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JFMED > Departments > Scientific and Teaching Workplaces > Pre-Clinical Departments > Department of Pharmacology > Research activities

Research activities

LABORATORY OF EXPERIMENTAL PHARMACOLOGY

  • Innovative approaches to influence airway remodelling and inflammation

The research led by Prof. RNDr. Sonia Fraňová, PhD., focuses on the pharmacological influence of the so-called "remodelling" airway diseases, experimentally induced severe allergic asthma and bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, through inhibitors of the RhoA/Rho kinase pathway, p38 MAPK and inhibitors of Janus kinases. Asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are severe multifactorial lung diseases with different etiologies, affecting morphologically distinct airway compartments, but sharing a common feature of remodeling and some common markers of remodeling. Inhibitors of these regulatory enzymes represent an innovative approach to affect airway remodeling. Experiments comprehensively evaluate the antiremodeling potential in animal models of these diseases by examining specific markers of remodeling that characterize epithelial activity and structural changes, the impact of inflammation, factors characterizing extracellular matrix changes, angiogenesis, and subepithelial fibrosis.

The current project: APVV-23-0261 (principal investigator: Prof. RNDr. S. Fraňová, PhD.) 

  • Ion channels and allergic asthma: role and possibilities of their pharmacological influence

Respirology research activity under the leadership of prof. MUDr. Martina Šutovská, PhD. is focused on several membrane ion channels, which are the trigger or executive unit of the Rho-kinase pathway.  Alteration of the activity of some ion channels leads to smooth muscle contraction, increased goblet cell activity, myocyte proliferation and immunological response. Their pharmacological influence in experimental conditions alleviates ongoing airway inflammation, symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases and airway remodeling. The role of TAS2R bitter taste receptors in respiratory diseases associated with chronic inflammation is also under investigation as a novel target structure, the modulation of which may expand the pharmacological options for their treatment in the future.

The current projects: VEGA 1/0042/24 (principal investigator: Mgr. E. Gondáš, PhD.),  GUKE/3093/2024  (principal investigator: Mgr. Jozef Mažerik)

  • Monitoring the kinematics of respiratory epithelial cilia

Laboratory under the leadership of doc. MUDr. Marta Jošková, PhD., offers the possibility to observe and monitor the movement of targets obtained from the respiratory tract of experimental animals or human samples using an inverted microscope connected to a high-speed camera and a computer. The aim of the research is to document as accurately as possible the changes in the movement of respiratory epithelial cilia caused by secondary ciliary dyskinesias, with the possibility of their pharmacological influence. The research also aims to identify the negative impact of drugs and natural substances on the parameters studied, thus offering a more comprehensive view of airway defence mechanisms to prevent secondary complications. The movement parameter analyzed so far was the cilia oscillation frequency. Other research challenges include the development of software to analyse and determine the bending angle and length of cilia, determining the percentage of ciliary and non-ciliary epithelium, and monitoring the synchrony and periodicity of cilia movement using M-mode.

LABORATORY OF PHARMACOKINETICS

The Laboratory of Pharmacokinetics under the leadership of Martin Kertys, PhD. focuses on two main directions of scientific research activities. The first is the development of analytical methods and their application in preclinical and clinical research. The laboratory is equipped with a modern triple quadrupole mass spectrometer and a liquid chromatograph, which allows the analysis of substances at very low concentration levels. Research is mainly focused on the pharmacokinetic and toxicological analysis of drugs and their metabolites in biological samples such as blood, plasma and urine. The second direction is the targeted metabolomic analysis of biological samples. The laboratory has established and optimized methods using commercially available kits from Biocrates Life Science AG (Austria) for metabolomic analyses of various biological matrices, including blood, plasma, urine, CSF, cell cultures and tissues. These analyses can quantify metabolites covering a broad spectrum of biologically relevant substances.

The staff in the laboratory are PharmDr. Martin Kertys, PhD. and PharmDr. Nela Žideková, PhD.

The current project: VEGA 1/0029/24 (principal investigator: PharmDr. M. Kertys, PhD.)

MYCOBACTERIA AND ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE LABORATORY

The primary objective of the research conducted by the research team of Mgr. Matúš Dohál, PhD. under the supervision of prof. MUDr. Juraj Mokrý, PhD. is the development and application of new methods, primarily based on the principle of NGS in the diagnosis of infections caused by tuberculous and non-tuberculous mycobacteria. A unique area of research is the identification of new mechanisms of resistance to first- and second-line antituberculosis drugs and the application of molecular-epidemiological analyses in tracking outbreaks and identifying transmission chains of mycobacterial infections. Highlights of the scientific team's achievements include the identification of novel mutations encoding resistance to streptomycin and pyrazinamide, collaboration with WHO in the development of a catalogue of resistance-associated mutations (https://tbsequencing.who.int/overview), and several published studies focusing on the transmission of resistant forms of tuberculosis and how their incidence is affected with the influx of war refugees from Ukraine.

The current projects: APVV-22-0342, VEGA-1/0093/22 (principal investigator: Prof. MUDr. J. Mokrý, PhD.)

 TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

  • Immunobiological analysis of renal cell carcinoma

The project is implemented under the leadership of Prof. Martina Šutovská, M.D., PhD., in collaboration with the Urology Clinic JFM CU and University Hospital in Martin. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common malignant disease of the kidney with a high mortality rate, which arises from the malignant growth of renal tubular cells. Slovakia is one of the countries with the highest cumulative risk of this disease in Europe. RCC is a hypervascularised tumour richly infiltrated by immune cells. Hyperactivation of signalling pathways is responsible for the increased vascular neoplasia, and immune cells in RCC are a source of cytokines, several of which are involved in neoangiogenesis and also in the progression of the tumour itself. Genetic variations such as single nucleotide polymorphisms are also associated with RCC risk. The aim of the project is to comprehensively analyse the immunological, biochemical and genetic profile of RCC in order to find potential biomarkers of the disease that could be used in the diagnosis of early stages, or relapses, and/or in the development of new therapeutic modalities, which could ultimately prolong and improve the quality of life of patients.

The current project: VEGA 1/0072/23 (principal investigator: Prof. MUDr. M. Šutovská, PhD.)

  • Pharmacogenetics research

The research, led by Michaela Krivosova, PhD, is aimed at a deeper understanding of the genetic factors that influence patients' response to treatment, with the aim of contributing to the development of personalised medicine. The aim is to increase the efficacy and safety of therapies through the identification of genetic markers (genotyping) that can predict drug response and the occurrence of adverse effects. Particular attention is paid to pharmacogenetic aspects of the treatment of tuberculosis and psychiatric diseases.

The current project: EU grant NextGenerationEU through the SR Recovery and Resilience Plan 09I03-03-V04-00207 (principal investigator: PharmDr. M. Krivošová, PhD.)

  • Acute toxicity monitoring of substances under GLP conditions

The method for determining the acute toxicity of substances is a rigorously validated approach used in preclinical drug testing and toxicity assessment of chemicals. The methodological procedures shall be carried out in accordance with OECD recommendations and guidelines. The department has the GLP Certificate G-054 (Laboratory for the implementation of GLP studies of the  Pharmacology Dpt. and the Central Animal Holding Facility of the JLF UK in Martin). The head of the test site is prof. RNDr. Soňa Fraňová, PhD.

 Since 2010 employees of Pharmacology Department JLF UK every year have published reviewed almanac of Department of Pharmacology with name New trends in pharmacotherapy - you can find every publication in PDF in section Zborníky.