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Disorders of iron metabolism in skin and chronic liver diseases
Krátká, Karolína ; Horák, Jiří (advisor) ; Ehrmann, Jiří (referee) ; Lata, Jan (referee) ; Martásek, Pavel (referee)
Iron is one of the important biogenic trace elements and its role in the mammalian body is indispensable. In nature there is another element with similar characteristics. Iron is part of a series of compounds that provide key functions such as cellular respiration and oxygen transport to tissues. It is also important for cell proliferation and differentiation, the regulation of gene expression and applies also in the immune system. Given that the effects of iron accumulation in genetic hemochromatosis have been investigated in detail, in recent years, increasing attention and concern about the consequences of iron accumulation also in other diseases. Because the results of previous studies are inconclusive and often mutually contradictory, the aim of this work to analyze and clarify the relationship between HFE gene mutations and iron metabolism in the pathogenesis and progression of some skin and chronic liver disease among genetic hemochromatosis.
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Eukaryotic and prokaryotic nitric oxide synthase - structure-function studies
Mikula, Ivan ; Martásek, Pavel (advisor) ; Entlicher, Gustav (referee) ; Král, Vladimír (referee)
Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule in organisms. It plays a role in wide spectrum of physiological and pathophysiological processes, including vasodilatation, neurotransmission and host defense. The gaseous molecule of NO is produced by oxidative reaction catalyzed by proteins from the family of nitric oxide synthases (NOSs). Three NOS isoforms were identified in mammals, endothelial (eNOS), neuronal (nNOS) and inducible or immunologic (iNOS). Some bacteria harbor genes coding for proteins homologous to the mammalian NOS oxygenase domain and showing NO-producing activity in vitro. NO generated by pathologic organisms such as B. anthracis and S. aureus is supposed to play a critical role in the pathophysiological processes during the infection. Comparative study of bacterial NOS-like proteins and mammalian NOSs confirmed their principal similarity, but also revealed differences in the interactions of distinct bacterial proteins and mammalian NOS isoforms with different analogs of substrate L-arginine and various ligands. On the basis of the kinetics measurement of NO-rebinding a second NO-binding site in the active center of NOS was predicted. Further, the regulation of NO dynamic and release from the protein by the active site Hbonding network connecting the heme, the substrate and BH4...
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Molecular genetic and clinical neurological exmaination in autosomal recessive forms of hereditary neuropathies Charcot-Marie-Tooth
Baránková, Lucia ; Bojar, Martin (advisor) ; Martásek, Pavel (referee) ; Voháňka, Stanislav (referee)
The Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) diseases are the most common inherited neuropathies. CMT is characterized clinically by distal muscle wasting and weakness, reduced reflexes and impaired distal sensation and by a sensory motor neuropathy neurophysiologically. The severity of the disease varies enormously depending to a large extent on the underlying genetic defect. The current clinical classification of CMT is done using electrophysiological criteria into type 1 (demyelinating) and type 2 (axonal) and further sub-classification is done according to inheritance pattern. A solely genetic classsification is not possible at present as all the causative genes for CMT are not known. Autosomal recessive CMT (AR CMT) forms are rare in European populations. The responsible genes have been discovered just in recent years. The disease has usually early onset and fast progressing and severe course. Mutations in GDAP1 gene (ganglioside- induced differentation associated proteine-1) soon showed to be the most common cause of CMT in families with AR pedigrees. They were found in patients with demyelinating (CMT4A) as well as axonal (CMT4C4) CMT. Common GDAP1 mutations are consquence of founder effect. Mutations in PRX (periaxin) gene are responsible for demyelinating CMT type (CMT4F). Approximately in a half of the CMT...
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Analysis of the LMNA gene and the SH3TC2 gene among Czech patients with hereditary neuropathy Charcot-Marie-Tooth type 1 and 2
Laššuthová, Petra ; Seeman, Pavel (advisor) ; Martásek, Pavel (referee) ; Fajkusová, Lenka (referee)
My PhD thesis can be devided into two parts: 1. Hereditary motor-sensory neuropathies (HMSN) 2. Selected muscle disorders The main emphasis was on the first part - hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies. Research was focused on autosomal recessive forms - demyelinating type CMT4C and axonal type CMT2B1. Most of the results obtained are related to these disorders. Data, which were obtained, are unique and were published in international journals with impact factor. Results obtained from CMT4C study are accepted for publication in Clinical Genetics. Results obtained in LMNA study (CMT2B1) were published in Journal of Human Genetics. The author performed and validated these new methods and original results, which are due to be used in genetic molecular testing of patients with hereditary neuropathies and muscle disorders: 1. Sequencing of all coding exons of the SH3TC2 gene. First mutations in the SH3TC2 gene in Czech HMSN I patients were found. 2. The prevalent mutation among Czech CMT4C patients was proven to be p.Arg954Stop. 3. Real-time PCR assay targeted at detection of the prevalent mutation p.Arg954Stop in the SH3TC2 gene was validated and is now used in our lab on a daily basis as a quick and efficient screening. 4. Molecular genetic testing of the SH3TC2 gene was introduced into the routine...
