Who is Hector Rasgado-Flores?
Physiologist, Composer, Musician
The Spaniard Philosopher Ortega y Gasset considered
that a person’s life is the result of the dynamic interaction between
his/her inner callings and the set of circumstances surrounding his/her
life. The life of Hector Rasgado-Flores is a good example of this
energetic and consuming process.
Hector is the second child of seven brothers born in
Mexico City into a family of composers and musicians. His Father, a noted
violinist, studied medicine and became a plastic surgeon to support his
large family. Although he gave up professional performing, he never
stopped playing the violin. So Hector grew up surrounded by the harmonies
of music, medicine, and a large family.
Asthma Intervenes with Life
Hector became ill with severe asthma when he was very
young. His asthma was compounded by allergies to many foods, animals, and
dust. Hector grew up in a protective environment with many restrictions.
Despite these precautions, Hector was rushed to the hospital several times
because of the life-threatening attacks. In the early 1960s, isoproterenol
inhalers became available in Mexico, and their use became a turning point
in the life of Hector, stopping those emergency room visits.
Hector accommodated to these limitations by learning
to play the piano, write music, and developing a very keen interest in
understanding how the human body works. Christmas presents at the Rasgado
household through the years were often microscopes, telescopes, or
biological models. As young teenagers, the Rasgado brothers founded an
“Institute of Sciences” at their house and carried out experiments in
chemistry, biology, and rocketry. Hector combined his interests by
studying piano performance, composition, and medicine. Soon Hector
realized that there was no alternative but to become a physiologist in
order to understand how we listen to music, play music with our muscles,
and breathe with deep satisfaction.
Training to be a Physiologist
In 1979 Hector obtained a Master of Sciences degree
in Neurosciences at the Center for Advanced Studies of the National
Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City, studying with Drs. David Erlij and
Carlos Gomez-Lojero. He then joined the Laboratory of Dr. Mordecai P.
Blaustein at the Department of Physiology at the University of Maryland to
pursue a Ph.D. degree in Physiology, which he obtained in 1984. At that
time, they found that the smooth endoplasmic reticulum has a much higher
affinity (although much less capacity) to trap intracellular Ca2+
than the mitochondria. Dr. Rasgado continued his work with Dr. Blaustein
as a postdoctoral fellow. Together they measured that 3 Na+
ions are exchanged per 1 Ca2+ ion in the plasma membrane of
muscle cells. This work then led Dr. Rasgado to collaborate with Dr. Hugo
Gonzalez-Serratos (Dept. Biophysics, Univ. of Maryland), studying how Mg2+
ions are transported across the plasma membrane of nerve and muscle
cells. They found a new transporter of Mg2+, which involves the
ions Na+, K+, and Cl-. Subsequently, he
collaborated with Dr. Robert Rakowski (Dept. Physiology, Chicago Medical
School) to study how changes in membrane potential affect the Na/Ca
exchanger in muscle cells.
While studying the Na/Ca exchanger, Dr. Rasgado
serendipitously found that increases in the concentration of intracellular
Ca2+ produce reductions in the volume of muscle cells. This
finding introduced him to the field of cell volume regulation and allowed
him to obtain his first NIH grant in 1988. At this time he joined the
Department of Physiology at the Chicago Medical School as a faculty member
and continued his work on the regulation of intracellular Mg2+
and Ca2+ ions and cell volume regulation in muscle cells. His
main contributions to these fields have been characterizing a novel
plasmalemmal transporter for Mg2+, helping to understand the
mechanisms by which muscle cells sense and control their volume in
response to their needs and/or to changes in their environment, and
contributing to our understanding of how and why muscle cells undergo cell
volume changes during their contraction.
Service to the Scientific Community
Dr. Rasgado-Flores has been an active member of APS.
His nationality and background led him to apply for committee service on
the International Physiology Committee. His eagerness to help his fellow
scientists and his leadership abilities on the Committee led to his being
named Chair of the Committee for two consecutive terms. He has initiated a
program to support specialized meetings for physiologists in Mexico and
Latin and South America that are held in their own countries and have
speakers from the US that are paid for in part by APS. Through his
efforts, physiologists from those countries are able to better interact
with their American counterparts and exchange valuable information on
their research.
Family Life
 Playing the piano, writing music and performing
allowed Dr. Rasgado to compensate for a difficult childhood. Furthermore,
it introduced him to his wife, Cecilia Peña-Rasgado, a physicist who works
with him and who fell in love with him during one of his concerts. Being a
physiologist has permitted Dr. Rasgado to understand a little better how
cells work, how one plays the piano, and how we breathe.
Being the father of three active young children, Dr.
Rasgado hopes that he will be able to instill in them the passion for
science and music that was nurtured in him by his family. After all, being
a physiologist and a musician are just two approaches to a common quest:
To live life to the fullest and to try to give back a bit of pleasure and
knowledge to our fellow men.
