Mariusz Majewski - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Mariusz Majewski

International journal of molecular sciences, Jan 31, 2018

The present study analysed changes in the distribution pattern of cocaine- and amphetamine-regula... more The present study analysed changes in the distribution pattern of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) in the enteric nervous system (ENS) of the human colon challenged by adenocarcinoma invasion, using the double-labelling immunofluorescence technique. In control specimens, CART immunoreactivity was found in neurons of all studied plexuses, representing 30.1 ± 4.1%, 12.9 ± 5.2%, and 4.1 ± 1.3% of all neurons forming the myenteric plexus (MP), outer submucous plexus (OSP), and inner submucous plexus (ISP), respectively. Tumour growth into the colon wall caused an increase in the relative frequency of CART-like immunoreactive (CART-LI) neurons in enteric plexuses located in the vicinity of the infiltrating neoplasm (to 36.1 ± 6.7%, 32.7 ± 7.3% and 12.1 ± 3.8% of all neurons in MP, OSP and ISP, respectively). The density of CART-LI nerves within particular layers of the intestinal wall did not differ between control and adenocarcinoma-affected areas of the human colon....

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2017

It is generally known that in the skin sympathetic fibers innervate various dermal structures, in... more It is generally known that in the skin sympathetic fibers innervate various dermal structures, including sweat glands, blood vessels, arrectores pilorum muscles and hair follicles. However, there is a lack of data about the distribution and chemical phenotyping of the sympathetic chain ganglia (SChG) neurons projecting to the skin of the pig, a model that is physiologically and anatomically very representative for humans. Thus, the present study was designed to establish the origin of the sympathetic fibers supplying the porcine skin of the hind leg, and the pattern(s) of putative coincidence of dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DβH) with pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), somatostatin (SOM), neuronal nitric oxide synthase, substance P, vasoactive intestinal peptide, neuropeptide Y (NPY), leu5-enkephalin and galanin (GAL) using combined retrograde tracing and double-labeling immunohistochemistry. The Fast Blue-positive neurons were found in the L 2-S 2 ganglia. Most of them were small-sized and contained DβH with PACAP, SOM, NPY or GAL. The findings of the present study provide a detailed description of the distribution and chemical coding of the SChG neurons projecting to the skin of the porcine hind leg. Such data may be the basis for further studies concerning the plasticity of these ganglia under experimental or pathological conditions.

Neuropeptides, 2017

The aim of the present study was to establish the origin and chemical phenotyping of neurons invo... more The aim of the present study was to establish the origin and chemical phenotyping of neurons involved in skin innervation of the porcine hind leg. The dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) of the lumbar (L 4-L 6) and sacral (S 1-S 3) spinal nerves were visualized using the fluorescent tracer Fast Blue (FB). The morphometric analysis of FB-positive (FB+)neurons showed that in the L 4 , L 5 , S 1 and S 2 DRGs, the small-sized perikarya constituted the major population, whereas in the L 6 and S 3 DRGs the medium-sized cells made up the major population. In all these ganglia, large-sized FB+ perikarya constituted only a small percentage of all FB+ neurons. Immunohistochemistry revealed that small-and medium-sized FB+ perikarya contained sensory markers such as: substance P (SP), calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) and galanin (GAL); as well as various other factors such as somatostatin (SOM), calbindin-D28k (CB), pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). Meanwhile large-sized FB + perikarya usually expressed SP, CGRP or PACAP. In the lumbar DRGs, some large cells also contained SOM and CB. Double-labeling immunohistochemistry showed that SP-positive neurons co-expressed CGRP, GAL or PACAP; while PACAP-positive cells coexpressed GAL or nNOS. Neurons stained for SOM were also immunoreactive for CB or GAL, while neurons stained for nNOS were also immunoreactive for GAL. In conclusion, the present data has indicated that the distribution and chemical phenotyping of the porcine skin-projecting neurons are different within DRGs of the lumbar (forming a femoral nerve) and sacral (forming a sciatic nerve) spinal nerves.

