Research topics
- Stem cell biology - mechanisms of cellular reprogramming and differentiation:
- Mechanisms of differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells into cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells and skeletal muscle cells
- Satellite cells differentiation
- Hematopoietic stem cell differentiation;
- Molecular mechanisms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy - regeneration and vascularisation of skeletal and cardiac muscles;
- Vascular biology: molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis and function of endothelial cells;
- Mechanisms of myocardial damage and regeneration;
- Medical biotechnology: gene and cell therapy in modulation of neovascularization, heart and muscle regeneration;
- Cancer biology and anti-cancer therapy: mechanisms of tumor initiation, growth, metastasis and resistance to therapy;
- Role of hypoxia, antioxidant genes and microRNAs in regulation of gene expression;
- The role of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), Nrf2 and microRNAs in cardiovascular system, skeletal muscles, kidney and cancers.
Selected techniques
- Flow cytometry & cell sorting;
- Molecular in vivo imaging;
- Laser microdissection method;
- Gene editing by CRISPR/Cas;
- siRNA, shRNA & microRNAs technology;
- Angiogenic assays in vitro: tube formation on Matrigel, aortic ring assay, spheroid assay;
- In vivo models: hind limb ischemia, wound healing, tumor inoculation, chemical carcinogenesis, mouse model of myocardial infarction;
- Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) technology;
- Gene cloning, construction of plasmids and viral vectors: retroviral, lentiviral, adenoviral, AAV;
- Regulated gene expression: hypoxia-induced and tetracycline-induced expression systems, establishing of stably-transfected cell lines;
- Isolation and culture of primary cells: satellite cells, hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stromal cells, endothelial cells, renal proximal epithelial cells.
Animal models, kept in modern animal facility (SPF - specific pathogen free)
- miR-146a knockout mice
- miR-378a knockout mice
- mdx mice (dystrophin knockout)
- HO-1 knockout mice
- HO-1 knockout GFP mice
- HO-1 floxed mice (knockout and knockin)
- Nrf2 transcriptional knockout mice
- hyperglycaemic mice (db/db)
- Cre-recombinase expressing mice (Cdh5-Cre, Cdh5-CreER, Hoxb5-CreER)
- NSG-SGM3 mice
- Hoxb5-mCherry mice
- miR-34a floxed mice
- Neo1 floxed mice
- Nrf2 floxed mice