Physiology of Epithelia and Transport Processes Group

This work group studies the biology of epithelial cells with an emphasis on the transport mechanisms of intestinal epithelium. Continuously regenerating intestinal epithelium represents an attractive system for the study of mechanisms associated with cell proliferation, differentiation and maintenance of homeostasis. There are essentially two different types of regulation of intestinal epithelium – (1) specific and non-specific reversible regulation under physiological and pathophysiological conditions and (2) irreversible regulation reflecting changing functional demands during ontogenetic development. This regulation is carried out by a number of mechanisms, including humoral, nervous, immune and dietetic signals. Experimental work concentrates on studying the absorption and secretion mechanisms of intestinal epithelium and their regulation systems, especially the intestinal nervous and immune systems, both in animal models and in tissue cultures. Laboratory work uses methods based in electrophysiology (patch clamp), biochemistry (measurement of enzyme activity) and molecular biology (quantitative RT-PCR).

Head: Prof. RNDr. Jiří Pácha, DrSc. (E-mail: jiri.pacha@fgu.cas.cz, tel. 221951762)
Laboratory: Viničná 7, 1^st floor, door no. 138