SzSA YearBook 2018/19

SZENT-GYÖRGYI JUNIOR MENTORS
DÁNIEL PÉTER VARGA
University of Szeged,
Department of Medical Physics and Informatics,
Group of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism
Address: Korányi fasor 9, H-6720 Szeged, Hungary
RESEARCH AREA
Thrombolysis and thrombectomy stand in the focus of
ischemic stroke therapy, yet the majority of patients cannot
benefit from either of them because of the limited time
window to initiate the procedure. In order to develop a
therapy that improves the chances of successful recovery
of all patients affected, understanding and limiting the
mechanisms of injury progression are essential. The
occurrence of spreading depolarization (SD) originating
from the border of the lesion, considerably contributes to
the progression of ischemic neuronal-loss. Recurrent SDs
perturb the ionic homeostasis of the brain, and are also
often associated with pathophysiological cerebral blood
flow (CBF) responses. As a result, harmful metabolic supplydemand
mismatch is created. Therefore, the prevention of
SD occurrence and the normalization of the associated CBF
response appear to be crucial to limit neurodegeneration
subsequent to the onset of ischemic stroke.
We aim to understand the regulation of various CBF
responses related to SD in a rodent in vivo ischemic stroke
model. We explore the share of the prostaglandin signaling,
one of the key contributors in neurovascular coupling,
during SD with pharmacological manipulation. Our results
are expected to be integrated into the therapy of ischemic
stroke.
TECHNIQUES AVAILABLE IN THE LAB
Application of the Biopac© and LabChart© systems for
data acquisition and analysis, basic experimental surgical
techniques, electrophysiology (DC potential and EEG
recording, measurement of pH and extracellular potassium
concentration in the nervous tissue), experimental
microsurgery, image analysis, intrinsic optical signal analysis,
laser Doppler flowmetry and laser-speckle contrast imaging
for assessing local cerebral blood flow, pharmacology,
statistical methods, computer programming (MATlab)
voltage-sensitive and pH-sensitive dye imaging of cellular
trans-membrane potential.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Hertelendy, P., Varga, D.P., Menyhárt, Á., Bari, F., Farkas, E.
(2018) Susceptibility of the cerebral cortex to spreading
depolarization in neurological disease states: The impact of
aging. Neurochemistry International, 10.
Menyhárt, Á., Farkas, A.E., Varga, D.P., Frank, R., Tóth, R.,
Bálint, A.R., Makra, P., Dreier, J.P., Bari, F., Krizbai, I.A., Farkas,
E. (2018) Large-conductance Ca2 + -activated potassium
channels are potently involved in the inverse neurovascular
response to spreading depolarization. Neurobiology of
Disease, 119:41-52.
Varga, D.P., Menyhárt, Á., Puskás, T., Bari, F., Farkas, E., Kis, Z.,
Vécsei, L., Toldi, J., Gellért, L. (2017) Systemic administration
of L-kynurenine sulfate induces cerebral hypoperfusion
transients in adult C57Bl/6 mice. Microvascular Research,
114, 19-25.
Varga, D.P., Puskás, T., Menyhárt, Á., Hertelendy, P., Zölei-
Szénási, D., Tóth, R., Ivánkovits-Kiss, O., Bari, F., Farkas, E.
(2016) Contribution of prostanoid signaling to the evolution
of spreading depolarization and the associated cerebral
blood flow response. Scientific Reports, 6, 31402.
Varga, D.P., Herédi, J., Kánvási, Z., Ruszka, M., Kis, Z.,
Ono, E., Iwamori, N., Iwamori, T., Takakuwa, H., Vécsei, L.,
Toldi, J., Gellért, L. (2015) Systemic L-Kynurenine sulfate
administration disrupts object recognition memory, alters
open field behavior and decreases c-Fos immunopositivity
in C57Bl/6 mice. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 9,
1-15.
91