
Matthew R. Hodges, PhD
Associate Professor
Locations
- Physiology
Contact Information
Education
PhD, Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2004
BA, Biology, Carleton College, 1998
Methodologies and Techniques
- Blotting, Western
- Breathing measurements in small and large mammals
- Electrophysiology
- Immunohistochemistry
- Microdialysis
- Microscopy
- Microscopy, Fluorescence
- Plethysmography, Whole Body
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- RNA Sequencing (transcriptomics)
Leadership Positions
- Co-Director, Master's in Medical Physiology Program
- Director of Recruiting, Physiology Graduate Programs
- Vice Chair, Institutional Animals Care and Use Committee (IACUC)
Research Interests
Genetics and Genomics | Neurophysiology | Respiratory Physiology
Every cell in the body requires a continuous supply of oxygen and constant removal of carbon dioxide, and as a result we breathe continuously from birth to death to ensure adequate gas exchange. A decrease in the blood oxygen levels or an increase in carbon dioxide (which decreases pH) both acting to increase ventilation in classic feedback fashion. However, it remains unknown which neurons within the brainstem serve as detectors of brain carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and/or pH, and how these neurons send this information to the neuronal network that generate respiratory rhythm and muscle activation patterns.
We are currently using fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) of primary neurons to collect CO2-activated serotonergic (5-HT) and glutamatergic (RTN) neurons and compare them to cells that are not activated by high CO2 and/or low pH. We extract mRNAs from these cell pools and identify and measure the expression levels of all genes in order to determine which genes are uniquely expressed in the CO2-sensitive populations. These gene targets are then manipulated in vitro (neuronal recordings and pharmacologic agents) or in vivo (knockout or mutant rat strains) to verify their potential role in breathing control and pH homeostasis. This project is funded by the NIH.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a leading cause of post-neonatal mortality in the U.S. and the Western World. SIDS is a devastating disease, and one that is difficult to understand. Recent research has identified abnormalities in the brainstem serotonin (5-HT) system in SIDS cases, suggesting the neurons that make 5-HT could contribute to the sudden and unexpected death. In the Hodges Lab, we study the effects of brain depletion of tryptophan hydroxylase, and as a result brain depletion of 5-HT. We study how these abnormalities, which are found in SIDS, affect physiological systems necessary for sustaining life, like breathing and body temperature control, and how additional environmental (increased heat) and other (inflammation) stressors affect these systems. This project is a collaboration with the PI (Hodges) and Drs. Cummings (University of Missouri) and Huxtable (University of Oregon), and was previously funded by the NIH and Children’s Research Institute at Children's Wisconsin (additional funding pending).
We are also currently studying the role of a potassium ion channel subunit gene (Kcnj16) and how it contributes to the acute and chronic regulation of body pH. We are gaining major insights into the role of Kcnj16 in the control of breathing and the CO2 chemoreflex by studying rats with a truncation mutation in the coding region of the gene. These rats may be important rodent models for the epilepsy and potentially Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). This project is collaboration with the PI (Hodges) and Dr. Oleg Palygin (Physiology). This project is funded by the Advancing Healthier Wisconsin Foundation and Neuroscience Research Center at MCW.
A fourth project ongoing in the lab is the study of changes in ventilatory control associated with neonatal lung dysfunction, using a rodent model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. While the lungs are the primary cause of ventilatory distress in babies with pulmonary disease, ultimately the neural network that controls breathing that adapts to this abnormality and adapts. The extent of this neural adaptation, or neuroplasticity is unclear, but has become another focus of research in the lab. This project is a collaboration with the PI (Hodges) and two additional MCW faculty, Drs. Konduri (Section Chief, Neonatology) and Wong-Riley (Professor, Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy), and is funded by the Children's Research Institute at Children's Wisconsin.
Mentorship
In addition to training eight (8) undergraduate and two (2) medical students in the Hodges Lab, graduate students from the Physiology Doctoral Program and Neuroscience Doctoral Programs have obtained their PhD in the lab, including:
Gary C. Mouradian, Jr., PhD
Currently a Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Colorado-Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver, CO
Madeleine M. Puissant, PhD
Currently an EMS Faculty and Clinical Coordinator, Northcentral Technical College, Wausau, WI
Publications
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Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis.
(Zheng Z, Chen E, Lu W, Mouradian G, Hodges M, Liang M, Liu P, Lu Y.) Compr Physiol. 2020 03 12;10(2):767-783 PMID: 32163201 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85081944090 03/13/2020
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(Beyeler SA, Hodges MR, Huxtable AG.) Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2020 03;274:103357 PMID: 31899353 PMCID: PMC7580556 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85077648178 01/04/2020
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(Manis AD, Hodges MR, Staruschenko A, Palygin O.) Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2020 02 01;318(2):F332-F337 PMID: 31841387 PMCID: PMC7052651 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85078686939 12/17/2019
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Relationship between the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and renal Kir5.1 channels.
(Manis AD, Palygin O, Khedr S, Levchenko V, Hodges MR, Staruschenko A.) Clin Sci (Lond). 2019 12 20;133(24):2449-2461 PMID: 31799617 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85076876405 12/05/2019
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(Burgraff NJ, Neumueller SE, Buchholz KJ, LeClaire J, Hodges MR, Pan L, Forster HV.) FASEB J. 2019 12;33(12):14491-14505 PMID: 31670983 PMCID: PMC6894090 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85075959363 11/02/2019
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(Burgraff NJ, Neumueller SE, Buchholz KJ, Hodges MR, Pan L, Forster HV.) Brain Res. 2019 12 01;1724:146437 PMID: 31494104 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85072217998 09/09/2019
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The serotonergic system and the control of breathing during development.
(Cummings KJ, Hodges MR.) Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2019 12;270:103255 PMID: 31362064 PMCID: PMC6802291 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85073654635 07/31/2019
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(Burgraff NJ, Neumueller SE, Buchholz KJ, Hodges MR, Pan L, Forster HV.) Physiol Rep. 2019 04;7(8):e14035 PMID: 30993898 PMCID: PMC6467842 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85064971391 04/18/2019
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(Puissant MM, Muere C, Levchenko V, Manis AD, Martino P, Forster HV, Palygin O, Staruschenko A, Hodges MR.) FASEB J. 2019 04;33(4):5067-5075 PMID: 30605394 PMCID: PMC6436665 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85064111657 01/04/2019
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Acute and chronic changes in the control of breathing in a rat model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia.
(Mouradian GC Jr, Alvarez-Argote S, Gorzek R, Thuku G, Michkalkiewicz T, Wong-Riley MTT, Konduri GG, Hodges MR.) Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2019 03 01;316(3):L506-L518 PMID: 30652496 PMCID: PMC6459293 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85063934830 01/18/2019
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Ventilatory and integrated physiological responses to chronic hypercapnia in goats.
(Burgraff NJ, Neumueller SE, Buchholz K, Langer TM 3rd, Hodges MR, Pan L, Forster HV.) J Physiol. 2018 11;596(22):5343-5363 PMID: 30211447 PMCID: PMC6235946 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85054917792 09/14/2018
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The central role of serotonin.
(Mouradian GC, Hodges MR.) Elife. 2018 10 23;7 PMID: 30350782 PMCID: PMC6199130 SCOPUS ID: 2-s2.0-85055192473 10/24/2018