Biomedicine

TalTech priority area
Research classification (Frascati)
Head of the research group
Research group member
Keyword
Helicobacter pylori
invadosomes
liver damage
actin cytoskeleton
microbiome
Overview
Biomedicine lab investigates human pathogenHelicobacter pylori (HP) and its role in the development of liver diseases. HP is a Gram-negativebacterium living in the hostile environment ofthe human stomach. About 70% of the adultpopulation in Estonia is infected with HP. Thebacterium causes gastritis and peptic ulcers, and,in some cases, gastric cancer. HP can also affectother organs including the liver. However, themechanisms by which HP causes liver damageand promotes carcinogenesis remain largely unknown. Ongoing research is expected to increaseour understanding of the mechanisms behindbacteria-induced carcinogenesis.Main research topics include:‚ Role of Helicobacter pylori-induced invadosomes in liver damages. We havepreviously shown that infection with HPinduces the formation of invadosomes inhepatocytes. We are currently investigating the mechanism behind this phenomenon using in vitro approach complementedwith transcriptome sequencing.‚ Clinical aspects of Helicobacter pyloriinduced liver diseases. We are using thelivers of mice infected with HP to analyseshort- and long-term effects of the infection with focus on different markers suchas YAP1 and CD44.‚ Alteration of gut microbiota by Helicobacter pylori leading to the progressionof liver diseases. For this study, we arecollecting samples from Estonian patients.Our goal is to characterize Estonian HPstrains, their effect on mouth/stomach/gutmicrobiota and liver.‚ Effect of probiotic lactic acid bacteriaon HP and HP-induced inflammatoryresponse.In addition, Biomedicine laboratory is part of thecollaborative project investigating Severe AcuteRespiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) and developing molecular virological toolsto study the virus. This work is a collaborationbetween the research group of Dr. SarmientoGuerin from TalTech and the virologists fromTartu University (Prof. Merits and Assoc. Prof. Varjak).
Period of activity of the research group
Related department
Department of chemistry and biotechnology
Publications related to the research group