He conducted postdoctoral research first in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Harvard Medical School and later in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital. In 1993, he joined New England Medical Center in its Molecular Cardiology Research Center and currently holds an appointment in the Department of Medicine at Tufts Medical School as assistant professor. The vascular endothelium plays a critical role in modulating the vasomotor abnormalities that occur in coronary artery disease or as risk factors for the disease. NO and related nitrovasodilators act by stimulating guanylate cyclase and elevating cGMP, but the mechanism by which increased cGMP leads to vasodilation is not fully understood. The researchers are characterizing the recombinant and the native channel in detail and are developing animal models and cellular assays to define the function of cGMP-gated ion channel in blood vessels.
Estrogens protect against the development of coronary heart disease in women.
Recent studies have suggested that NO may be a critical effector molecule in this cardiovascular protection. The increasing availability of transgenic mouse models and improved techniques in in vivo gene transfer make a powerful combination for the study of molecular events leading to cardiovascular diseases. Zhu and his colleagues are also developing novel mouse models for in vivo gene transfer to explore the therapeutic potential of NOS for endothelial dysfunction. The overall goal of Zhu s research is to better understand the stimuli and consequences of endothelial dysfunction at cellular and molecular levels and therefore to provide fundamental insights into the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and result in innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. In vivo phosphorylation of thromboxane receptor by cyclic GMP-dependent protein kinase.