Department of Cellular Membranology

Our research

Our Department research is focused on the role of membrane proteins, mainly ion channels and metabotropic receptors, in functioning of single neurons, neural networks and the whole organs. The current research areas of the Department are:

• biophysical and pharmacological properties of ion channels and receptors of cellular membranes;
• molecular mechanisms of epilepsy and epileptogenesis and pharmacological agents with antiseizure properties;
• role of membrane receptors and ion channels in synaptic plasticity, learning, integral activity of nervous system and behavior;
• peripheral and central mechanisms of pain and possible ways of its correction;

Methods

Highly qualified Departments’ staff has a strong expertise in virtually all electrophysiological techniques, various disease models and cell/tissue cultural techniques allowing studying physiological functions and some pathologies from molecular to system levels including:

• pharmacological patch clamp studies of different ion channels in acutely isolated cells (pyramidal neurons from hippocampus, cortex and hypothalamus; Purkinje and granule neurons from cerebellum; spinal dorsal horn neurons; primary sensory neurons; glial cells), cultured cells (the same as above; cancer cell lines) and heterologous expression systems (HEK293, CHO and PC-12 lines)
• registration of electrical activity of single neurons, local field potentials, EEG in freely behaving animals
• electrophysiological studies of primary nociception ex vivo and in vivo
• seizure-like activity in acute isolated and cultured brain slices in various models of epilepsy as well as intracranial EEG in various in vivo models of epilepsy;
• wide range of behavioral tests (open field, different mazes, Morris water maze, etc) that allow us to study general locomotor activity, anxiety and depression-like behavior, learning and memory, social behavior, etc

Members

Research staff

• Prof. Oleg Krishtal - the head of department, PhD, Dsc, Professor, Member of Academia Europaea, Full Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
• Dr. Oleksandr Maximyuk - leading researcher, PhD
• Dr. Maksym Storozhuk - leading researcher, PhD, Dsc
• Dr. Olena Isaeva - leading researcher, PhD, Dsc
• Dr. Dmytro Isaev - leading researcher, PhD
• Dr. Ihor Chizhmakov - senior researcher, PhD
• Dr. Andrii Cherninskyi - senior researcher, PhD
• Dr. Anna Kotliarova - senior researcher, PhD
• Tetiana Volkova - researcher
• Dr. Vadym Sydorenko - researcher, PhD
• Andrii Buta - researcher
• Dr. Alina Savotchenko - researcher, PhD
• Dr. Olena Iegorova - researcher, PhD
• Dr. Viacheslav Kulyk - researcher, PhD
• Liudmila Nikolaenko - junior researcher
• Olha Zapukhliak - junior researcher
• Volodymyr Khmyz - junior researcher
• Yurii Tkachenko - junior researcher
• Artur Romanov - junior researcher
• Oleksii Lunko - junior researcher
• Ruslan Bogovyk - junior researcher
• Mykhailo Fedoriuk - junior researcher

Technical staff and secretary

• Liudmila Smolina
• Olena Kotyk

Publications

• Tesoriero, C; Codita, A; Zhang, MD; Cherninsky, A; Karlsson, H; Grassi-Zucconi, G; Bertini, G; Harkany, T; Ljungberg, K; Liljestrom, P; Hokfelt, TGM; Bentivoglio, M; Kristensson, K H1N1 influenza virus induces narcolepsy-like sleep disruption and targets sleep-wake regulatory neurons in mice Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, 113 (3), 2016, E368-E377 (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1521463112, IФ 9,75)
• McGarvey L.P., Butler C.A., Stokesberry S., Polley L., McQuaid S., Abdullah H., Ashraf S., McGahon M.K., Curtis T.M., Arron J., Choy D., Warke T.J., Zholos, A Bradding P., Ennis M., Costello R., Heaney L.G.Increased expression of bronchial epithelial transient receptor 1 potential vanilloid 1 channels in severe asthma Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 133 (3), 2014, 704-712 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jaci.2013.09.016, IФ 12, 49)
• Krishtal O Receptor for protons: First observations on Acid Sensing Ion Channels NEUROPHARMACOLOGY, 94, 2015, 4-8 (DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.12.014, IФ 5,10)
• Ievglevskyi, D Isaev, O Netsyk, A Romanov, M Fedoriuk, O Maximyuk, E Isaeva, N Akaike, O Krishtal Acid-sensing ion channels regulate spontaneous inhibitory activity in the hippocampus: possible implications for epilepsy The Royal Society Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B, 2016, 371(1700). pii: 20150431 (DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0431, IФ 7,06)
• Andriy Buta, Oleksandr Maximyuk, Dmytro Kovalskyy, Volodymyr Sukach, Mykhailo Vovk, Dmytro Isaev, Oleksandr Ievglevskyi, Elena Isaeva, Alina Savotchenko, Oleg Krishtal Novel potent orthosteric antagonist of ASIC1a prevents NMDAR-dependent LTP induction J Med Chem. 2015 Jun 11;58(11):4449-61. (DOI: 10.1021/jm5017329, IФ 6, 26)