Composing a Symphony
For the International Physiology Meeting held in 2005 in San Diego,
Dr. Rasgado and his brother wrote a symphony about the body and physiology
called "Body Notes" that was performed by the San Diego Chamber Orchestra
for the first time during the meeting. To hear parts of the concert or to
order a CD,
click here and then go to "CD of Symphony Body Notes."
Advice to Graduate Students
Find your passion in life and follow it with all your
might. Do not fall into the trap of finding easy answers and just a
comfortable life. Never go to bed not being tired of working hard and
without having asked yourself, what have I learned today?. Life is very
short and there is so much to learn, to discover and to share with the
people that surround us, specially our loved ones. Be compassionate and
try to help others, especially those that have not received as many
privileges as you have.
Recent Publications
1. Rasgado-Flores, H., and M.P.
Blaustein. ATP-dependent regulation of cytoplasmic free Ca in
nerve-terminals. Am. J. Physiol. 252 (Cell Physiol. 21):
C588-C594, 1987.
2. Rasgado-Flores, H., S. Sanchez-Armass,
D. Nachshen, and M.P. Blaustein. Strontium, barium and manganese
metabolism in isolated presynaptic nerve terminals.
Am. J. Physiol.
252 (Cell Physiol. 21): C604-C610, 1987.
3. Rasgado-Flores, H., and M.P.
Blaustein. Na/Ca exchange in barnacle muscle cells has a stoichiometry of
3 Na+:1 Ca2+.
Am. J. Physiol. 252 (Cell
Physiol. 21): C499-C504, 1987.
4. Rasgado-Flores, H., E.M. Santiago,
and M.P. Blaustein. Kinetics and stoichiometry of coupled Na efflux and Ca
influx (Na/Ca exchange) in barnacle muscle cells. J. Gen. Physiol.
93:1219-1241, 1989.
5.
Gonzalez-Serratos, H.,
and H.
Rasgado-Flores.
Extracellular Na-dependent Mg
efflux in squid axons.
Am. J. Physiol. 259 (Cell Physiol.
28): C541-C548, 1990.
6. Berman, D., C. Peña-Rasgado, M.
Holmgren, P. Hawkins, and H. Rasgado-Flores. External Ca effect on water
permeability, regulatory volume decrease and extracellular space in
barnacle muscle cells.
Am. J. Physiol. 265 (Cell Physiol.
34): C1128-C1137, 1993.
7. Espinosa-Tanguma, R., J. DeSantiago,
and H. Rasgado-Flores. α-Chymotrypsin deregulation of the sodium-calcium
exchanger in barnacle muscle cells. Am. J. Physiol. 265 (Cell
Physiol. 34): C1118-C1127, 1993.
8. Rasgado-Flores, H., H. Gonzalez-Serratos,
and J. DeSantiago. Extracellular Mg2+-dependent Na+,
K+ and Cl- efflux in squid giant axons.
Am. J.
Physiol. 266: (Cell Physiol. 35): C1112-C1117, 1994.
9.
Peña-Rasgado, C.,
V.A.
Kimler,
K.D.
McGruder,
J.
Tie, and
H.
Rasgado-Flores.
Opposite roles of cAMP and
cGMP on volume loss in muscle cells.
Am. J. Physiol. 267 (Cell
Physiol. 36): C1319-C1328, 1994.
10.
Rasgado-Flores, H.,
J.
Tie,
R.
Espinosa-Tanguma,
and J. DeSantiago. Voltage-dependence of Na/Na exchange in barnacle muscle
cells: I. Na-Na exchange activated by a-chymotrypsin.
Ann. NY Acad. Sci.
779:236-248, 1996.
11. Summers, J.C., L. Trais, R.
Lajvardi, D. Hergan, R. Buechler, H. Chang, C. Peña-Rasgado, and H.
Rasgado-Flores. Role of concentration and size of intracellular
macromolecules in cell volume regulation.
Am. J. Physiol. 273 (Cell
Physiol. 42): C360-C370, 1997.
12. Rasgado-Flores, H. and H.
Gonzalez-Serratos. Plasmalemmal transport of magnesium in excitable cells.
Frontiers Biosci. 5: 866-879, 2000.
13. Peña-Rasgado, C., S.K. Pierce, and
H. Rasgado-Flores. Osmolytes responsible for volume reduction in response
to isosmotic Ca2+ removal or to hypotonicity in muscle cells.
Cell. Molec.
Biol.
47: 841-853, 2001.
14.
Bitner, J.,
C.
Pena-Rasgado,
J.
Ruiz,
J.
Cardona, and
H.
Rasgado-Flores.
Osmotic properties of internally
perfused barnacle muscle cells. I: Isosmotic conditions. Cell. Molec.
Biol. 47: 855-864, 2001.
15. Peña-Rasgado, C., and H. Rasgado-Flores.
Cell Volume Sensing and Regulation in Barnacle Muscle Cells. In: Cell
Volume and Signal Transduction, edited by P. K. Lauf. New York: Plenum. In press.
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