Staff Profile:Dr Alister McNeish
- Name:
- Dr Alister McNeish
- Job Title:
- Associate Professor
- Responsibilities:
Pharmacy Examinations Officer
- Areas of Interest:
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the UK and in our aging population the incidence of cardiovascular disease is increasing. Therefore there is a pressing need for new and better treatments for these diseases. My main focus is on vascular pharmacology. In particular how the endothelial cells, which line inside of blood vessels, communicate and modulate the degree of constriction of the smooth muscle cells that form the wall of blood vessels. Understanding these processes help us develop new strategies for regulating blood flow and blood pressure; perhaps leading to new treatments for cardiovascular diseases. My work falls roughly in to four inter-related themes:
a) Regulation of calcium-activated potassium channels (KCa) found in the endothelium. These channels play a critical role in endothelium derived hyperpolarization (EDH) mediated responses and regulation of blood pressure/flow. This theme also encompasses how such regulation affects EDH responses.
b) Characterisation and elucidation of the mechanisms that underlie the endothelium dependent hyperpolarization, particularly in the cerebral vasculature with a particular focus on the role of fatty acid derived metabolites (including omega-3 fatty acids) and reactive oxygen species on these responses.
c) The study of "food factors" like omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils), flavonoids and polyphenolic acids on vascular and endothelial cell function in heath and disease.
d) The role of the endothelium in regulating spontaneous vasoconstrictor tone (myogenic tone) in smooth muscle cells. This has implications on vasomotion (a coordinated oscillatory relaxation and constriction of blood vessels) and vasospasm (uncontrolled vasoconstriction associated with strokes and heart attacks).
My research forms part of the University of Readings Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Research (ICMR; http://www.reading.ac.uk/icmr/) and is currently funded by, Innovate UK (formerly the Technology Strategy Board) and the British Heart Foundation.
As well as research, I have an active role in university and academic life. I teach on the MPharm programme, focussing on pharmacology and cardiovascular therapeutics. I also have a keen interest in disseminating science to schools and the general public; I am School director of Outreach for SCFP, Outreach Coordinator for the Reading School of Pharmacy and a member of the Policy and Public Engagement committee at the British Pharmacological Society. I am a member of the British Pharmacological Society where I am. I am also a member of The Physiological Society, Microcirculation Society, and British Society for Cardiovascular Research. I serve on the editorial boards of the British Journal of Pharmacology and Frontiers in Vascular Physiology as well as being a reviewer for numerous international peer reviewed journals and Research Charities. I am currently a member of the local organising committee for the 12th International Symposium of Resistance Arteries (ISRA 2017) which is being held 3rd to 6th September 2017 in Manchester UK http://www.isra2017.org/
- Research groups / Centres:
- Publications:
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YNumber of items: 17.
2020
- Patra, P., Serafeimidou-Pouliou, E., Bazelot, M., Whalley, B., Williams, A. and McNeish, A. (2020) Cannabidiol (CBD) improves survival and behavioural comorbidities of Dravet syndrome in mice. British Journal of Pharmacology, 177 (12). pp. 2779-2792. ISSN 0007-1188 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.15003
2019
- Perry, C. J., Finch, P., Muller-Taubenberger, A., Leung, k.-Y., Warren, E., Oddy, J., Sharma, D., Patra, P. H., Glyn, S., Boberska, J., Stewart, B., Baldwin, A., Piscitelli, F., Harvey, R. J., Harwood, A., Thompson, C., Claus, S., Greene, N. D. E., McNeish, A., Williams, C., Whalley, B. and Williams, R. (2019) A new mechanism for Cannabidiol in regulating the one-carbon cycle and methionine levels in Dictyostelium and in mammalian epilepsy models. British Journal of Pharmacology. ISSN 0007-1188 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.14892
- Patra, P. H., Barker-Haliski, M., White, H. S., Whalley, B. J., Glyn, S., Sandhu, H., Jones, N., Bazelot, M., Williams, C. M. and McNeish, A. J. (2019) Cannabidiol (CBD) reduces seizures and associated behavioral comorbidities in a range of animal seizure and epilepsy models. Epilepsia, 60 (2). ISSN 0013-9580 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/epi.14629
2018
- Barrese, V., Stott, J. B., Figueiredo, H. B., Aubdool, A. A., Hobbs, A. J., Jepps, T. A., McNeish, A. and Greenwood, I. A. (2018) Angiotensin II promotes KV7.4 channels degradation through reduced interaction with HSP90 (heat shock protein 90). Hypertension, 71 (6). pp. 1091-1100. ISSN 1524-4563 doi: https://doi.org/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.118.11116
