Professor and Director, Arkansas INBRE
Ph.D., University of California, Davis
Office: 501-686-5441
Email: LCornett@uams.edu
Dr. Cornett’s research interests are focused primarily on the homeostatic roles of the neurohypophysial hormone vasotocin in the domestic chicken and secondarily on the regulation of adrenergic receptor gene expression in mammals. Regarding the actions of vasotocin, immunohistochemical techniques, radioimmunoassays and in situ hybridization histochemistry are used to investigate the regulation of vasotocin gene expression in the chicken hypothalamus under conditions of osmotic stress and during oviposition. My laboratory has cloned and pharmacologically characterized receptors that bind vasotocin and transduce its physiological effects in the shell gland and the anterior pituitary gland. Regarding adrenergic receptors, my laboratory has studied the mechanisms of glucocorticoid regulation of beta2-adrenergic receptor gene expression in liver and airway smooth muscle cells.
In addition, Dr. Cornett is the Director of the Arkansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (Arkansas INBRE) (https://inbre.uams.edu/). The Arkansas INBRE is funded by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under the Institutional Development Award IDeA Program. The goal of the Arkansas INBRE is to expand and strengthen the infrastructure for biomedical research of academic institutions in the state by supporting a multidisciplinary research network united by the scientific theme of Cellular Signaling, Growth, and Differentiation.
Representative Publications
Srivastava, R., L.E. Cornett and C.M. Chaturvedi. Impact of estrogen and photoperiod on arginine vasotocin and VT3 receptor expression in the shell gland of quail. Frontiers Bioscience 10:372-385, 2018.
McSweeney J.C., T.J. Hudson, L. Prince, H. Beneš, A.J. Tackett, C. Miller Robinson, R. Koeppe, and L.E. Cornett. Impact of the INBRE summer student mentored research program on undergraduate students in Arkansas. Advances in Physiology Education 42:123-129, 2018.
Cornett L.E., S.W Kang, and W.J. Kuenzel. A possible mechanism contributing to the synergistic action of vasotocin (VT) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptors on corticosterone release in birds. General and Comparative Endocrinology 188:46-53, 2013.
Selvam R., A. Jurkevich, S.W. Kang, M.V. Mikhailova, L.E. Cornett, and W.J. Kuenzel. Distribution of the vasotocin subtype four receptor (VT4R) in the anterior pituitary gland of the chicken, Gallus gallus and its possible role in the avian stress response. Journal of Neuroendocrinology. 25:56-66, 2013.
Koryakina, Y., S.M. Jones, L.E. Cornett, K. Seely, L. Brents, P.L. Prather, A. Kofman, and R.C. Kurten. Effects of the b-agonist, isoprenaline, on the down-regulation, functional responsiveness, and trafficking of b2-adrenergic receptors with N-terminal polymorphisms. Cell Biology International. 36:1171-1183, 2012.
Sharma, D., L.E. Cornett, and C.M. Chaturvedi. Osmotic stress induced alteration in the expression of arginine vasotocin receptor VT2 in the pituitary gland and adrenal function of domestic fowl. General and Comparative Endocrinology 160:216-222, 2009.
Jurkevich, A., L.R. Berghman, L.E. Cornett, and W.J. Kuenzel. Immunohistochemical characterization of chicken pituitary cells containing the vasotocin VT2 receptor. Cell and Tissue Research 333:253-262, 2008.
Mikhailova, M.V., J. Blansett, S. Jacobi, P.R. Mayeux, and L.E. Cornett. Transmembrane domain IV of the Gallus gallus VT2 vasotocin receptor is essential for forming a heterodimer with the corticotrophin releasing hormone receptor. Journal of Biomedical Optics 13:031208, 2008.
Mikhailova, M.V., P. Mayeux, A. Jurkevich, W.J. Kuenzel, A. Periasamy, Y. Chen, and L.E. Cornett. Hetero-oligomerization between vasotocin and corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) receptors augments CRH-stimulated cyclic AMP production. Molecular Endocrinology 21:2178-2188, 2007.
Schnackenberg, B.J., S.M. Jones, C. Pate, B. Shank, L. Sessions, L.M. Pittman, L.E. Cornett, and R.C. Kurten. Isoproterenol, a b-agonist, attenuates EGF-stimulated wound closure in human airway epithelial cells. American Journal of Physiology 290:L485-L491, 2006.
Baeyens, D.A. and L.E. Cornett. The cloned avian neurohypophysial hormone receptors. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 143:12-19, 2006.