Research leader name
Prof. Dr. Andrea Szegedi
The HUN-REN-UD Allergology Research Group is a joint research group of the Department of Dermatology and the Immunology Institute at the University of Debrecen, which started its work on July 1, 2022, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Andrea Szegedi. Currently, the group consists of 3 full-time and 5 part-time researchers. Our research is focused on studies to better understand the pathomechanisms of allergic diseases and to promote therapeutic options, our research topic is “Decision-making role and possible influence of the barrier organs in allergic diseases”.
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The prevalence of allergic diseases, which are the focus of our studies, has increased rapidly over the last decades, with 262 million patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma and 171 million with atopic dermatitis in 2019, according to the World Allergy Organization. These conditions are predominantly early-onset, often lifelong, predisposing to other chronic diseases (obesity) and causing significant deterioration in quality of life. Due to a lack of precise knowledge of their pathogenesis, neither their prevention nor treatment is solved.
Inadequate functioning of the barrier organs/tissues (such as the skin and mucous membranes, which protect against environmental exposures), and damage to their homeostasis are of particular importance in their development. Based on the characteristics of their tissue environment, barriers can determine whether our body responds to stimuli from the outside world with tolerance or inflammation, including allergic reactions. It is not the central immune organs (blood, lymph node, bone marrow) that are thought to be the key immunological decision-makers in the development of allergies, but the function of the peripheral, tissue microenvironment, and accordingly, the study of allergic diseases is closely linked to the investigation of the function of barrier organs and tissues.
As a collaboration between a clinical and a theoretical institute with a strong track record in the field, our research group has a broad methodological and sampling background, ranging from cellular experiments to mouse models, human tissue samples, complex gene expression studies, and their bioinformatic analyses. We aim to compare uniquely two barriers (skin and respiratory mucosa) in physiological and disease-specific settings (allergic diseases, bronchial asthma, atopic dermatitis), focusing on the investigation of barrier-specific decision-making cells with major importance (keratinocytes, sebaceous cells, innate lymphoid cells) and their mediators (epimmunome). Our research may shed light on potential targets for the prevention and therapy of the most common allergic diseases.
