Oxygen - Too much of a good thing!

“Oxygen – too much of a good thing” will draw on Professor Philip E. James’s long standing interest on the roles of oxygen in health and disease. Oxygen is the third-most abundant element in the universe and oxygen gas constitutes 20.8% of the Earth's atmosphere. Combined with other substances it makes up almost half of the Earth's crust. Oxygen is used in cellular respiration and many major classes of organic molecules in living organisms contain oxygen, such as proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and fats, as do animal shells, teeth, and bone. Most of the mass of living organisms is oxygen as a component of water, the major constituent of lifeforms. It therefore comes as no surprise that maintenance of oxygen supply is a critical factor to every cell in the human body. In normal circumstances, this is provided by a healthy heart, respiratory and circulatory system. In this lecture, Philip will explain how his early research career sparked an interest in the role that oxygen played as a key regulator of health and disease. He will discuss its role in the production of a very potent molecule, nitric oxide (nitrogenoxide). Philip will explain how nitric oxide is a molecule produced by the lining of all healthy blood vessels, keeping vessels open and controlling the “stickiness” of blood. Decreased nitric oxide is directly associated with cardiovascular disease, including diabetes, stroke, and myocardial infarction (heart attack). Maintaining oxygen and nitric oxide levels has therefore become a key driver for much of Philip’s work with

P​rofessor Philip E. James

Philip is Professor of Cardiovascular Metabolism and Associate Dean (Research) at the Cardiff School of Sport and Health Sciences. He is academic Lead of the Stroke Research and Innovation Network coordinating scientific and clinical research across Wales. His research group is very much focussed on the biochemistry of nitric oxide and vascular dysfunction in the context of cardiovascular disease, with a particular interest in interaction between fat cells (adipocytes) and blood vessels funded largely by the British Heart Foundation. Philip is currently President of the International Nitric Oxide Society and will host the biennial Society meeting in Oxford, September 2018.