UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases

Charalabos Pothoulakis, MD

Education:
Medical Education:		M.D., Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki Medical School, Greece

Internship:		Internal Medicine, Aristotelian University Medical School, Greece

Residency:		Internal Medicine, Aristotelian University Medical School, Greece

Fellowship:		Gastroenterology, Boston University School of Medicine

Contact Information:

UCLA - David Geffen School of Medicine
675 Charles E. Young Dr. South
1240 MacDonald Research Laboratory
Los Angeles, CA 90095-7019
Phone: (310) 825-9104
Fax: (310) 825-3542

Research Interest:

Dr. Pothoulakis is the Director of the IBD Center at the Division of Digestive Diseases at UCLA and a member of the Executive Committee of CURE. His research program involves studies examining the role of neuropeptides and hormones in several disease states, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Clostridium difficile infection, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. His laboratory is particularly focused on the role of substance P, neurotensin, and corticotropin-releasing hormone in the development of colitis in vivo and the signaling pathways activated in response to these neuropeptides at the cellular level. Other studies examine the role of Toll-like receptors in the development of colitis and the signaling pathways participating in this response in colonic epithelial cells. His recent projects also involve the neuropeptide-dependent mechanisms by which communication between the intestinal mucosa and the fat depots affect the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation. These recent projects attempt to link IBD and overall GI inflammation with obesity and nutrition at the whole animal and adipocyte level.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research: Dr. Pothoulakis' IBD Neuropeptide Center aims to foster translational research from basic and clinical levels that bring together concepts of inflammation, immunology, endocrinology, and obesity fields to systematically study the role of neuropeptides, hormones, and their interaction with the mucosal epithelial and immune system in the pathophysiology of IBD. Dr. Pothoulakis' research attempts to link IBD and overall GI inflammation with obesity and nutrition at the whole animal and adipocyte level. His projects are aimed at enhancing the understanding of the neuroimmune interactions in the pathophysiology of IBD and other inflammatory and non-inflammatory gut conditions.

Selected Publications:

Karagiannides I, Torres D, Tseng Y-H, Bowe C, Espinoza D, Pothoulakis C * Kokkotou *. Substance P as a novel anti-obesity target. * Equally contributing senior authors. Gastroenterology 2008; 134(3):747-55.
Koon H-W, Zhao D, Zhan Y, Moyer MP, Pothoulakis C. Substance P mediates anti-apoptotic responses in human colonocytes via Akt activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) 2007; 104:2013-8.
Rhee SH, Im E, Riegler M, Kokkotou M, O’Brien M, Pothoulakis C. Pathophysiological role of Toll-like receptor 5 engagement by bacterial flagellin in colonic inflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA), 2005; 102:13610-5.
Karagiannides I, Kokkotou E, Tansky M, Tchkonia T, Giorgadze N, O’Brien M, Leeman SE, Kirkland JL, Pothoulakis C. Induction of colitis causes inflammatory responses in mesenteric fat tissue: evidence for substance P-mediated pathways in human mesenteric preadipocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA), 2006; 103:5207-12.
Castagliuolo I, Leeman SE, Bartolak-Suki E, Nikulasson S, Qiu BS, Carraway RE, Pothoulakis C. A neurotensin antagonist, SR 48692 inhibits colonic responses to immobilization stress in rats. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) 1996;93:12611-12615.
Castagliuolo I, Wang C-C, Valenick L, Pasha A, Nikulasson S, Carraway RE, Pothoulakis C. Neurotensin is a proinflammatory peptide in colonic inflammation. J Clin Invest 1999;103:843-849.
Anton PM, Gay J, Mykoniatis A, Pan A, O’Brien M, Brown D, Karalis K, Pothoulakis C. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) requirement in Clostridium difficile toxin A - mediated intestinal inflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) 2004; 101: 8503-8508.
Castagliuolo I, Riegler M, Nikulasson S, Lu B, Gerard C, Gerard NP, Pothoulakis C. NK-1 receptor is required in Clostridium difficile - induced enteritis. J. Clin. Invest 1998;101:1547-1550.
Castagliuolo I, Valenick L, Liu J, Pothoulakis C. EGF receptor transactivation mediates SP-induced mitogenic responses in U-373 MG cells. J. Biol. Chem 2000;275:26545-50.
Castagliuolo I, Keates AC, Qiu B, Kelly CP, Nikulasson S, Leeman SE, Pothoulakis C. Increased substance P responses in dorsal root ganglia and intestinal macrophages during Clostridium difficile toxin A enteritis in rats. Proc Natl Acad Sci (USA) 1997;94:4788-4793.