Dr. Bressler received his B.S. degree in biology from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1973 and his Ph.D. degree in physiology from Rutgers University in 1978. His postdoctoral training at UCLA was in neurosciences, where he studied the involvement of glial cells in response to toxic agents. After his postdoctoral training, Dr. Bressler continued his studies on glial cells at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. Dr. Bressler has been a research scientist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute since 1988 where he has focused his studies to the effects of lead (Pb) on glial cells as well as other types of cells in the central nervous system. He also directs the Trace Metals Laboratory, which is responsible for measuring lead in samples in biological fluids and the environment.

The influence of the environment on neurodevelopment has been known for centuries but the identification of specific toxicants in the environment and the mechanism in which they interfere with neurodevelopment is poorly understood. To better understand interactions between toxicants and the neurodevelopment, our laboratory has taken two approaches. First, we have been identifying transporters that mediate the uptake of toxicants through the intestine and into the brain. We found, for example, that an iron transporter mediates the uptake of toxic metals such as lead and cadmium, which was observed in human intestinal cells. In the brain, however, lead transport was not mediated through iron transporters but appeared to involve newly discovered zinc transporters. Additionally, trivalent metals such as aluminum and lanthanum activate iron transporters and also increase the transport of toxic metals in brain cells. Second, we are examining the effect of toxicants on the regulation of apoptosis. In the developing brain, apoptosis is a natural process for removing neurons that fail to make synaptic connections. Our results suggest that very low concentrations of methyl mercury and other heavy metals interfere with apoptosis. In preventing neuronal death, neural pathways might fail to form and neurodevelopment would suffer.

Bressler JP, Olivi L, Cheong JH, Kim Y, Maerten A, Bannon D. Metal transporters in intestine and brain: their involvement in metal-associated neurotoxicities. Hum Exp Toxicol. 26:221-9, 2007

Kim Y, Olivi L, Cheong JH, Maertens A, Bressler JP. Aluminum stimulates uptake of non-transferrin bound iron and transferrin bound iron in human glial cells. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 220:349-56, 2007

Aschner M, Fitsanakis VA, dos Santos AP, Olivi L, Bressler JP. Blood-brain barrier and cell-cell interactions: methods for establishing in vitro models of the blood-brain barrier and transport measurements. Methods Mol Biol. 341:1-15. 2006

Weil M, Bressler J, Parsons P, Bolla K, Glass T, Schwartz B., Blood mercury levels and neurobehavioral function. JAMA., 293:1875-82, 2005

Cheong, JH, Bannon, D., Olivi, L., Kim, Y., and Bressler J.P. Different mechanisms mediate uptake of lead in a rat astroglial cell line. Toxicological Sciences:77(2):334-40, 2004

Bannon, DI, Abounader, R.M., Lees, PSJ, and Bressler, J.P. Effect of DMT1 Knockdown on iron, cadmium and lead uptake in Caco-2 cells. Am J Physiol:28:C44-50, 2003

Joseph Bressler, Ph.D.

Research Scientist
Laboratory of Neurotoxicology Dept. Neurology
Kennedy Krieger Institute

707 North Broadway, Baltimore MD 21215
(map & address)

Telephone: (443) 923-2670
Email: bressler@kennedykrieger.org

Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences
School Of Public Health
Johns Hopkins University

Faculty | Clinical Programs | Research