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!
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
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
Publication in Nature Communications
The article presenting results of cooperation between the team of Dr. Hab. Izabela Sabała from the Protein Engineering Laboratory of Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, PAS and the group of Prof. Jean-Pierre Simorre from the Institute de Biologie Structurale (IBS) in Grenoble was published in Nature Communications. The published research was conducted at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw, the MMRI PAS and Universite Grenoble Alpes.
The article presents the results of research on the interactions between peptidoglycan hydrolases and bacterial cell walls, which play crucial role in the life and virulence of bacteria. Bacterial cell walls are very stable, thus protecting the cell interior against external factors, but at the same time they must be very plastic to allow cell growth and division. Reconciling these two opposing features is possible thanks to the very close coordination and regulation of wall metabolism. It has been observed that peptidoglycan, a key component of bacterial cell walls, has a significant impact on the regulation of two enzymes, lysostaphin and LytM. Using nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry, the authors showed that the structure of Staphylococcus aureus peptidoglycan influences the specificity of hydrolysis carried out by these two enzymes. The obtained results allowed to propose a model in which peptidoglycan cross-linking affects the activity, selectivity and specificity of these two structurally related enzymes in different ways. These results can be very helpful in developing new strategies to combat bacterial infections, which is especially important in the era of spreading antibiotic resistance.
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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42506-w
POLONEZ BIS for MMRI PAS
September - the World Alzheimer's Month – is dedicated to raising awareness of this difficult and severe neurodegenerative disease that affects millions of people around the world. We would like to express our support and solidarity to all patients, families and caregivers who face the challenges of Alzheimer's disease every day. We are proud that through research conducted at our Institute we can contribute to the fight against Alzheimer's disease.
We are pleased to announce that Mossakowski Medical Research Institute was awarded funding in the NCN (National Science Centre) POLONEZ BIS 3 competition for the implementation of the research project entitled
"Study of the regenerative potential of Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous teeth (SHED) in Alzheimer’s disease”.
The Principal Investigator of this project Leila Elyasi, PhD (Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Iran) will carry the project at MMRI PAS under the supervision of Michalina Wężyk, PhD from the Department of Neurogenetics and Functional Genomics of our Institute.
Congratulations and best wishes!
POLONEZ BIS 3 has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement.
"Neuropathology 2023" Conference
On behalf of the Association of Polish Neuropathologists we would like to invite you to the annual “Neuropathology 2023” Conference which will be held under the patronage of MMRI PAS in the conference room of our Institute on the 17-22th of November 2023.
The meeting will be of an interdisciplinary nature and will present the latest scientific / research / experimental and clinical achievements in the field of interest to a wide range of scientists, practitioners and students.
The presentations will include: ‘Neuropathology of vascular brain diseases, neuroinflammationas and neurodegeneration, Neurooncology, Haematology, ‘New WHO classification of CNS tumors.’, ‘Neuropathological – neuroradiological correlations’, ‘Neurotraumatology’ , Neuroscience, Neurotoxicology, Brain banking, Artifical Intelligence
Short oral and poster presentations are also planned. Presentations in English are possible.
The deadline for submitting abstracts and posters is November 3, 2023 via the form on the conference website: www.neuropath.pl
Regsitration link: HERE
Abstracts of the presented papers will be published in the Folia Neuropathologica journal.
Horizon Pathfinder at MMRI PAS
We are proud and happy to announce that our scientists from the Laboratory of Immunology will participate in the European Horizon Pathfinder project
"Bottom-up manufacturing of artificial anti-tumor T cells".
In this project Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences is one of the partners in a consortium consisted of: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) - Coordinator and Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences (Italy) - Partner and Academisch Ziekenhuis Groningen (Netherlands) - Partner.
The research conducted at MMRI PAS will be coordinated by Małgorzata Firczuk PhD, DSc and Magdalena Winiarska PhD, DSc.
Congratulations to all members of the international project team!
About the project:
“Tumor-targeting T cells with engineered chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), generated from a patient's own T cells, are approved for some blood cancers. However, challenges remain due to cost, effectiveness, and safety concerns. In our Pathfinder project, we'll create artificial T cells (ArTCell) that imitate T cell therapy but are safer, better, and more affordable. ArTCells, designed in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs), will replicate vital T cell functions: recognizing tumors and killing them. We'll test ArTCells in labs and mice to confirm their ability to target and destroy tumors, comparing them to state-of-the-art CAR-T cells. ArTCells could overcome existing barriers in cell therapies, offering broader use without being deactivated by tumors.”