The Rao Lab supports preprinting and open access in publishing. All our peer-reviewed papers can be found free of charge on PubMed Central.

Publications

For a complete list of Rao Lab publications, see Google Scholar.

Selected Publications Grouped by Topic:

Discovery of Novel Ion Transporters

The Arabidopsis thaliana proton transporters, AtNhx1 and Avp1, can function in cation detoxification in yeast
RA Gaxiola, R Rao, A Sherman, P Grisafi, SL Alper, GR Fink Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 96 (4), 1480-1485

Evolutionary origins of eukaryotic sodium/proton exchangers
CL Brett, M Donowitz, R Rao
American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology 288 (2), C223-C239

Intracellular sequestration of sodium by a novel Na+/H+ exchanger in yeast is enhanced by mutations in the plasma membrane H+-ATPase: insights into mechanisms of sodium tolerance
R Nass, KW Cunningham, R Rao
Journal of Biological Chemistry 272 (42), 26145-26152

PMR1, a Ca2+-ATPase in yeast Golgi, has properties distinct from sarco/endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane calcium pumps
A Sorin, G Rosas, R Rao
Journal of Biological Chemistry 272 (15), 9895-9901

Human Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 6 is found in recycling endosomes of cells, not in mitochondria
CL Brett, Y Wei, M Donowitz, R Rao
American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology 282 (5), C1031-C1041

A novel isoform of the secretory pathway Ca2+, Mn2+-ATPase, hSPCA2, has unusual properties and is expressed in the brain
M Xiang, D Mohamalawari, R Rao
Journal of Biological Chemistry 280 (12), 11608-11614

A human Na+/H+ antiporter sharing evolutionary origins with bacterial NhaA may be a candidate gene for essential hypertension
M Xiang, M Feng, S Muend, R Rao
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (47), 18677-18681

Cod1p/Spf1p is a P-type ATPase involved in ER function and Ca2+ homeostasis
SR Cronin, R Rao, RY Hampton
The Journal of cell biology 157 (6), 1017-1028

Ion Transporters and Cancer

Store-independent activation of Orai1 by SPCA2 in mammary tumors
M Feng, DM Grice, HM Faddy, N Nguyen, S Leitch, Y Wang, S Muend, …
Cell 143 (1), 84-98

A leak pathway for luminal protons in endosomes drives oncogenic signalling in glioblastoma
KC Kondapalli, JP Llongueras, V Capilla-González, H Prasad, A Hack, …
Nature communications 6 (1), 6289

The endosomal pH regulator NHE9 is a driver of stemness in glioblastoma
M Ko, MR Makena, P Schiapparelli, P Suarez-Meade, AX Mekile, B Lal, …
PNAS nexus 1 (1), pgac013

Secretory pathway Ca2+‐ATPases promote in vitro microcalcifications in breast cancer cells
D Dang, H Prasad, R Rao
Molecular carcinogenesis 56 (11), 2474-2485

A Ca2+-ATPase Regulates E-cadherin Biogenesis and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition in Breast Cancer Cells
DK Dang, MR Makena, JP Llongueras, H Prasad, M Ko, M Bandral, …
Molecular Cancer Research 17 (8), 1735-1747

Secretory pathway Ca2+-ATPase SPCA2 regulates mitochondrial respiration and DNA damage response through store-independent calcium entry
MR Makena, M Ko, AX Mekile, N Senoo, DK Dang, J Warrington, …
Redox biology 50, 102240

Subtype specific targeting of calcium signaling in breast cancer
MR Makena, R Rao
Cell calcium 85, 102109

Ion Transporters and Neurological Disorders

Functional evaluation of autism-associated mutations in NHE9
KC Kondapalli, A Hack, M Schushan, M Landau, N Ben-Tal, R Rao
Nature communications 4 (1), 2510

Amyloid clearance defect in ApoE4 astrocytes is reversed by epigenetic correction of endosomal pH
H Prasad, R Rao
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115 (28), E6640-E6649

The Na+/H+ exchanger NHE6 modulates endosomal pH to control processing of amyloid precursor protein in a cell culture model of Alzheimer disease
H Prasad, R Rao
Journal of Biological Chemistry 290 (9), 5311-5327

