncin1]

@Libre_Oposicion Si bien el primero gobierno de García fue de izquierda, el segundo de 2008 calza mejor en la centroderecha.

[Hao Yin @HaoYin20]

#SmoothMuscleCell #Piezo1 #Hypertension

#HydrostaticPressure (200 mmHg), Not #CyclicStretch (18% strain 1 Hz)➡️
⏫GPR146 (+⏬GPR4) in SMC➡️
⏫SMC synthetic phenotype
⏫Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy
⏫cAMP-CREB-Piezo1 (also TRPV4 & KCNK4)➡️ ⏫Systolic & Diastolic Blood Pressure

Evidence from GPR146 KO
SMC-GPR146 KI & KO
AAV2-SM22a-GPR146 & SMC-Piezo1 KO🐭

Jun Cai lab @CircRes 2025
https://t.co/tOod7C5iCZ

[Hao Yin @HaoYin20]

#SmoothMuscleCell #Piezo1 is required for small intestinal motility

SMC Piezo1 KO in 4~6 wk-old🐭
👉Muscularis thinning
👉⏬Food consumption
👉⏬SMC density w/o⏫apoptosis
👉⏬small intestinal motility
👉⏬Muscularis Orai1/3 Trpc4 IP3R ⏫Cav1.2 Ano1
👉⏬carbachol-induced tension

Piezo1 localizes at #SarcoplasmicReticulum in SMC

Ca2+ flux measurement in isolated #IntestinalMuscularisCell (preserved SIP syncytium + enteric neuron) transduced with lentiviral gCAMP6f in Thermo-sensitive stretch-inducible hydrogel

@GeoannaBautista @CommsBio 2025
https://t.co/5MGRCUhD5q

[nature @Nature]

Why humans have puzzle-shaped cells

[Nutrition Science @NutrioSci]

Why you feel hungry @NEJM

https://t.co/rgeFuSWovK

[Science Magazine @ScienceMagazine]

A new study finds ants best humans at tests of collective intelligence.

Learn more: https://t.co/MHbFGxo1ET @NewsfromScience

[Filip Van Petegem @FilipPetegem]

Stress in action: crystal structure of PKA bound to a preferred substrate in CaV1.2. Comparing proposed sites in CaV1.2 and Rad shows two tiers of substrates.
https://t.co/eXeuDBnoOz

@OmidHGhassemi @randyjsyoo Marvin Bader Jiaming Xu @ciaranmcfarlane @UBCbiochemistry

[nature @Nature]

Guess what? Mitochondria are weirder than we thought

[Prof. Lee Cronin @leecronin]

Proof of Chemputation. https://t.co/ebZeczh2QD

[Zebrafish Rock! @ZebrafishRock]

Immune cell response to spinal cord injury in a zebrafish larva. Credit to @BeckerLabCRTD. #ZebrafishZunday

[JAHA @JAHA_AHA]

Read about how chronic stress reduces access of norepinephrine to internal β1 adrenoceptor but not receptor levels at the sarcoplasmic reticulum in hearts.

Then go outside and take a deep breath. #AHAJournals @UCDAVISPharmac1 https://t.co/n8lhOd1lG5

[L. Fernando Santana 🇵🇷 @lfsantana68]

Honey, they shrunk the ATP | PNAS https://t.co/g50AisloMV

[Holbert D. Asunción @DanielAsuncin1]

In this paper, we showed the protective effects of Peruvian Blueberry on depression and fluoxetine-induced lipid peroxidation. https://t.co/mDvqvBZspg #mdpiplants via @Plants_MDPI