Despite its numerous side effects, morphine and the opioids derived from this drug, belong among the only effective options for treatment of pain linked to oncological illness. The effect of opioids on the efficiency of cytostatics in vitro has been the subject of many papers but the results are often contradictory, which could be probably caused by the great variability of experimental models and approaches. Some recent studies indicate that the consequences of activation of opioid signaling in astrocytes display certain differences from other cell types. Glioblastoma multiforme, the tumor derived from astrocytes, belong among those with the worst prognosis, mostly for the frequent resistance to cytostatics. In this thesis we focused on the effect of morphine, methadone and DADLE on the efficiency of cytostatics of temozolomide, doxorubicin and vincristine on the cell lines C6 and CCF-STTG1 derived from glioblastomas. Also, we examined the effect of the above mentioned opioids on the level of oxidative cellular stress and using N-acetylcysteine, a ROS scavenger, we verified the role of oxidative stress in cellular systems activated by the effect of the mentioned opioids on the efficiency of cytostatics. We also assessed opioid receptors and the receptor TLR4 in the examined cell lines. The...

NG2-glia, a fourth major glial cell population, were shown to posses wide proliferation and differentiation potential in vitro and in vivo, therefore the aim of this study was to compare the rate of proliferation and differentiation potential of NG2-glia after different types of brain injuries, such as global and focal cerebral ischemia (GCI, FCI) or stab wound (SW), as well as during aging. Moreover, we aimed to determine the role of Sonic hedgehog (Shh) in NG2-glia proliferation/differentiation after FCI. We used transgenic mice, in which tamoxifen triggers the expression of red fluorescent protein (tdTomato) in NG2-glia and cells derived therefrom. Proliferation and differentiation potential of tdTomato+ cells in sham operated animals (controls) and those after injury were determined by immunohistochemistry employing antibodies against proliferating cell nuclear antigen and glial fibrillary acidic protein. FCI was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion, GCI by carotid occlusion with hypotension and SW by sagittal cortical cut. Shh signaling in vivo was activated or inhibited by Smoothened agonist or Cyclopamine, respectively. Compared to controls, the proliferation rate of tdTomato+ cells was increased after all types of injuries, while it declined in aged mice (15-18- months-old) after...

Cells are the basic units of life. Studying complex tissues and whole organs requires an understanding of cell heterogeneity and responses to stimuli at the single-cell level. Even the cells, which belong to the same cell type, behave differently at a specific moment and contain different amount of mRNA. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is one the most sensitive methods for the detection of mRNA, however, gene expression profiling in single cells leads to a large amount of missing data due to the fact that the transcript is missing, or is below the level of detection. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a new statistical approach for analysis of single cells. In this thesis the potential of single-cell gene expression profiling using the high throughput instrument Biomark, focusing on data analysis and biological interpretation, is discussed. Data normalization and handling of missing data are two important steps in data analysis that are performed differently at the single-cell level. Single cells are not normalized by reference genes but the number of cells as a normalizer is applied. Missing data are replaced by value, which is equaled one quarter of transcript amount in the cell. Furthermore it is shown how single-cell gene expression data can be viewed and how subpopulations...

The neuropathogenic trematode Trichobilharzia regenti (Schistosomatidae) infects the central nervous system of birds and mammals. During its migration through the spinal cord, the parasite causes tissue damage and triggers inflammation which is likely responsible for the elimination of the parasite. In this thesis, the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-17 were detected by immunohistochemistry in the affected spinal cord of C57BL/6J mice during the infection. Additionally, IL-4 and IL-6, participating in the regulation of the inflammation and tissue repair, respectively, were noticed. Astrocytes, microglia and other, yet unidentified cells, produced these cytokines. Furthermore, splenic T-lymphocytes were phenotyped by flow cytometry to characterize peripheral immune response. At the peak of nervous tissue inflammation, mixed (Th1/Th2) cellular immune response was observed. Taken together, this thesis extended the knowledge of cytokine immune response of mice infected with T. regenti and also confirmed that inflammation in the nervous tissue influences the polarization of peripheral immune response. Key words: cytokines, spleen, CNS, microglia, astrocytes, Trichobilharzia regenti, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry

Astrocytes, as one of the glial cell types, have many important functions in healthy functioning of the central nervous system (CNS) but also in its pathology. Since they play a key role in maintenance of ionic, neurotransmitter and water homeostasis in CNS, they possess the ability to regulate their volume. Hypo- or hyperosmotic stress can trigger regulatory volume decrease or increase in astrocytes in order to stabilize their volume. During aging, astrocytes undergo many changes together with the rest of the brain. In order to determine whether these alterations involve also regulatory volume mechanisms, we employed three dimensional morphometry, which comprises confocal microscope scanning of fluorescently labelled astrocytes in brain slices of EGFP/GFAP mice and quantification of astrocyte volume during different pathological stimuli. Time-dependent volume changes of hippocampal astrocytes were recorded while applying either hypoosmotic solution or solution with high extracellular potassium concentration. In the four different age groups studied in the experiment, several differences in volume changes were discovered together with some sex-dependent alterations in astrocyte volume. Additionally, in accordance with previous studies, two subpopulation of astrocytes were identified using...