Calcium, Ion Transporters and Lactation

SPCA2 Regulates Orai1 Trafficking and Store Independent Ca2+ Entry in a Model of Lactation
BM Cross, A Hack, TA Reinhardt, R Rao
PloS one 8 (6), e67348

Cellular calcium dynamics in lactation and breast cancer: from physiology to pathology
BM Cross, GE Breitwieser, TA Reinhardt, R Rao
American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology 306 (6), C515-C526

Milk on the Moo’ve
R Rao
Cell Calcium 94, 102332

Calcium and Disorders of the Skin

Expression of Hailey-Hailey disease mutations in yeast.
VK Ton, R Rao
The Journal of investigative dermatology 123 (6), 1192-1194

Functional expression of heterologous proteins in yeast: insights into Ca2+ signaling and Ca2+-transporting ATPases
VK Ton, R Rao
American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology 287 (3), C580-C589

NHE Transporters and Kidney Disease

NHA2 is expressed in distal nephron and regulated by dietary sodium
KC Kondapalli, R Todd Alexander, JL Pluznick, R Rao
Journal of physiology and biochemistry 73, 199-205 16 2017

NHA2 promotes cyst development in an in vitro model of polycystic kidney disease
H Prasad, DK Dang, KC Kondapalli, N Natarajan, V Cebotaru, R Rao
The Journal of Physiology 597 (2), 499-519

Ion Transport Mechanisms and Cell Physiology

Manganese selectivity of Pmr1, the yeast secretory pathway ion pump, is defined by residue Gln783 in transmembrane segment 6: residue Asp778 is essential for cation transport
D Mandal, TB Woolf, R Rao
Journal of Biological Chemistry 275 (31), 23933-23938

Phenotypic screening of mutations in Pmr1, the yeast secretory pathway Ca2+/Mn2+-ATPase, reveals residues critical for ion selectivity and transport
Y Wei, J Chen, G Rosas, DA Tompkins, PA Holt, R Rao
Journal of Biological Chemistry 275 (31), 23927-23932

Model-guided mutagenesis drives functional studies of human NHA2, implicated in hypertension
M Schushan, M Xiang, P Bogomiakov, E Padan, R Rao, N Ben-Tal
Journal of molecular biology 396 (5), 1181-1196

Unconventional chemiosmotic coupling of NHA2, a mammalian Na+/H+ antiporter, to a plasma membrane H+ gradient
KC Kondapalli, LM Kallay, M Muszelik, R Rao
Journal of Biological Chemistry 287 (43), 36239-36250

An N-terminal EF hand-like motif modulates ion transport by Pmr1, the yeast Golgi Ca2+/Mn2+-ATPase
Y Wei, V Marchi, R Wang, R Rao
Biochemistry 38 (44), 14534-14541

A phenomics approach in yeast links proton and calcium pump function in the Golgi
J Yadav, S Muend, Y Zhang, R Rao
Molecular biology of the cell 18 (4), 1480-1489

Genome-wide analysis reveals the vacuolar pH-stat of Saccharomyces cerevisiae
CL Brett, L Kallay, Z Hua, R Green, A Chyou, Y Zhang, TR Graham, …
PloS one 6 (3), e17619

Antifungal Agents and Ion Homeostatic Mechanisms

Mechanism of antifungal activity of terpenoid phenols resembles calcium stress and inhibition of the TOR pathway
A Rao, Y Zhang, S Muend, R Rao
Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 54 (12), 5062-5069

Requirement for ergosterol in V-ATPase function underlies antifungal activity of azole drugs
YQ Zhang, S Gamarra, G Garcia-Effron, S Park, DS Perlin, R Rao
PLoS pathogens 6 (6), e1000939

Antifungal activity of amiodarone is mediated by disruption of calcium homeostasis
SS Gupta, VK Ton, V Beaudry, S Rulli, K Cunningham, R Rao
Journal of Biological Chemistry 278 (31), 28831-28839

Mechanism of the Synergistic Effect of Amiodarone and Fluconazole in Candida albicans
S Gamarra, EMF Rocha, YQ Zhang, S Park, R Rao, DS Perlin
Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 54 (5), 1753-1761