Gerald A. Campbell, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Email: gcampbel@utmb.edu

research interests

Pathologic disruption of blood-brain barrier function by both chemical and cellular mediators alters the protected environment of the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in dysfunction and injury in a number of disease conditions. Normal blood-brain barrier function is essential to isolate the CNS from the chemical and immunologic environment of the peripheral vascular system. Physiologic regulation of blood-brain barrier permeability maintains a stable ionic environment in the CNS while permitting the entry of nutrients and precursor molecules and removal of waste materials and metabolites, but blocks the entry of harmful endogenous or exogenous blood-borne agents and severely restricts transmigration of blood leukocytes. The goal of ongoing work in my laboratory is to characterize the intracellular processes in endothelial cells by which the action of inflammatory mediators (cytokines) and chemical signals from supportive cells such as astrocytes regulate or disrupt tight junction integrity and blood-brain barrier permeability. The experimental approaches used to address these questions employ cell culture techniques for co-culturing endothelial cells and astrocytes on the one hand, and intact animal experiments on the other.

I also have an interest in brain injury in chronic alcoholism, and I participate in collaborative studies on neuropathology of neurotropic viruses, neuromuscular disease, cerebrovascular disease and genetic brain disease with other investigators in pathology, neurology, medicine, pediatrics, biochemistry and ophthalmology.

Selected Publications

Stuart CA, Wen G, Peng B, Popov VL, Hudnall SD, Campbell GA: GLUT3 expression in human skeletal muscle. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 279:E855-E861, 2000.

Mansour AM, Saad AJ, Haque AK, Campbell GA, Frangieh GT. Ocular pathology in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Compr Ther. 2002 Summer;28(2):155-9.

Choudhary S, Zhang W, Zhou F, Campbell GA, Chan LL, Thompson EB, Ansari NH. Cellular lipid peroxidation end-products induce apoptosis in human lens epithelial cells. Free Radic Biol Med. 2002 Feb 15;32(4):360-9.

Surendran, S, Rady, PL. Michals-Matalon, K, Quast, MJ, Rassin, DK, Campbell, GA, Ezell, EL, Wei, J, Tyring, SK, Szucs, S, Matalon, R. Expression of glutamate transporter, GABRA6, serine proteinase inhibitor 2 and low levels of glutamate and GABA in the brain of knock-out mouse for Canavan disease. Brain Res. Bull. 61(4):427-435, 2003

Peng, B-H, Lee, JC, Campbell, GA. In vitro protein complex formation with cytoskeleton anchoring domain of occludin identified by limited proteolysis. J. Biol. Chem. 278(49):49644-51, 2003.

Granwehr BP, Lillibridge KM, Higgs S, Mason PW, Aronson JF, Campbell GA, Barrett AD. West Nile virus: where are we now? (review) Lancet Infect Dis. 2004 Sep;4(9):547-56.