A central nervous system (CNS) can be invaded by plenty of parasites, including parasitic helminths. Host's immune response during such infections includes not only participation of peripheral lymphocytes, but also astrocytes and microglia, resident glial cells present in the CNS. Activation of astrocytes and microglia has been recently demonstrated also in mice infected by neurotropic avian trematode Trichobilharzia regenti (Digenea: Schistosomatidae) for which mammals represent accidental hosts. The parasite does not mature in them and elicits development of inflammatory reaction in the CNS which may take part in parasite's destruction. Employing in vitro experiments, this thesis aimed at evaluation of the possible role of astrocytes and microglia in murine immune response to T. regenti. For this purpose, primary astrocyte and microglia culture preparations were established and the cells were then stimulated by antigens of T. regenti (homogenate of transformed cercariae, recombinant cathepsins B1.1 and B2). After that, production of nitric oxide and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1 beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha) was measured. The results revealed that in vitro stimulated astrocytes and microglia increase production of nitric oxide, IL-6 and TNF-alpha. Such response to parasite's antigens could influence...

Neuropathic pain is one of the most debilitating disorders. Currently available treatments for neuropathic pain are still unsatisfactory as they have only limited treatment effect and patients may suffer from unwanted side effects. Mechanism-based approaches to neuropathic pain treatment are considered to be more effective. Therefore multiple studies are dedicated to study the pathophysiological mechanisms of neuropathic pain. One of the possible underlying mechanism that causes neuropathic pain is neuroinflammation. Recent studies suggested that angiotensin II ( main effector molecule of the renin-angiotensin system) via its receptors in the central nervous system may be involved in the neuroinflammatory processes. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of angiotensin receptor type 1 in the developement and maintenance of neuropathic pain induced in animal model. Spinal nerve ligation (L5) was used as a model of peripheral neuropathy. Our results showed that treatment with AT1R blocker losartan markedly reduced thermal hyperalgesia and reduced increased sensitivity to mechanical stimuli in the SNL-operated rats.This indicates a possibly significant role of AT1 receptors in the development of neuropathic pain, probably due to reduction of neuroinflammation in the nervous system. These findings...

Recent breakthroughs in the RNA quantification of single cells are rapidly transforming the view on biology and medicine. Flexibility and sensitivity of reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) make it an ideal method for quantification of single-cell material, but its limits had not been yet fully explored. In this thesis, various factors influencing RT-qPCR performance in single-cell application have been assessed, including conditions of sample collection and processing, importance of quality control, performance of reverse transcription, preamplification and role of qPCR assays. We showed that prolonged time for single cell collection as well as repeated freeze-thaw cycles had negligible effect on RT-qPCR data quality. Direct lysis routinely applied for RNA extraction from single cells may be scaled up to 256 cells. The comprehensive comparison of 11 reverse transcriptases in low RNA input conditions identified 2 best-performing enzymes. Decrease in preamplification volume as well as poor primer design resulted in the loss of sensitivity. Finally, the established workflow has been applied to profile gene expression of astrocytes in mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) identifying important components of ALS-induced changes to astrocyte transcriptome. Altogether, the thesis...

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurological disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of motor neurons and voluntary muscle degeneration. Astrocytes play a major role in regulation of the disease onset and progression due to their intimate association with neurons. Regulation of ionic homeostasis is one of their key functions and its failure has been linked to several neurological diseases. The aim of this thesis was to explore differences in membrane properties of astrocytes in ALS. To fulfill this aim, a double transgenic mouse strain with ALS-like phenotype and a specific expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein in astrocytes was generated. To phenotype this strain, two sensorimotor tests, wire grid hang test and rotarod test, were conducted. Immunohistochemistry was used to characterize the strain on a cellular level and to explore changes of specific ion channels. Functional properties of astrocytes were explored using the patch clamp technique. The double transgenic strain has the characteristic ALS-like phenotype and is comparable to the original strain with differences in symptom onset and progression between models and sexes. On the cellular level, there are characteristic ALS features, specifically loss of motor neurons and astrogliosis....

Helminth neuroinfections represent a serious health issue, but the mechanisms of the host immune response often remain neglected despite the fact they might contribute to pathogenesis. This is partly due to the unavailability of clinical samples and the lack of suitable laboratory models. Herein, I focused on the characterization of several aspects of the immune response of mice infected with the neuropathogenic avian schistosome Trichobilharzia regenti. After the percutaneous infection of mice (accidental hosts), most T. regenti schistosomula are entrapped and eliminated in the skin, but the parasite antigens initiating the protective immune reaction are not known. Our in vitro experiments revealed that T. regenti cathepsin B2, a cysteine peptidase used for the skin penetration, activates bone marrow-derived dendritic cells much stronger than the parasite homogenate, suggesting its role in initiating the mixed type1/2 host immune response. However, some schistosomula manage to escape from the skin and continue their migration to the spinal cord. Here they crawl preferentially within the white matter which we demonstrated by the robust 3D imaging techniques, ultramicroscopy and micro-CT. The invasion of the spinal cord is accompanied by striking hypertrophy of astrocytes and microglia. We showed...