Griffith University

BSc (Hons), MSC, PhD

Senior Lecturer

Contact details for Dr Joss du Toit

Research expertise

• Cardiovascular Physiology
• Myocardial Ischaemia/Reperfusion Injury
• Effects of Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome on the Cardiovascular System

Current teaching areas

• Anatomy and Physiology Systems I & II
• • Cells, Tissues and Regulation
  • Cardiovascular system (Heart and Vascular System)   
  • Blood

Publications

• Von Oppell UO, King LM, Du Toit EF, Owen EP, Opie LH. Effects of oxygenation and consequent pH changes on the efficacy of the St. Thomas' Hospital cardioplegic solution. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1991;102:396-404. Cited 12 times.
• Von Oppell UO, Du Toit EF, King LM, Opie LH. St Thomas' Hospital cardioplegic solution: Beneficial effects of glucose and intermittent reinfusions of cardioplegic solutions. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1991;102:405-412. Cited 14 times.
• Von Oppell UO, King LM, Du Toit EF, Owen EP, Reichart B, Opie LH. Effect of pH shifts induced by oxygenating crystalloid cardioplegic solutions. Ann Thorac Surg 1991:52:903-907.
• Opie LH, Owen EP, Du Toit EF, Norton G. Decreased rates of release of atrial natiuretic peptide from isolated hearts from ageing hypertensive rats. Am J Hypertens 1992;5:748-453. Cited 18 times.
• Owen EP, Du Toit EF, Opie LH. The optimal glucose concentration for intermittent cardioplegia in isolated rat hearts when added to St Thomas hospital cardioplegic solution. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1993;105:995-1006.
• Du Toit EF and Opie LH. Modulation of severity reperfusion stunning in the isolated rat heart by agents altering calcium flux at the onset of reperfusion. Circ Res 1992;70:960-967. Cited 148 times.
• Opie LH and Du Toit EF. Post-ischaemic stunning: The two-phased model for the role of calcium as pathogen. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 1992;20(Suppl. 5):S1-S4 Cited 23 times.
• Brunner F, Du Toit EF and Opie LH. Endothelin release during ischaemia and reperfusion of isolated perfused rat hearts. J Mol Cell Cardiol 1992:24;1291-1305. Cited 82 times.
• Du Toit EF and Opie LH. Role for the Na+/H+ exchanger in reperfusion stunning in isolated perfused rat heart. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 1993:22;877-883. Cited 40 times.
• Du Toit EF and Opie LH. Antiarrhythmic properties of specific inhibitors of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATP-ase in the isolated perfused rat heart after coronary artery ligation. J Am Coll Cardiol 1994:23 ;1505-1510. Cited 19 times.
• Du Toit EF and Opie LH. Inhibitors of Ca2+ ATP-ase pump of sarcoplasmic reticulum attenuate reperfusion stunning in the isolated rat heart. J Casdiovasc Pharmacol 1994 ;24:678-684. Cited 27 times.
• Lochner A,  Huisamen B, Klopper JF, Opie LH, King L and Du Toit EF. Myocardial metabolism - Part1 . Cardiovasc J of  Southern Africa 1997;87:C45-C53.
• Lochner A,  Huisamen B, Klopper JF, Opie LH, King L and Du Toit EF. Myocardial metabolism ? Part 2 . Cardiovasc J of  Southern Africa 1997;87:C109-116
• Du Toit EF, Miyashiro J, McCarthy J, Opie LH, Brunner F. Effects of nitrovasodilatorsand inhibitors of nitric-oxide synthase on ischaemic and reperfusion functions in rat  isolated hearts.  Brit J Pharmacol. 1998;123:1159-1167. Cited 35 times.
• Du Toit EF, Muller CA, McCarthy J, and Opie LH. The effect of levosimendan on cardiac function, tissue cAMP and cGMP levels and LDH release during low-flow ischaemia and reperfusion in the isolated Langendorff perfused guinea pig heart. J Pharmacol and Experimental Therap. 1999;290:505-514. Cited 46 times.
