Barry Tepperman
Professor
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PH.D. University of Calgary |
Gastrointestinal physiology and pathophysiology. My research is concerned with the mechanisms contributing to maintenance of the gastrointestinal mucosal barrier and the factors that destroy the barrier. I am specifically interested in the role of endogenous factors such as nitric oxide in the maintenance of normal barrier integrity and function. I am also interested in the role of signal transduction mediators such as calcium and protein kinase C in the regulation of intestinal mucosal integrity especially in the initiation and prevention of inflammatory bowel disease including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. . Finally, some of my research projects concern the ontogenic regulation of mucosal integrity in the neonate. This is based on findings that the mucosa of the newborn animal and human is more susceptible to injury than is the intestinal mucosa of mature weaned animals and newborn infants. This correlates clinically with the condition of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis. I am looking at the factors that contribute to the differences in mucosal susceptibility concentrating on certain cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-6, nitric oxide and reactive oxidant generating systems as factors which either initiate or contribute to the intestinal injury associated with this devastating disease. My studies involve both in vivo studies in the anaesthetized animal as well as in vitro studies in freshly isolated and cultured cells to examine cellular integrity and the molecular factors that play a role in intestinal cellular injury.
Tepperman BL, Soper BD, Chang Q. Effect of protein kinase C activation on intracellular Ca2+ signaling and integrity of intestinal epithelial cells. Eur J Pharmacol. 2005 Jul 25;518(1):1-9. Conte M, Soper B, Chang Q, Tepperman B. The role of PKCdelta and PKCepsilon in the neonatal rat colon in response to hypoxia challenge. Pediatr Res. 2004 Jan;55(1):27-33. Epub 2003 Oct 15. Chang Q, Tepperman BL. Effect of selective PKC isoform activation and inhibition on TNF-alpha-induced injury and apoptosis in human intestinal epithelial cells. Br J Pharmacol. 2003 Sep;140(1):41-52. Adams JK, Tepperman BL. Colonic production and expression of IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10 in neonatal suckling rats after LPS challenge. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2001 Apr;280(4):G755-62. Chang Q, Tepperman BL. The role of protein kinase C isozymes in TNF-alpha-induced cytotoxicity to a rat intestinal epithelial cell line. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2001 Apr;280(4):G572-83.
