Research profile

• calcium homeostasis with an emphasis on calcium- and lipid-binding proteins, including mammalian and plant annexins
• early stages of biomineralization with a focus on biogenesis and the function of matrix vesicles
• membrane dynamics and membrane repair process
• vesicular transport with a focus on intracellular transport of cholesterol in norm and pathology
• lipid metabolism in health and disease with a focus on signal transduction and transport of ions, metabolites and xenobiotics through biological membranes
• ion channels formed by calcium- and  membrane-binding proteins with a focus on nucleotides as intracellular messengers and their target proteins
• annexin-related human diseases, annexinopathies

Current research activities

• structure-function relationship within the mammalian family of membrane- and calcium-binding  proteins, annexins, with special emphasis on the physiological and pathological mineralization
• ion channel properties of annexins
• participation of annexins in transport of cholesterol and secretion of catecholamines
• factors affecting annexins, alkaline  phosphatase, and  S100  protein  functioning during matrix vesicles-mediated biological mineralization

Selected publications

Strzelecka-Kiliszek A., Mebarek S., Roszkowska M., Buchet R., Magne D., Pikuła S. (2017) Functions of Rho family of small GTPases and Rho-associated coiled-coil kinases in bone cells during differentiation and mineralization. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1861: 1009-1023.

Francois-Moutal L., Ouberai M.M., Maniti O., Welland M.E., Strzelecka-Kiliszek A., Woś M., Pikuła S., Bandorowicz-Pikuła J., Marcillat O., Granjon T. (2016) Two-step membrane binding of NDPK-B induces membrane fluidity decrease and changes in lipid lateral organization and protein cluster formation. Langmuir, 32: 12923-12933.

Woś M., Szczepanowska J., Pikuła S., Tylki-Szymanska A., Zabłocki K., Bandorowicz-Pikuła J. (2016) Mitochondrial dysfunction in fibroblasts derived from patients with Niemann-Pick type C disease. Arch Biochem Biophys, 593: 50-59.

Ren Z., Do L.D., Bechkoff G., Mebarek S., Keloglu N., Ahamada S., Meena S., Magne D., Pikula S., Wu Y., Buchet R. (2015) Direct determination of phosphatase activity from physiological substrates in cells. PLoS One, 10(3): e0120087.

Ćmoch A., Podszywalow-Bartnicka P., Palczewska M., Piwocka K., Groves P., Pikula S. (2014) Stimulators of mineralization limit the invasive phenotype of human osteosarcoma cells by a mechanism involving impaired invadopodia formation. PLoS One, 9(10): e109938.