• Du Toit EF, Hofmann D, McCarthy J, and Pineda C. Effects of levosimendan on myocardial contractility, and coronary and peripheral blood flow during ischaemia/reperfusion in the in vivo pig model. Heart. 2001;86:81-87. 
• EF du Toit, J Meiring and LH. Opie. Relation of tissue cyclic nucleotide ratios to ischaemic/reperfusion injury in the nitric oxide donor treated rat heart. J Cardiovasc Pharmcol. 2001;38:529-538. Cited 13 times.
• Lochner A, Marais E, Du Toit EF en Moolman JA. NO triggers classic ischaemic preconditioning.  Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002;962:402-414. Cited 21 times. 
• Lecour S, Clermont G, Du Toit EF, Gilson L and Rochette L.  Evidence for extra-pulmonary localisation of inhaled nitric oxide. Heart Disease. 2003;5:372-377.
• Lochner A, Du Toit EF, Huisamen B, Koeslag JH, Moolman JA, Van Rooyen J.  Cellular injury in ischaemia.  Cardiovasc J of Southern Africa 2004;  15:  205 ? 206.
• EF du Toit, E Rossouw, J van Rooyen and A Lochner. Proposed Mechanisms for Anabolic Steroid Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy and Increased Susceptibility to Ischaemic/Reperfusion Injury. Cardiovasc J of Southern Africa. 2005;16(1):21-28.
• AJ Esterhuyse, EF du Toit, J van Rooyen. A protective role for dietary red palm oil against ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids.  2005;72(3):153-161.
• AJ Esterhuyse, EF du Toit, J van Rooyen. Dietary red palm oil supplementation protects against the consequences of global ischaemia in the isolated rat heart. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2005;14:340-347.
• EF du Toit, E Rossouw, R Salie, LH Opie and A Lochner. Effect of sildenafil on reperfusion function, infarct size, and cyclic nucleotide levels in the isolated rat heart model. Cardiovasc Drugs Ther. 2005;19:23-31.
• EF du Toit, M Nabben and A Lochner. A potential role for Angiotensin II in obesity induced cardiac hypertrophy and ischaemic/reperfusion injury. Basic Res Cardiol. 2005;100(4):346-354.
• Engelbrecht AM, Esterhuyse J, Du Toit EF, Lochner A and van Rooyen J. P38 MAPK and PKB/Akt, possible role players in red palm oil-induced protection of the isolated perfused rat heart? J Nutr Biochem. 2006;17(4):265-71.
• Esterhuyse AJ, van Rooyen J, Strijdom H, Bester D and Du Toit EF.  A proposed mechanism for red palm oil induced cardioprotection in a model of hyperlipidaemia in the rat.  Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids.  2006;75:375-384.
• Bester DJ, van Rooyen J, Du Toit EF, Esterhuyse J. Red palm oil protects against the consequences of oxidative stress when supplemented with dyslipidaemic diets. Medical Technology SA, 2006;21(1):3-10.
• Du Toit EF, Genade S, Carlini S, Brunner F, Lochner A. Efficacy of Ischaemic preconditioning in the eNOS over-expressed working mouse model. Eur J Pharmacol. 2007;556:115-120.
• Kruger M, Engelbrecht AM, Esterhuyse J, Du Toit EF, van Rooyen J. Dietary red palm oil reduces ischaemic/reperfusion injury in a hypercholesterolaemic diet. Br J Nutr 2007;97(4);653-660.
• Du Toit EF, Smith W, Muller C, Strijdom H, Woodiwiss A, Norton G and Lochner A. Myocardial susceptibility to ischaemic/reperfusion injury and the impact of insulin in a pre-diabetic model of dietary-induced obesity. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2008;294:H2336-43.
• Du Toit EF, Genis A, Pollesello P, Opie LH, Lochner A. Levosimendan, a new antifailure inodilator, has cardioprotective properties mediated by K-ATP channels. Br J Pharmacol. 2008 May;154(1):41-50.
• Van Rooyen J, Esterhuyse AJ, Engelbrecht AM and Du Toit EF. Health benefits of a natural carotenoid rich oil: a proposed mechanism of protection against ischaemia/reperfusion injury. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2008;17: 316-9.