Joel Pachter
Professor
Department of Cell Biology
University of Connecticut Health Center
Farmington, CT 06032
phone 860 679 3698
fax 860 679 3693
email pachter@nso1.uchc.edu
Education
B.A., Queens College, NY
Ph.D., New York University
Research interests
The major focus in this laboratory is to elucidate the mechanisms by which leukocytes and pathogens invade the central nervous system (CNS). Movement of cellu-lar elements into the CNS is typically limited by microvessel endothelial cells compris-ing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). It is thus believed that alterations in the BBB contrib-ute to the pathogenesis of various neuroinflammatory, neuroinfectious and neurodegen-erative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, AIDS dementia complex and Alzheimer disease. To evaluate the role played by the BBB in these disorders, we are employing an in vitro culture model of the human BBB recently developed in this laboratory. Studies in progress in this laboratory include the following: 1) Cytokine regulation of monocyte transmigration across the BBB; 2) Viral interactions with the BBB; 3) Regulation of glu-cose transport across the BBB; and 4) Inflammatory mechanisms in Alzheimer disease. In addition to use of the in vitro BBB model, pathogenic studies are underway (and planned) involving cytochemical evaluation (e.g., immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, and in situ (PCR) of human brain tissue specimens for expression of genes thought to regulate BBB permeability.
Department of Cell Biology Faculty
