Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology

Research profile

The Department of Drug Addiction Pharmacology (DAP) was founded in 2017 as a continuation of Drug Addiction Laboratory (established in 2006 as a unit in the Department of Pharmacology). The team is focused on studying various aspects of addiction to psychostimulants (amphetamine, methylenedioxyamphetamine, cocaine), nicotine, alcohol and THC. Study areas of the DAP include molecular and neurochemical mechanisms of addiction and possibilities for pharmacological intervention.

In our research, we use virtually all available research methods that visualize different stages of drug addiction process (initiation, prolonged drug use, craving and other withdrawal symptoms, relapses). The scope of our research includes animal models (experimental depression, transgenic animals), pharmacological manipulations (e.g. lesions, intrastructural and peripheral drug application, injections of selective receptor ligands), biochemical analyzes (changes in receptor and enzyme expression, synaptic and tissue levels of neurotransmitters / neuromodulators) and molecular analysis (mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), gene and miRNA expression, epigenetic analysis).

We closely cooperate with a number of scientific units in Poland (Department of Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy – Medical University of Warsaw, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacodynamics, Faculty of Pharmacy – Medical University of Lublin) and abroad (Department of Nervous System Research – Karolinska Institutet, Faculty of Pharmacy – University of Ferrara, Department of Pharmacological and Biomolecular Research – University of Milan, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy – University of Friedrich Alexander in Erlangen-Nürnberg).

Research methods

Behavioral methods and tests:
Measurement of locomotor activity in animals, intravenous self-administration of addictive substances, free choice alcohol consumption, natural reward self-administration, sucrose preference test, drug discrimination test, elevated zero maze, modified forced swim test
Molecular biology methods:
DNA / RNA isolation, PCR, RT-qPCRe, electrophoresis in agarose and polyacrylamide gels
Biochemical methods:
Protein isolation, BCA protein assay, Western blot, ELISA, in vivo microdialysis
Histological and histochemical methods:
Tissue fixation, receptor autoradiography, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence

Other:

Stereotactic implantation of intracerebral cannulas, intravenous cannulation, intracerebral drug administration, bulbectomy

The most important discoveries in the last 3 years

– Amide derivative of N-acetylcysteine inhibits cocaine relapse in rats with experimental depression.
– Tonic activation of A2A receptors located in the nucleus accumbens induces cocaine relapse.

Professor Małgorzata Filip, dr hab.

Head

+48 12 6623210

mal.fil@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 104

Employees

Professor Małgorzata Kajta, dr hab.

+48 12 6623235

kajta@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 52 A

Małgorzata Frankowska, dr hab.

+48 12 6623268

frankow@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 110

Dawid Gawliński, dr

+48 12 6623293

gawlin@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 112

Irena Smaga-Maślanka, dr hab.

+48 12 6623268

smaga@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 110

Agnieszka Wnuk, dr hab.

+48 12 6623338

wnuk@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 341

Karolina Wydra-Kolarska, dr

wydra@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 109

Joanna Jastrzębska, dr

+48 12 6623267

czyzyk@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 112

Karolina Przepiórska-Drońska, dr

+48 12 6623258

przepior@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 126

Renata Pieniążek

+48 12 6623267

r.pien@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 109

Agata Suder

+48 12 6623214

suder@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 107

Katarzyna Tomczyk

tomczyk@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 128

Kacper Witek, mgr

+48 12 6623267

witek@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 109

Andrzej Łach, mgr inż.

+48 12 6623337

lach@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 341

Bernadeta Pietrzak-Wawrzyńska, mgr

+48 12 6623337

pietrzak@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 341

Employees

Professor Małgorzata Kajta, dr hab.

+48 12 6623235

kajta@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 52 A

Wojciech Krzeptowski, dr

+48 12 6623339

krzepto@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 128

Joanna Szramel, dr

+48 12 6623339

joanna.szramel@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 128

Kinga Daniel, mgr inż.

daniel@if-pan.krakow.pl

Mikolaj Radosz, lic.

mikolaj.radosz@student.uj.edu.pl

Katarzyna Tomczyk

tomczyk@if-pan.krakow.pl

room 128