- Limbu, R., Cottrell, G. S. and McNeish, A. J. (2018) Characterisation of the vasodilation effects of DHA and EPA, n-3 PUFAs (fish oils), in rat aorta and mesenteric resistance arteries. PLoS ONE, 13 (2). e0192484. ISSN 1932-6203 doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192484
2017
- Barrese, V., Cidad, P., Yueng, S. Y., Lopez-Lopez, J. R., McNeish, A., Ohya, S., Perez-Garcia, M. T. and Greenwood, I. A. (2017) Proliferative role of Kv11 channels in murine arteries. Frontiers in Physiology, 8. 500. ISSN 1664-042X doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2017.00500
- Onetti, Y., Dantas, A. Y., Perez, B., McNeish, A. J., Vila, E. and Jimenez-Altyayo, F. (2017) Peroxynitrate formed during a transient episode of brain ischemia increases endothelium-derived hyperpolarization-type dilations in thromboxane/prostaglandin receptor stimulated rat cerebral arteries. Acta Physiologica, 220 (1). pp. 150-166. ISSN 1748-1716 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/apha.12809
- Roux, B. T., Bauer, C. C., McNeish, A. J., Ward, S. G. and Cottrell, G. S. (2017) The role of ubiquitination and hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate in the degradation of the adrenomedullin type I receptor. Scientific Reports, 7 (1). p. 12389. ISSN 2045-2322 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-12585-z
2014
- Gauthier, K. M., Campbell, W. B. and McNeish, A. J. (2014) Regulation of KCa2.3 andendothelium-dependent hyperpolarization (EDH) in the rat middle cerebral artery: the role of lipoxygenase metabolites and isoprostanes. PeerJ, 2. e414. ISSN 2167-8359 doi: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.414
2012
- McNeish, A., Roux, B. T., Aylett, S.-B., Van Den Brink, A. M. and Cottrell, G. S. (2012) Endosomal proteolysis regulates calcitonin gene-related peptide responses in mesenteric arteries. British Journal of Pharmacology, 167 (8). pp. 1679-1690. ISSN 1476-5381 doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.02129.x
- McNeish, A. J., Altayo-Jimenez, F., Cottrell, G. S. and Garland, C. J. (2012) Statins and selective inhibition of Rho kinase protect small conductance calcium-activated potassium channel function (KCa2.3) in cerebral arteries. PLoS ONE, 7 (10). e46735. ISSN 1932-6203 doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0046735
2010
- McNeish, A., Altayo-Jimenez, F. and Garland, C. J. (2010) Evidence both L-type and non-L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels contribute to cerebral artery vasospasm following loss of NO in the rat. Vascular Pharmacology, 53 (3-4). pp. 151-159. ISSN 1537-1891 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vph.2010.06.002
- Yuill, K. H., McNeish, A., Kansui, Y., Garland, C. J. and Dora, K. A. (2010) Nitric oxide suppresses cerebral vasomotion by sGC-independent effects on ryanodine receptors and voltage-gated calcium channels. Journal of Vascular Research, 47 (2). pp. 93-107. ISSN 1018-1172 doi: https://doi.org/10.1159/000235964
2008
- Dora, K. A., Gallagher, N. T., McNeish, A. and Garland, C. J. (2008) Modulation of endothelial cell KCa3.1 Channels during endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor signaling in mesenteric resistance arteries. Circulation Research, 102 (10). pp. 1427-1255. ISSN 0009-7330 doi: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.108.172379
2007
- McNeish, A. and Garland, C. J. (2007) Thromboxane A2 inhibition of SKCa after NO synthase block in rat middle cerebral artery. British Journal of Pharmacology, 151 (4). pp. 441-449. ISSN 1476-5381 doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjp.0707240
2006
- McNeish, A., Sandow, S.L., Neylon, C.B., Chen, M.X., Dora, K. A. and Garland, C.J. (2006) Evidence for involvement of both IKCa and SKCa channels in hyperpolarizing responses of the rat middle cerebral artery. Stroke, 37 (5). pp. 1277-1282. ISSN 0039-2499 doi: https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000217307.71231.43
2005
- McNeish, A. J., Dora, K. A. and Garland, C. J. (2005) Possible role for K+ in endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor–linked dilatation in rat middle cerebral artery. Stroke, 36 (7). pp. 1526-1532. ISSN 0039-2499 doi: https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000169929.66497.73
Member of the ICMR http://www.reading.ac.uk/icmr/
Member of the Molecular Neuroscience Research Group
Member of the British Pharmacological Society , the Physiological Society, the British Microcirculation Society, and British Society for Cardiovascular Research
Member of editorial board of of the British Journal of Pharmacology http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291476-5381 and Frontiers in Vascular Physiology http://community.frontiersin.org/people/AlisterMcNeish/34788
My linked in profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/alister-mcneish-1a1b657b
My Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/DrAlister
