Polish Academy of Sciences-Medical Sciences Division Awards

On November 30, 2023, during the Plenary Meeting of the Division V - Medical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, scientific awards and distinctions were awarded.
Head of the Molecular Biology Unit MMRi PAS, Professor Barbara Zabłocka PhD and team members: Maria Kawalec PhD, Anna Boratyńska-Jasińska PhD and Piotr Wojtyniak MSc Eng
received the Division Award for a series of 2 publications entitled "Participation of mitochondria in neuronal damage and regeneration in brain ischemia and reperfusion models. The role of mitofusin 2”.
Congratulations to all the winners! 

Nagroda V Wydz. 1

The awarded publications contribute to the better understanding of the mechanisms of neuronal death and survival in response to transient brain ischemia.
A number of phenomena affecting the quality and quantity of mitochondria were analyzed, such as mitochondrial fusion and fission, removal of damaged mitochondria in the process of selective autophagy, and the restoration of mitochondria content by their biogenesis.
The novelty of the research results from analyzing all these phenomena together and presenting experimental data to support the concept of close relationships between these processes. Moreover, the work positively verifies the hypothesis presenting the mitochondrial protein - mitofusin 2, as one of the key proteins regulating the relationship between the mitochondrial dynamics, elimination and biogenesis in surviving neurons in response to a transient ischemic stimulus.


Mitofusin 2 Integrates Mitochondrial Network Remodelling, Mitophagy and Renewal of Respiratory Chain Proteins in Neurons after Oxygen and Glucose Deprivation.
Piotr Wojtyniak 1, Anna Boratynska-Jasinska 1, Karolina Serwach 1, Joanna Gruszczynska-Biegala 1, Barbara Zablocka 1, Jacek Jaworski 2, Maria Kawalec 3
Affiliations:
1 Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
2 International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw, Poland.
3 Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Mol Neurobiol. 2022 Oct;59(10):6502-6518. doi: 10.1007/s12035-022-02981-6. Epub 2022 Aug 13.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12035-022-02981-6

Mitochondrial dynamics, elimination and biogenesis during post-ischemic recovery in ischemia-resistant and ischemia-vulnerable gerbil hippocampal regions.
Maria Kawalec 1, Piotr Wojtyniak 2, Ewelina Bielska 2, Anita Lewczuk 2, Anna Boratyńska-Jasińska 2, Małgorzata Beręsewicz-Haller 2, Małgorzata Frontczak-Baniewicz 3, Magdalena Gewartowska 3, Barbara Zabłocka 2
Affiliations:
1 Molecular Biology Unit, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
2 Molecular Biology Unit, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
3 Electron Microscopy Research Unit, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2023 Mar;1869(3):166633. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2022.166633. Epub 2022 Dec 22.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925443922003040?via%3Dihub