Hepatology and Gastroenterology

Laboratory for Research of Liver Diseases and Heme Metabolism ÚLBLD is focused on special diagnostics of the liver diseases (metabolic diseases, disorders of the heme biosynthetic and catabolic pathway). The Laboratory was originally established at the 1^st Department of Internal Medicine under the name Laboratory for Pathophysiology of Blood System and Liver. Routine part of the Lab is focused on specialized liver examinations (determination of porphyrins in the biological material, copper in the liver tissue, and/or bile acids). Experimental research covers a wide range of topics from the heme catabolic pathway (including bilirubin toxicity as well as antioxidant properties), atherosclerosis, pathogenesis of cancer diseases, or the role of glycosphingolipids in the pathogenesis of liver diseases. The lab is fully equipped for almost any chromatography analyses, and has established unique and ultrasensitive methods for determination of bilirubin in tissues, bilirubin photoisomers or bilirubin oxidation products, as well as a method (GC-RGD) for determination of carbon monoxide in biological tissues (in collaboration with Stanford University).