Department of Surgery Faculty

Fruzsina K. Johnson, MD

Assistant Professor

Division: Trauma - Research
Email: johnsonf@uthscsa.edu
Laboratory website: Integrative Cardiovascular Laboratories

Education: Doctorate of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

Postgraduate training:
Research Associate Externship, New York Medical College's Department of Pharmacology
American Heart Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded though the Regional American Heart-Southeast Affiliate

Research interests: cardiovascular function, microcirculation and vascular pathophysiology, mechanisms of hypertension, and biological roles for porphyrin and gaseous messengers. Her early work demonstrated the importance of endogenously-formed carbon monoxide as a messenger within the vasculature. In subsequent studies, Dr. Johnson has provided compelling evidence that endogenously-formed carbon monoxide not only promotes relaxation of vascular smooth muscle, but can promote vasoconstriction by interfering with the vasodilatory actions of the nitric oxide system. Her research has profound implications as it suggests that endogeously-formed carbon monoxide may contribute to endothelial dysfunction and promote vasospasticity in certain hypertensive models and pathological conditions.

Grant awards:
2008 - $140k Beginning Grant-in-Aid, South Central Affiliate Research Committee of the American Heart Association for project entitled, 'A novel rat model of transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) to study pathogenic contributions of RBC arginase.'
2008 - $33k grant from Semp Russ Foundation of the San Antonio Area Foundation (SAAF) for 'Development of an experimental animal model to investigate the role of arginase in blood transfusion induced acute lung injury'.

Publications:
Johnson RA, Johnson FK. Heme oxygenase-derived endogenous carbon monoxide impairs flow-induced dilation in resistance vessels. (Epub ahead of print) SHOCK, Vol.29, No.4, pp.526-530, 2008.

Leszl-Ishiguro M, Horvath B, Johnson RA, Johnson FK, Lenzser G, Herman P, Horvath EM, Benyo Z. Influence of the heme-oxygenase pathway on cerebrocortical blood flow. NeuroReport. 2007;18:1193-1197.

Joshi MS, FergusonTB, Jr., Johnson FK, Johnson RA, Parthasarathy S, Lancaster JR, Jr. Receptor-mediated activation of nitric oxide synthesis by arginine in endothelial cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, June 2007;104,24:9982-9987.

Durante W, Johnson FK, Johnson RA. Role of carbon monoxide in cardiovascular function. J. Cell. Mol. Med. Vol 10, No 3, 2006

Johnson FK, Johnson RA, Durante W, Jackson KE, Stevenson BK, Peyton KJ. Metabolic syndrome increases endogenous carbon monoxide production to promote hypertension and endothelial dysfunction in obese Zucker rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2006 Mar;290(3):R601-8. Epub 2005 Nov 10.

Teran FJ, Johnson RA, Stevenson BK, Peyton KJ, Jackson KE, Appleton SD, Durante W, Johnson FK. Heme oxygenase-derived carbon monoxide promotes arteriolar endothelial dysfunction and contributes to salt-induced hypertension in Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2005 Mar;288(3):R615-22. Epub 2004 Nov 4.

Johnson RA, Teran FJ, Durante W, Peyton KJ, Johnson FK. Enhanced heme oxygenase-mediated coronary vasodilation in Dahl salt-sensitive hypertension. Am J Hypertens. 2004 Jan;17(1):25-30.

Johnson FK, Durante W, Peyton KJ, Johnson RA. Heme oxygenase-mediated endothelial dysfunction in DOCA-salt, but not in spontaneously hypertensive, rat arterioles. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2004 May;286(5):H1681-7. Epub 2003 Dec 23.

Johnson FK, Johnson RA. Carbon monoxide promotes endothelium-dependent constriction of isolated gracilis muscle arterioles. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2003 Sep;285(3):R536-41. Epub 2003 Apr 3.

Biosketch: Dr. Fruzsina Johnson received her medical degree from Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. During her medical training she completed a two-year research externship at the Department of Pharmacology at New York Medical College. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship in 2002 at the Department of Physiology at Tulane University she joined the faculty in the same department. She joined the Trauma Division research faculty in 2006. She serves on the Porter Physiology Development Committee of the American Physiological Society. She is an integrative microcirculatory physiologist and her research interests include cardiovascular complications obesity, diabetes, hypertension, trauma and hemorrhagic shock.

Awards:
Microcirculatory Society's distinguished August Krogh Award
Carolyn Tum Suden/Francis A. Hellebrant Professional Opportunity Award from the American Physiological Society

Professional societies:
American Physiological Society
American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research
Microcirculatory Society