2021

We are happy to hear that The Czech Science Foundation has decided to support our research and approved our grant application - this time on “Effect of maternal immunoactivation on the serotonergic system in the fetoplacental unit and the development of the fetal, juvenile and adult brain”.

We are thrilled to work on this exciting topic in cooperation with profesor Aleš Stuchlík’s team at the Laboratory of Neurophysiology of Memory, Prague

We are happy to share with you that our paper entitled “Effect of Selected Antidepressants on Placental Homeostasis of Serotonin: Maternal and Fetal Perspectives” is now published at Pharmaceutics. https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/13/8/1306

In this study, we show that a wide range of antidepressant drugs significantly inhibit SERT- and OCT3-mediated serotonin uptake by the placenta. Our findings thus indicate novel mechanism whereby antidepressants may affect fetoplacental homeostasis of serotonin and contribute to poor pregnancy outcomes.

To understand better the effect of antidepressants use in pregnancy we are currently running long-term treatment studies in rats - so stay tuned for more

Carl Ludwig Award is a prestigious prize given annually by The Scandinavian Physiological Society to a young investigator for an excellent paper published in Acta Physiologica. We are absolutely overjoyed and honored that our paper on serotonin homeostasis in the human and rat placenta has been selected for this year’s award and Rona Karahoda, the first author of this publication, received the prize from the hands of Acta Physiologica Chief Editor, prof Pontus B Persson! 
So proud of the whole team!

Rona and Frantisek are attending a real, in-person conference of The Scandinavian Physiological Society in Stockholm, Sweden. Kudos to the organizing committee for bringing together very interesting sessions on different aspects of physiology.

We are happy to share with you that our paper entitled “Effect of Selected Antidepressants on Placental Homeostasis of Serotonin: Maternal and Fetal Perspectives” is now published at Pharmaceutics. In this study, we show that a wide range of antidepressant drugs significantly inhibit SERT- and OCT3-mediated serotonin uptake by the placenta. Our findings thus indicate novel mechanism whereby antidepressants may affect fetoplacental homeostasis of serotonin and contribute to poor pregnancy outcomes. Read more at: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/13/8/1306

Our review paper on "HIV in pregnancy: Mother-to-child transmission, pharmacotherapy, and toxicity" was published in BBA - Molecular Basis of Disease! Thank you Lukas and Padma Murthi for your collaboration! Thank you Luis Sobrevia for your invitation to contribute! 

See more here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925443921001393?dgcid=rss_sd_all#!

Congratulations dr. Rona Karahoda, Ph.D.!
On Friday, June 25, Rona presented her PhD thesis in front of the Doctoral Board for Pharmacology and Toxicology, Charles University, and defended CUM LAUDE!!! 
During her PhD studies, Rona has authored 9 publications (6 times as first author) with a cumulative IF over 40.32 and average IF = 5.1 (of her original papers, directly related to her dissertation)!
She has also bagged numerous international awards, including the latest one: 2020 Carl Ludwig Award by the Scandinavian Physiological Society!

In one of our projects, our team has been conducting a long-term clinical study to monitor changes in placental functions in patients with uterine inflammation and the effect on fetal neurodevelopment. We are happy that the first part of this project has been published in the prestigious journal Human Molecular Genetics from the UK's Oxford University Press (impact factor = 6,150/Q1 and AIS = 2,100/Q1). In the paper, we performed over 13,000 PCR reactions on a cohort of one hundred and sixty patients and used robust statistical analyses to describe the association between maternal inflammation and tryptophan metabolism in the placenta. Placental tryptophan is a precursor of many neuroprotective and neurotoxic molecules in pregnancy. Thus, tryptophan homeostasis disturbed by inflammation can affect fetal brain development and manifest in adulthood with many psychiatric disorders. The study will continue to follow the neurodevelopment of children exposed to maternal inflammation in utero.

The publication is available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/hmg/ddab169  

On International Women’s Day (8th of March), we celebrate all the hard-working women who continue to break barriers and pave the way for generations We are happy that today we can congratulate one of our own, Veronika who received the great news that her student grant application at the Charles University Grant Agency was successful  This is a brilliant start to her PhD journey and we wish her lots of luck and success!

Congratulations to Hanca, Veronika, Dan and Frantisek for receiving the START grant This programme is a one-time initiative by the Charles University supporting PhD students within the university in their research activities. We are very proud of Hanča for leading the team, and we wish you all great success

We are excited to see the results of our collaboration with Prof. Christiane Albrecht's lab (Bern University, Switzerland) being published! If you are interested in hormonal pathways in the placenta, give it a read

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/4/1704/pdf

....and stay with us, other manuscripts have been submitted!