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Study of signal systems with special focus on the role of nitric oxide: gene expression, regulation and pharmacological modulation in hepatocytes and adipocytes
Kutinová Canová, Nikolina ; Farghali, Hassan (advisor) ; Červinková, Zuzana (referee) ; Martásek, Pavel (referee)
Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in surprising array of vital physiological and pathophysiological phenomena. The expression of nitric oxide synthases, endothelial (eNOS) and inducible (iNOS), was demonstrated in rat liver and white adipose tissue among others. Therefore, the goals of the present thesis were to provide in vitro data about NO in the liver and white adipose tissue and to assess: 1) the effects of selective immunosuppressive drugs, cyclosporin A (CsA) and tacrolimus (FK 506), and nonspecific and specific iNOS inhibitors on NO production and iNOS expression during endotoxemic insult using primary rat hepatocyte culture; 2) spontaneous NO production under various culture conditions with comparison of its influence on functional status of hepatocytes in conventional cell culture and in hepatocyte bioreactors; 3) effects of S-nitroso-N-acetyl penicillamine (SNAP), D- galactosamine (D-GalN), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), LPS+D-GalN and thapsigargin (TG), a selective inhibitor of a sarco-endoplasmic reticulum-Ca2+ -ATPase, on apoptotic/necrotic markers in relation to NO production; 4) the effect of LPS on lipolysis in relation to iNOS stimulation; and 5) the interplay between NO production and β3-adrenoreceptor (β3- AR)/cAMP pathway on lipolysis in rat epididymal adipocyte culture. We found that CsA, FK...
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Hemoprotein Nitric Oxide Synthase in Aplysia Californica
Buganová, Michaela ; Martásek, Pavel (advisor) ; Pelouch, Václav (referee) ; Druga, Rastislav (referee)
Nitric oxide (NO) plays a crucial role in neuronal signaling in a variety of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. Nitric oxide synthases (NOS) are heme-containing monooxygenases that catalyze the oxygen dependent oxidation of L-arginine to NO and L-citrulline. The NO produced by NOS activity is a gaseous molecule that diffuses easily through membranes and acts inter or intracellularly. NO activates metal-containing enzymes, including soluble guanylate-cyclase (sGC) that increase levels of the messenger molecule cyclic 3,5-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) (1, 2) which in turn mediate various pathophysiological or physiological functions in neurons. Nevertheless, many aspects of nitrergic neurons and NO function in the central nervous system (CNS) are unclear. The aim of research described in this thesis was to characterize neuronal NOS, proteins metabolically linked to NOS and NO signaling pathways in the CNS of Aplysia cali/ornica (Aplysia), a popular experimental model in cellular and system neuroscience. The biochemical characteristics of Aplysia NOS (AcNOSj described here revealed its calcium-/calmodulin-(Ca/CaM) and NADPH dependence. A representative set of inhibitors for mammalian NOS isoforms also suppressed NOS activity in Aplysia Polyclonal anti-rat nNOS antibodies hybridized with a putative purified...
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název v anglickém jazyce není uveden
Stopková, Pavla ; Zvolský, Petr (advisor) ; Martásek, Pavel (referee) ; Michalová, Kyra (referee)
Psychiatric illnesses represent a substantial part of civilization diseases and their frequency is rising. Depressive episode and alcohol addiction are among the 10 most serious conditions of our time. Epidemiological studies show that every year 100 million people worldwide will suffer depression. At one stage in our lifetime 17% of us will go through a depressive episode. According to Scheene, psychiatric day hospitals fulfil four major tasks: (Scheene, A. H. et al, 1988): They are an alternative to classical psychiatric inpatient care They follow after classical psychiatric inpatient care They are an intensive form of outpatient care They are used for long term rehabilitation of patients with chronic psychiatric disorder One of the major shortcomings of psychiatric day hospital research is the fact that over the last two decades particularly, a broad variety of conceptual models have proliferated through the whole of Europe and the US. They range from crisis intervention and drop-in centres to long term rehabilitative services or highly specialized day centres and there are not many surveys being carried out to assess the detailed characteristics of these services. Therefore the research focuses mainly on comparing acute psychiatric day care with traditional inpatient treatment. Systematic...
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Molecular genetic investigation of autosomal dominant demyelinating forms of Chrcot-Marie-Tooth hereditary neuropathy and in Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease
Vyhnálková, Emílie ; Seeman, Pavel (advisor) ; Nevšímalová, Soňa (referee) ; Martásek, Pavel (referee)
We evaluated the relative frequency of each mode of inheritance in the large group of CMT fam i1ies gathered in the DNA laboratory of the Dept. of Child Neurology of the 2nd Medica! School (including famiJies wi th already detected causal mutations). The frequency of dominant and sporadic forms is approximately equal (40% of families). In a small percentage of families (2 0k'), the autosomal recessive (AR) mode of inheritance (two or more affected siblings) was recognized. In the rest of the families (18%) there are not enough reliable data on the clinical state of the family members to indicate the mode of inheritance. Further we evaJuated the rela tive frequency of inheritance modes in the "unconfirmed" group of CMT families with ou t detected causal mutation (which previously tested negative for the CMTlA / HNPP forms and / or for mlltations in some of the following CMT-associated genes - Cx32, MPZ, PMP22, EGR2, NEFL, SIMPLE). The frequency of dominant and sporadic forms in this group is somewhat different from the large cohort of families. The frequency of dominant pedigrees is low r (30%) and the frequency of sporadic cases higher (50%). This may indicate that, in general, we can expect the detection rate of CMT causes to be higher in dominant pedigrees compared to sporadic CMT cases. In this study I...
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