Journal of Clinical Medicine, 2021

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), i... more Venous thromboembolism (VTE), including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), is a severe disease affecting the human venous system, accompanied by high morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of the study was to establish a new porcine VTE model based on the formation of the thrombus in vivo. The study was performed on 10 castrated male pigs: thrombus was formed in each closed femoral vein and then successfully released from the right femoral vein into the circulation of animals. In six pigs PE was confirmed via both computed tomography pulmonary angiography and an autopsy. Our research presents a novel experimental porcine model of VTE that involves inducing DVT and PE in the same animal in vivo, making it suitable for advanced clinical research and testing of future therapies.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021

Although guanethidine (GUA) was used in the past as a drug to suppress hyperactivity of the sympa... more Although guanethidine (GUA) was used in the past as a drug to suppress hyperactivity of the sympathetic nerve fibers, there are no available data concerning the possible action of this substance on the sensory component of the peripheral nervous system supplying the urinary bladder. Thus, the present study was aimed at disclosing the influence of intravesically instilled GUA on the distribution, relative frequency, and chemical coding of dorsal root ganglion neurons associated with the porcine urinary bladder. The investigated sensory neurons were visualized with a retrograde tracing method using Fast Blue (FB), while their chemical profile was disclosed with single-labeling immunohistochemistry using antibodies against substance P (SP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), galanin (GAL), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), somatostatin (SOM), and calbindin (CB). After GUA treatment, a slight decrease in the number of...

Polish Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 2017

The present in vitro study investigated the influence of doxazosin on the contractility of the ur... more The present in vitro study investigated the influence of doxazosin on the contractility of the urinary bladder in female pigs with experimentally induced cystitis. Fifteen juvenile female piglets (18-20 kg body weight) were randomly assigned into three groups (n=5 animals each): i) control (clinically healthy animals, without doxazosin treatment), ii) animals with induced inflammation of the urinary bladder, but without doxazosin treatment (experimental group I) and iii) animals with inflamed bladder, treated orally with doxazosin (0.1 mg/kg body weight for 30 days; experimental group II). Thereafter, the pigs were sacrificed and strips of the bladder trigone were suspended in organ baths. The tension and amplitude of the smooth muscles was measured before and after exposition to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; 10-6-10-4 M), acetylocholine (ACh; 10-5-10-3 M) and norepinephrine (NE; 10-9-10-7 M). 5-HT caused an increase in the tension of contractions in all the groups and the amplitude in...

Toxins, Jan 3, 2017

The present study investigated the influence of intravesically instilled resiniferatoxin (RTX) or... more The present study investigated the influence of intravesically instilled resiniferatoxin (RTX) or tetrodotoxin (TTX) on the distribution, number, and chemical coding of noradrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibers (NF) supplying the urinary bladder in female pigs. Samples from the bladder wall were processed for double-labelling immunofluorescence with antibodies against cholinergic and noradrenergic markers and some other neurotransmitter substances. Both RTX and TTX caused a significant decrease in the number of cholinergic NF in the urinary bladder wall (in the muscle coat, submucosa, and beneath the urothelium). RTX instillation resulted in a decrease in the number of noradrenergic NF in the submucosa and urothelium, while TTX treatment caused a significant increase in the number of these axons in all the layers. The most remarkable changes in the chemical coding of the NF comprised a distinct decrease in the number of the cholinergic NF immunoreactive to CGRP (calcitonin gene-rel...

Marine Drugs, 2017

The treatment of micturition disorders creates a serious problem for urologists. Recently, new th... more The treatment of micturition disorders creates a serious problem for urologists. Recently, new therapeutic agents, such as neurotoxins, are being considered for the therapy of urological patients. The present study investigated the chemical coding of caudal mesenteric ganglion (CaMG) neurons supplying the porcine urinary bladder after intravesical instillation of tetrodotoxin (TTX). The CaMG neurons were visualized with retrograde tracer Fast blue (FB) and their chemical profile was disclosed with double-labeling immunohistochemistry using antibodies against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neuropeptide Y (NPY), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), somatostatin (SOM), calbindin (CB), galanin (GAL) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). It was found that in both the control (n = 6) and TTX-treated pigs (n = 6), the vast majority (92.6% ± 3.4% and 88.8% ± 2%, respectively) of FB-positive (FB+) nerve cells were TH+. TTX instillation caused a decrease in the number of FB+/TH+ neurons immunopositive to NPY (88.9% ± 5.3% in the control animals vs. 10.6% ± 5.3% in TTX-treated pigs) or VIP (1.7% ± 0.6% vs. 0%), and an increase in the number of FB+/TH+ neurons immunoreactive to SOM (8.8% ± 1.6% vs. 39% ± 12.8%), CB (1.8% ± 0.7% vs. 12.6% ± 2.7%), GAL (1.7% ± 0.8% vs. 10.9% ± 2.6%) or nNOS (0% vs. 1.1% ± 0.3%). The present study is the first to suggest that TTX modifies the chemical coding of CaMG neurons supplying the porcine urinary bladder.

