Terrence
Barrett, MD
Associate
Professor
Gastroenterology
To contact Dr. Barrett:
676 N. St. Clair - #1400
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312-695-4065
E-mail: tabarrett@northwestern.edu
PubMed
Reference Lookup
Research Interests:
The laboratory of Dr. Terrence Barrett is interested in the functional differentiation
of intestinal T cells. They suspect that in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD),
that enteric (gut-derived) antigen is routed to the mesenteric lymph nodes
where it activates peripheral T cells. The activation event determines the
subsequent cell migration pattern by regulating the profile of surface homing
receptors expressed.
To address the factors that regulate the migration of intestinal T cells,
Dr. Barrett’s laboratory has used an adoptive transfer model. Populations
of antigen-specific transgenic (DO11.10) T cells are transferred into nontransgenic
BALB/c mice. Cells are then activated in the periphery, which induces migration
to the intestinal lamina propria. Our current studies show that the T helper
type 1 (Th1) cytokine, IL-12 plays a critical role in directing intestinal
T cell migration. These results have led to the investigation of the role
of chemokines in intestinal T cell migration.
The CXC family of chemokines specifically attracts Th1 cells. Dr. Barrett’s
lab suspects that the binding of chemokines (made in the intestine) regulates
intestinal migration of specific subsets of activated T cells. They plan to
examine how activation of T cells in the periphery upregulate CXC receptor
expression and how recognition of antigen in the tissue helps to accentuate
inflammation by attracting greater numbers of activated Th1 T cells. These
studies are relevant to IBD where tissue destruction is mediated by intense
infiltrates of Th1-type T cells.