Research profile

• unconventional myosins and actin-binding proteins in cell migration and intracellular trafficking: studies on normal and transformed mammalian cells
• muscle plasticity and muscle pathology
• effects of arginine deprivation on cell migration and invasiveness
• calcium signaling
• multiple signaling pathways of selected nucleotide receptors
• role of prion protein in Alzheimer disease and other tauopathies
• the mechanism of cytotoxicity of the cytosolic form of prion protein.

Current research activities

• involvement of unconventional myosins (in particular of class VI) in cell migration and intracellular trafficking of organelles and nuclear functions
• analysis of interaction of myosin VI with its tissue-specific partners
• understanding mechanisms of limb girdle muscle dystrophy (LGMD): analysis of LGMD patients’ muscle biopsies
• probing arginine analogs as a component of a potential arginine deprivation-based anti-cancer therapeutical strategy
• non-calcium signaling from P2X7 nucleotide receptor
• crosstalk between calcium and small Rho GTPases signaling in glioma cells
• prion protein in therapy of Alzheimer disease
• the role of prion protein in amyloidogenesis and neurotoxicity of Tau protein
• the consequences of the interaction of cytosolic form of prion protein with microtubular cytoskeleton.

Selected publications

Jarmula A, Łusakowska A, Fichna JP, Topolewska M, Macias A, Johnson K, Töpf A, Straub V, Rosiak E, Szczepaniak K, Dunin-Horkawicz S, Maruszak A, Kaminska AM, Redowicz MJ. (2019) ANO5 mutations in the Polish limb girdle muscular dystrophy patients: Effects on the clinical phenotype and protein structure. Scientific Reports 9:11533.

Nieznanska H, Boyko S, Dec R, Rędowicz MJ, Dzwolak W, Nieznanski K. (2021) Neurotoxicity of oligomers of phosphorylated Tau protein carrying tauopathy-associated mutation is inhibited by prion protein. BBA Molecular Basis of Disease, 1867(11):166209; doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2021.166209.

Lehka L, Wojton D, Topolewska M, Chumak V, Majewski L, Redowicz MJ. (2022) Loss of unconventional myosin VI affects cAMP/PKA signaling in hindlimb skeletal muscle in an age-dependent manner. Frontiers in Physiology, 28;13:933963. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2022.933963

Karatsai O, Lehka L, Wojton D, Grabowska AI, Lenartowski R, Duda M, Rędowicz MJ. (2023) Unconventional myosin VI in the heart: Involvement in cardiac dysfunction progressing with age. BBA Mechanisms of Disease 1869:166748. doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2023.166748

Wojton D, Dymkowska D, Matysniak D, Topolewska M, Redowicz MJ, Lehka L. (2025) Unconventional myosin VI is involved in the regulation of muscle energy metabolism. American Journal of Physiology – Cell Physiology, doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00300.2025.