Biomedicine
TalTech priority area
Research classification (Frascati)
Head of the research group
Research group member
Doctoral students
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).
Related projects
Related department
Department of chemistry and biotechnology
Publications related to the research group
- Varon C., Azzi-Martin, L., Khalid, S., Spuul, P., et al. Helicobacters and cancer, not only gastric cancer? // Seminars in Cancer Biology (2022) vol. 86, part 2, p. 1138-1154.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.08.007 - Duran, C., Ciucci, S., Palladini, A., Ijaz, U. Z., Zippo, A. G., Sterbini, F. P., Masucci, L., Cammarota, G., Ianiro, G., Spuul, P. et al. Nonlinear machine learning pattern recognition and bacteria-metabolite multilayer network analysis of perturbed gastric microbiome // Nature communications (2021) vol. 12, 1, art. 1926, 22 p.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22135-x - Alonso, F., Spuul, P., Genot, E. Podosomes in endothelial cell - microenvironment interactions // Current opinion in hematology (2020) vol. 27, 3, p. 197-205.
https://doi.org/10.1097/MOH.0000000000000575 - M.J. Ryan, M. Schloter, G. Berg, Sarand, I. et al. Development of microbiome biobanks – challenges and opportunities // Trends in microbiology (2021) vol. 29, 2, p. 89-92.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2020.06.009 - Cernava, T., Rybakova, D., Buscot, F., Clavel, T., McHardy, A. C., Meyer, F., Meyer, F., Overmann, J., Stecher, B., Sarand, I. et al. Metadata harmonization-standards are the key for a better usage of omics data for integrative microbiome analysis // Environmental Microbiome (2022) vol. 17, art. 33.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-022-00425-1 - Sirp, A., Roots, K., Nurm, K., Tuvikene, J., Sepp, M., Timmusk, T. Functional consequences of TCF4 missense substitutions associated with Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, mild intellectual disability, and schizophrenia // The journal of biological chemistry (2021) vol. 297, 6, art. 101381.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.101381 - Callens, K., Fontaine, F., Sanz, Y., Bogdanski, A., D‘Hondt, K., Lange, L., Smidt, H., Overbeek, L. van, Kostic, T., Sarand, I. et al. Microbiome-based solutions to address new and existing threats to food security, nutrition, health and agrifood systems' sustainability // Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems (2022) vol. 6, art. 1047765.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2022.1047765 - Luhila, Õ., Paalme, T., Tanilas, K., Sarand, I. Omega-3 fatty acid and B12 vitamin content in Baltic algae // Algal Research (2022) Vol. 67, Art. 102860.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2022.102860 - Tähemaa, T., Sarkans, M., Sarand, I., Pohlak, M., Niidas, A., Saarna, M. The effect of UV-C radiation on the durability of 3D printed plastic parts in disinfectant devices // IOP conference series : materials science and engineering (2021) Vol. 1140, art. 012046, 6 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/1140/1/012046 - Alonso, F., Spuul, P., Kramer, I., Genot, E. Variations sur le thème des podosomes, une affaire de contexte // M/S : médecine sciences (2018) vol. 34, 12, p. 1063 - 1070 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1051/medsci/2018296 - Chi, P-Y., Spuul, P., Tseng, F-G. et al. Cell Migration in Microfluidic Devices : Invadosomes Formation in Confined Environments // Cell migrations : causes and functions. Cham : Springer Nature, 2019. p. 79-103. (Advances in experimental medicine and biology ; 1146).
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17593-1_6 - Alonso, F., Spuul, P., Decossas, M. et al. Regulation of podosome formation in aortic endothelial cells vessels by physiological extracellular cues // European journal of cell biology (2020) vol. 99, 4, art. 151084, 13 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejcb.2020.151084 - Georgess, D., Spuul, P., Le Clainche, C. et al. Anti-osteoclastic effects of C-glucosidic ellagitannins mediated by actin perturbation // European journal of cell biology (2018) vol. 97, 8, p. 533–545 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejcb.2018.09.003 - Berg, G., Rybakova, D., Fischer, D., Sarand, I. et al. Microbiome definition re-visited: old concepts and new challenges // Microbiome (2020) vol. 8, 1, art. 103, 22 p. : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00875-0 - Alonso, F., Spuul, P., Daubon, T. et al. Variations on the theme of podosomes : A matter of context // Biochimica et biophysica acta : molecular cell research (2019) vol. 1866, 4, p. 545-553 : ill.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbamcr.2018.12.009 - Berg, G., Rybakova, D., Fischer, D., Cernava, T., Vergès, M.-C. C., Charles, T.C., Chen, X., Cocolin, L., Eversole, K., Sarand, I. et al. Erratum: Microbiome definition re-visited: old concepts and new challenges (Microbiome (2020) 8 (103) DOI: 10.1186/s40168-020-00875-0) // Microbiome (2020) vol. 8, 1, art. 119, 1 p..
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-020-00905-x - Sessitsch, A., Wakelin, S., Schloter, M., Maguin, E., Cernava, T., Champomier-Verges, M-C., Charles, T. C., Cotter, P. D., Ferrocino, I., Kriaa, A., Lebre, P., Cowan, D., Lange, L., Kiran, S., Markiewicz, L., Meisner, A., Olivares, M., Sarand, I., Schelkle, B., Selvin, J., Smidt, H., van Overbeek, L., Berg, G., Cocolin, L., Sanz, Y., Fernandes, W. L., Liu, S. J., Ryan, M., Singh, B., Kostic, T. Microbiome interconnectedness throughout environments with major consequences for healthy people and a healthy planet // Microbiology and molecular biology reviews (2023) vol. 87, 3
https://doi.org/10.1128/mmbr.00212-22 - Sarand, I., Traksmaa, A., Klava, D., Kunkulberga, D., Straumite, E., Galoburda, R., Murniece, R., Juodeikiene, G., Bartkevics, V., Bartkiene, E. Traditional breads from the Baltic Countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) // Traditional European breads : An illustrative compendium of ancestral knowledge and cultural heritage. Cham : Springer Nature, 2023. p. 41–59.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-23352-4_2