Functional & Integrative Genomics, 2017

The human placenta is a particular organ that inseparably binds the mother and the fetus. The pro... more The human placenta is a particular organ that inseparably binds the mother and the fetus. The proper development and survival of the conceptus relies on the essential interplay between maternal and fetal factors involved in cooperation within the placenta. In our study, high-throughput sequencing (RNA-seq) was applied to analyze the global transcriptome of the human placenta during uncomplicated pregnancies. The RNA-seq was utilized to identify the global pattern of the gene expression in placentas (N = 4) from women in single and twin pregnancies. During analyses, we obtained 228,044 transcripts. More than 91% of them were multi-exon, and among them 134 were potentially unknown protein coding genes. Expression levels (FPKM) were estimated for 38,948 transcriptional active regions, and more than 3000 of genes were expressed with FPKM >20 in each sample. Additionally, all unannotated transcripts with estimated FPKM values were localized on the human genome. Highly covered splice junctions unannotated in the human genome (6497) were identified, and among them 30 were novel. To gain a better understanding of the biological implications, the assembled transcripts were annotated with gene ontology (GO) terms. Single nucleotide variants were predicted for the transcripts assigned to each analyzed GO category. Our results may be useful for establishing a general pattern of the gene expression in the human placenta. Characterizing placental transcriptome, which is crucial for a pregnancy's outcome, can serve as a basis for identifying the mechanisms underlying physiological pregnancy, as well as may be useful for an early detection of the genomic defects.

European Urology Supplements, 2012

European Urology Supplements, 2005

European Urology Supplements, 2002

Folia histochemica et cytobiologica / Polish Academy of Sciences, Polish Histochemical and Cytochemical Society, 2006

The aim of the present study was to establish the origin of the motor, autonomic and sensory inne... more The aim of the present study was to establish the origin of the motor, autonomic and sensory innervation of the L1-L2 segment of the porcine longissimus dorsi muscle (LDM), in order to provide morphological basis for further studies focusing on this neural pathway under experimental conditions, e.g. phototerapy and/or lateral electrical surface stimulation. To reach the goal of the study, multiple injections of the fluorescent neuronal tracer Fast Blue (FB) were made into the LDM region between the spinal processes of the vertebrae L1 and L2. The spinal cord (Th13-S1 segments) as well as the sensory and autonomic ganglia of interest, i.e., dorsal root (DRG) and sympathetic chain ganglia from corresponding spinal cord levels were collected three weeks later. FB-positive (FB+) motoneurons were observed exclusively within the nucleus ventromedialis at L1 and L2 spinal cord level, forming the most ventro-medially arranged cell column within this nucleus. Primary sensory and sympathetic ...

Folia histochemica et cytobiologica / Polish Academy of Sciences, Polish Histochemical and Cytochemical Society, 2005

Lateral electrical surface stimulation is one of methods used in the therapy of the progressive f... more Lateral electrical surface stimulation is one of methods used in the therapy of the progressive form of idiopathic scoliosis (IS) in children and youth. However, there are data suggesting that this method may lead to serious adverse side effects, when used for a too long period of time per day. To clarify this issue, the present study was aimed at disclosing possible changes in the ultrastructural appearance of rabbit supraspinal muscles undergoing long-term stimulation (9 h per day, 3 months), an animal model successfully used to mimic the situation in humans. In comparison to the control animals, muscles of "overstimulated" rabbits exhibited clear signs of microscopical lesions, including depletion and disintegration of myofilaments, proliferation, dilatation and, sometimes, swelling of sarcoplasmic reticulum and/or mitochondria, as well as signs of destruction of the Z line. The above-mentioned abnormalities, especially the signs of degenerative processes associated wit...

