Neurológiai és pszichiátriai betegségek in vitro modellezése indukált pluripotens őssejtek felhasználásával: fókuszban az Alzheimer-kór és a szkizofrénia

Over the past decade we witnessed the birth of a new scientific area that lies at the borders of developmental biology, stem cell biology, basic and clinical neuroscience. In vitro disease modeling refers to the approach that exploits the capacity of stem cells for self-renewal and pluripotency by generating specific cell types that are relevant for a given disorder. Based on this method, neurological and psychiatric disorders can be investigated by differentiating stem cells into neurons in a dish, and studying the relevant neuronal populations affected in the pathophysiology of the disorder in terms of specific cellular phenotypes. The advent of induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) has made it possible to reprogram IPSCs from somatic cells of patients carrying specific genetic risk variants, and to analyze the in vitro cellular findings in the context of the clinical picture. Pluripotent stem cell based disease modeling offers an alternative solution for invasive and mostly not performable central nervous system biopsies in neuropsychiatric disorders, and is an appealing laboratory method for studying biomarkers of these disorders and for future drug development. This review summarizes the pluripotent stem cell based disease modeling literature in two important neuropsychiatric disorders, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia

Funkcionális nanoszerkezetű bevonatok = Functional nanostructured layers

A projekt keretében tanulmányoztuk nanostrukturált bevonatok, nanokompozitok és önszerveződéssel kialakított rétegek fizikai és kémiai tulajdonságait, vizsgáltuk a felületmódosítás kinetikáját és hatásmechanizmusát. Megvizsgáltuk ezen módszerek alkalmazhatóságát funkcionális bevonatok előállítására. Eljárást dolgoztunk ki új típusú felületmódosításra acél és vas felületén, amelyek alkalmasak korrózióvédő rétegként történő alkalmazásra. Optimalizáltuk a rétegképzés során alkalmazott kísérleti körülményeket. Módszert dolgoztunk ki mágneses Fe nanoporok előállítására, valamint vas nanorészecskék fotoaktív és szigetelő tulajdonságú ZnO nanoréteggel történő bevonására. Lézeroptikai és számítógépes szimulációs módszert dolgoztunk ki vízfelszíni nanorészecskék kontakt nedvesedésének jellemzésére. Nanorészecskék szabályozott szerkezetű LB-rétegeit állítottuk elő, melyek alkalmasak antireflexiós bevonatok előállítására és antireflexiós hatás szabályozására. Nanoszerkezetű Ni bevonatokat állítottunk elő pulzáló elektrokémiai eljárással Watt? s típusú elektrolitból fémes és nem fémes hordozóra. Felületmódosított AFM szenzor segítségével az atomi erő mikroszkópia módszerén alapuló lokális felületi energia meghatározás egy új metodikáját dolgoztuk ki és alkalmaztuk különböző energiájú modellfelületek minősítésére. | The aim of the project was to study the physical and chemical properties of nanostructured coatings, nanocomposites and self-assembled nanolayers. The possibilities to apply these methods for preparing functional coatings have been investigated. New surface modification methods for iron and steel have been developed, for anticorrosive purpose. The experimental conditions of layer formation have been optimised. Method for preparation of magnetic iron nanopowder, and coating of iron nanoparticules with fotoactive and isolating ZnO nanolayers have been elaborated. Laser-optical and computer simulation method has been developed to characterise the contact wettability of nanoparticules at water surface. LB-layers of nanoparticules with controlled structure have been prepared, which may be applied as antireflexive coating and control antireflexion effect. Nanostructured Ni coatings have prepared on metallic and non-metallic substrate by electrochemical pulse technique from Watt?s type electrolyte. A microscopic method based on surface modification of AFM tip has been developed for determining the local energy. An evaluation process has been established and its ability to determine the adhesion strength in nanoscale spatial variation has been demonstrated on model surfaces

Legionella prevalence and risk of legionellosis in Hungarian hospitals

Nosocomial legionellosis is a growing concern worldwide. In Hungary, about 20% of the reported cases are health-care associated, but in the absence of legal regulation, environmental monitoring of Legionella is not routinely performed in hospitals. In the present study, 23 hospitals were investigated. The hot water distribution system was colonized by Legionella in over 90%; counts generally exceeded the public health limit value. Hot water temperature was critically low in all systems (<45 °C), and large differences (3–38 °C temperature drop) were observed within buildings, indicating insufficient circulation. Most facilities were older than 30 years (77%); however, new systems (n = 3) were also shown to be rapidly colonized at low hot water temperature. Vulnerable source of drinking water, complex distribution system, and large volume hot water storage increased the risk of Legionella prevalence (OR = 28.0, 27.3, 27.7, respectively). Risk management interventions (including thermal or chemical disinfection) were only efficient if the system operation was optimized. Though the risk factors were similar, in those hospitals where nosocomial legionellosis was reported, Legionella counts and the proportion of L. pneumophila sg 1 isolates were significantly higher. The results of environmental prevalence of legionellae in hospitals suggest that the incidence of nosocomial legionellosis is likely to be underreported. The observed colonization rates call for the introduction of a mandatory environmental monitoring scheme

Inflammasome activation in end-stage heart failure-associated atrial fibrillation

Aims Inflammatory pathways are increasingly recognized as an important factor in the pathophysiology of both heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, there is no data about inflammation-related histological and molecular alterations in HF-associated AF. The objective of our study was to investigate inflammatory pathways and fibrosis in end-stage HF- associated AF. Methods and results Left atrial samples of 24 male patients with end stage ischemic HF undergoing heart transplantation were analysed. Twelve patients suffered from sustained AF while the others had no documented AF. The expression of inflam- masome sensors and their downstream signalling were investigated by Western blot. No differences were observed in the ex- pression of inflammasome sensors between the two groups, while cleaved caspase-1 increased tendentiously in the AF group (P = 0.051). Cleaved caspase-1 also showed significant correlation with the expression of interleukin-1β and its cleaved form in the total population and in the AF group (P < 0.05). The presence of myocardial and epicardial macrophages were assessed by ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) immunostaining. Number of macrophages showed a tendency towards elevation in the left atrial myocardium and epicardium of AF compared with SR group. The amount of total and interstitial fibrosis was determined on Masson’s trichrome-stained sections. Histological assessment revealed no difference between AF and SR groups in the amount of either total or interstitial fibrosis. Conclusions This is the first study on inflammation-related differences between HF with SR or AF showing elevated inflam- masome activity and enhanced macrophage infiltration in left atrial samples of patients with AF