Dr. WILLY CARRASQUEL URSULAEZ | Journal of Life Sciences (JoLS)

Dr. WILLY CARRASQUEL URSULAEZ

First Name

WILLY

Last Name

CARRASQUEL URSULAEZ

University/Institution

Washington University in St Louis

Email ID

carrasquel@wustl.edu

City

St Louis

Country

United States

State

Missouri

Zip code

63102

Department

Anesthesiology

Area of Research

Biophysics

Area of Expertise

Biophysics of ion channels

Brief Description of Research Interest:

My research focuses on studying the function of ion channels. As a graduated student I studied the molecular nature of the activation of the voltage sensor domains (VSD) of large-conductance Ca2+- and voltage-activated K+ (BK) channels and how these sensors allosterically interact the other modules of the channel. I have designed and characterized BK mutants that decouple the VSD from the pore, allowing recording gating currents (the charge moving during VSD activation) even in the presence of high K+ concentrations. At the same time, I also designed a novel application of the Lanthanide Resonance Energy Transfer technique to determine the stoichiometry of the BK channel Î± and Î³1 accessory subunits and theoretically approached to the gating of the cold temperature sensitive channels TRPM8. Currently, as a postdoc, I am studying the gating of hyperpolarization activated HCN channels and exploring crown-ether based compounds as synthetic ion channels.

Representative Publications:

1. Carrasquel-Ursulaez, W.*, Segura, I. A.*, Diaz-Franulic, I., Echeverria, F., Lorenzo-Ceballos, Y., Espinoza, N., Rojas, M., Garate, J. A., Perozo, E., Alvarez, O., Gonzalez-Nilo, F. D., Latorre, R. (2022) Mechanism of voltage sensing in Ca2+- and voltage-activated K+ (BK) channels. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 119 (25) e2204620119. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2204620119 *Equal contribution.

2. Carrasquel-Ursulaez, W.*, Dehghany, M.*, Jones, C.*, Schomaker, J.M. and Chanda, B. (2021). Acylated and alkylated benzo(crown-ethers) form ion-dependent ion channels in biological membranes. Biophys J 121:1-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.01.026. *Equal contribution.
This article was highlighted in the New and Notable section of the Biophysical Journal: Sack, JT. (2022). K+ takes the crown: Selective activation of nonselective crown ether channels. Biophys J 121:1-2. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.02.020

3. Carrasquel-Ursulaez, W., Reeves, R., Dehghany, M., Jones, C., Schomaker, J.M. and Chanda, B. (2020). Re-evaluation of the mechanism of cytotoxicity of dialkylated lariat ether compounds. RSC Adv 10:40391-4. DOI: 10.1039/D0RA08494H.

4. Lorenzo-Ceballos, Y., Carrasquel-Ursulaez, W., Castillo, K., Alvarez, O., and Latorre, R. (2019). Calcium-driven regulation of voltage-sensing domains in BK channels. eLife, 8. DOI: 10.7554/eLife.44934.

5. Carrasquel-Ursulaez, W., Alvarez, O., Bezanilla, F., and Latorre, R. (2018). Determination of the Stoichiometry between Î±- and Î³1 Subunits of the BK Channel Using LRET. Biophys J 114:2493-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2018.04.008.

6. Carrasquel-Ursulaez, W., Moldenhauer, H., Castillo, J. P., Latorre, R. and Alvarez, O. (2015). Biophysical analysis of thermosensitive TRP channels with a special focus on the cold receptor TRPM8. Temperature (Austin) 2:188-200. DOI: 10.1080/23328940.2015.1047558.

7. Carrasquel-Ursulaez, W.*, Contreras, G. F.*, Sepulveda, R. V., Aguayo, D., Gonzalez-Nilo, F., Gonzalez, C. and Latorre, R. (2015). Hydrophobic interaction between contiguous residues in the S6 transmembrane segment acts as a stimuli integration node in the BK channel. J Gen Physiol 145:61-74. DOI: 10.1085/jgp.201411194. *Equal contribution.

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