David Kreulen, Ph.D.
Professor, Physiology and Neurology

Academic Appointments

• 2000-present: Professor, Michigan State University College, Physiology and Neurology
• 1998-2000: Professor, Michigan State University College, Physiology

Postdoctoral Training

• 1974-1976: NIH Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Illinois
• 1976-1978: NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine

Education

• Ph.D., Wayne State University, 1974
• B.S. in Chemistry, Calvin College, 1969

Research Webpage

• http://www.psl.msu.edu/user/kreulen/index.html

Research Interests

In the autonomic nervous system the final neurons that innervate end organs are grouped in autonomic ganglia. Ganglionic neurons are sites of integration of efferent and sensory synaptic signals into a coordinated regulation of multiple end organs whose function is often diverse.

My research interests are in the properties of sympathetic ganglia and the relationship of the characteristics of individual neurons to the regulation of the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems.

To understand how the sympathetic ganglia regulate and coordinate vascular and gastrointestinal function we are asking the following questions:

1. What is the anatomical organization of the sympathetic ganglia innervating the gastrointestinal tract and its blood supply?
2. Do individual neurons innervate multiple targets or just one type of tissue?
3. Do individual neurons innervate both arteries and veins?
4. Does a neuron that innervates an artery have properties that differentiate it from a neuron that innervates a vein?
5. What are the membrane electrical properties of neurons that might distinguish one functional type from another?
6. What transmitters are released from "artery neurons" or "vein neurons"?
7. What are the events in neuromuscular transmission in arteries and veins?
8. What are the developmental cues that neurotrophic factors from artery or vein provide to determine the functional properties of sympathetic neurons?

Representative Publications

• Zheng, Z.L., Shimamura, K., Anthony, T.L., Travagli, R.A. and Kreulen, D.L. 1997. Nitric oxide is a sensory nerve neurotransmitter to the mesenteric artery of guinea pig. J. Autonomic Nervous System. 67:137-144.
• Browning, K.N., Zheng, Z.L., Kreulen, D.L. and Travagli, R.A. 1998. Effects of nitric oxide in cultured prevertebral sympathetic ganglion neurons. J. Pharm. Exp. Therap. 286:1086-1093.
• Browning, K.N., Zheng, Z.L., Kreulen, D.L. and Travagli, R.A. 1999. Two populations of sympathetic neurons project selectively to mesenteric artery or vein. Am. J. Physiol. In press.
• Zheng, Z.L., Travagli, R.A. and Kreulen, D.L. 1999. Patterns of innervation of sympathetic vascular neurons by peptide-containing primary sensory fibers. Brain Research 827:113-121.