Journal of Elemntology, 2009

Clinical studies were carried out in the period of 2003-2008 at the Provincial Children's Rehabil... more Clinical studies were carried out in the period of 2003-2008 at the Provincial Children's Rehabilitation Hospital in Ameryka near Olsztyn (Poland). The study involved a group of children and youths exhibiting spinal deformity progression in idiopathic scoliosis (IS) of more than 5 o per year according to the Cobb scale. Four hundred and fifty patients between 4 and 15 years of age were divided into three groups (n = 150). Group I received 2-hour and group II 9-hour treatment of Lateral Electrical Surface Stimulation (LESS), respectively, whereas group III (control) was treated only with corrective exercises for 30 minutes twice a day. LESS was performed as 24-month treatment with the use of a battery-operated SCOL-2 stimulator manufactured by Elmech, Warsaw, Poland. The effectiveness of this method was confirmed in the treatment of spinal IS in children and adolescent patients, especially when the initial spinal deformity does not exceed 20 o according to the Cobb scale. A short-duration electrostimulation-2 hours daily-was found to produce results similar to those obtained after overnight, 9-hour electrostimulation. Moreover, the analysis of the Harrington prognostic index F confirms the positive effect of LESS in both groups of patients (2 h and 9 h of LESS).

European Urology Supplements, 2010

BTX is an neurotoxin, which in recent years has been applied in the effective treatment for many ... more BTX is an neurotoxin, which in recent years has been applied in the effective treatment for many neurogenic urinary bladder disorders. However, it use in urological practice is still in the developmental stages and the full mechanisms of its action remain elusive. As revealed by our previous studies RTX triggers a significant decrease in the number of neurons containing calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP), somatostatin (SOM) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and an increase in the number of cells containing pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) and galanin (GAL). In turn, TTX causes a significant increase in the number of PACAP-immunoreactive (IR) sensory neurons and a decrease in the number of cells containing NOS, calbindin (CB) and SOM. Because BTX, in comparison with RTX and TTX, has not only different binding points to the nerve terminals, but also dissimilar mechanisms of pharmacological action, it may be of great interest to compare the mode of action of these neurotoxins on chemical coding of sensory neurons supplying urinary bladder. material & methods: The study was performed on 12 juvenile female pigs. The retrograde tracer Fast Blue (FB) was injected to urinary bladder wall in all animals. Three weeks later 6 pigs were injected with BTX by aid of a cystoscope (100 IU per animals, Botox), while remaining 6 animals were instilled with the vehiculum only. After week all animals were sacrificed using transcardial perfusion method and DRGs were collected. The neurochemical characterization of bladder sensory neurons was performed using routine double-immunofluorescence labeling techniques on 10-µm-thick cryostat sections. results: In control group, FB + neurons immunoreactive to substance P (SP), CGRP, PACAP, NOS, GAL, CB and SOM constituted 45%, 36%, 26%, 6,5%, 6%, 6% and 3% of all retrogradelly traced DRG neurons, respectively. The injections of BTX in the urinary bladder wall lead to a significant decrease in the number of neurons containing SP, CGRP and GAL (26%, 12% and 1,2 %, respectively) and a distinct increase in the number of cells immunolabeled for PACAP, NOS and SOM (42%, 27% and 10%, respectively). Conclusions: These preliminary data show that BTX profoundly changes the chemical coding of DRG cells supplying porcine urinary bladder but the effects of its action is largely different from that of RTX and TTX. As may be judged from the present study, an influence of BTX on the sensory bladder innervations has to be taken into account, when this neuroactive agent is used in the experimental therapy of selected neurogenic bladder illnesses. Furthermore, it seems that TTX, in contrast to BTX and RTX, can be used in case of hypoactivity of afferent part of reflex arc responsible for transmission of sensory information from urinary bladder.

European Urology Supplements, 2009