Faculty

John Richburg

Richburg, John
Associate Professor
Head, Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology

E-mail

Website

Main Office: PHR 5.218C
Phone: 512 471-4736

Alternate Office: PHR 5.222
Phone: 512 471-9171

Mailing Address:
The University of Texas at Austin
PHR-Pharmacology
1 University Station A1915
Austin, TX 78712-1095
Research Lab Students:
  • Chandrasekeran, Yamini
  • Cobarrubia, Jessica
  • Giammona, John
  • Harman, James
  • Lin, Yichen
  • McKee, Chad
  • Yao, Pei-Li

    • Research Summary:

    The broad focus of my research is the investigation of the mechanism(s) by which environmental toxicants affect male reproduction. My specific research interests are directed towards thee understanding of the signaling pathways that regulate germ cell death via apoptosis in the testis and how environmental toxicants can disrupt this process to result in disease. Apoptosis, or programmed cell death occurs in the testis normally as a physiologic mechanism to limit the number of germ cells in the seminiferous epithelium. Recent evidence suggests that exposure to chemicals found in the environment may play a role in male infertility and the pathogenesis of testicular cancer. However, despite the association of exposure to these agents and infertility, little is known of the mechanisms by which they act on the male reproductive system. Current projects in the lab are centered on revealing paracrine-signaling systems responsible for toxicant-induced germ cell death via apoptosis. Our current focus is on understanding the role of the �death receptors� (e.g., Fas/ DR3, 4, 5 & 6) and their ligands in the testis. Current experimental approaches include: confocal microscopy, laser capture microdissection, northern and western blot analysis, RT-PCR, in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. The ultimate goal of this research is to define the final common mechanism(s) of toxicant-induced germ cell death and provide insights into the role that environmental toxicant exposures play in male infertility and testicular cancer.
    Research Images:

    Rat Testis cross section - PAS & H staining showing normal phenotype TUNEL staiing to indicate apoptotic germ cells

     
    Publications:
    2009Yao PL, Lin YC, Richburg JH., MEHP-induced disruption of junctional complexes in the seminiferous epithelium of the rodent testis is mediated by MMP2, Biology of ReproductionIn Press view.
    2009Sinkevicius KW, Laine M, Lotan TL, Woloszyn K, Richburg JH, Greene GL., Estrogen-dependent and -independent estrogen receptor-alpha signaling separately regulate male fertility., Endocrinology 150:2898-905 view.
    2009Yao PL, Lin YC, Richburg JH., TNF alpha-mediated disruption of spermatogenesis in response to Sertoli cell injury in rodents is partially regulated by MMP2., Biology of Reproduction 80:581-9 view.
    2007Yao, P., Lin, Y., Sawhney, P., Richburg, JH. , Transcriptional regulation of FasL Expression and Participation of sTNF-alpha in response to Sertoli cell injury, Journal of Biological Chemistry 282:5420-5431 view.
    2006McKee, CM and Richburg, JH, Testicular germ cell sensitivity to TRAIL-induced apoptosis is dependent on p53 expression and is synergistically enhanced by DR5 agonistic antibody treatment, Apoptosis 11:2237-2250 view.
    2006Chandrasekaran, Y, McKee, CM, Ye, Y and Richburg, JH , Influence of TRP53 status on FAS membrane localization, CFLAR (c-FLIP) ubiquitinylation, and sensitivity of GC-2spd (ts) cells to undergo FAS-mediated apoptosis, Biology of Reproduction 74:560-568 view.
    2005Chandrasekaran, Y and Richburg, JH , The p53 protein influences the sensitivity of testicular germ cells to mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate-induced apoptosis by increasing the membrane levels of Fas and DR5 and decreasing the intracellular amount of c-FLIP, Biology of Reproduction 72:206-213 view.
    2005Sawhney, P, Giammona, CJ, Meistrich, ML and Richburg, JH , Cisplatin-induced long-term failure of spermatogenesis in adult C57/Bl/6J mice, Journal of Andrology 26:136-145 view.

     
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