Research leader name
Dr. Zoltán Prohászka
The main aim of our research team is to identify molecular patterns involved in the development of immunothrombosis. Immunothrombosis is caused by a disruption of the processes of inflammation, coagulation, thrombocyte activation, endothelial activation, and fibrinolysis that regulate each other precisely. Immunothrombosis also plays an important role in the development of rare thrombotic microangiopathies (such as immune-mediated thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP)) and severe forms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). These diseases cannot be characterized by the same laboratory parameters; therefore, it is assumed that the malfunction of the regulatory processes may not be attributed to the same reasons.
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In our current research, we are comparing the activation patterns of immunothrombotic serine proteases and cytokine profiles with different statistical evaluation methods in the above-mentioned patient’s groups. After selecting some relevant cytokine combinations uniquely for certain diseases, their effects are being investigated in in vitro endothelial cell model systems. Their effects are being compared using transcriptomic, protein expression, and functional (vitality, proliferation, permeability, extracellular vesicular production) assays. These functional investigations of endothelial cells allow us to identify new molecular markers, generally for immunothrombosis or specifically for the given diseases, that may be used as new diagnostic or therapeutic targets.
