The Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Immunology was created in 2003. Today, it has three faculty members who participate in 5 undergraduate and 5 post-graduate courses and supervise the research work of three post-doctoral fellows, three postgraduate students and the diploma work of several undergraduate students.
We are in close collaboration with several Universities and Research Institutes, both national and international. We are performing research in aspects related to Immunology, Biochemistry, Molecular and Structural Biology, Genetics and Pharmacogenomics, which are funded from several research programs.
Research Team
Faculty members
Konstantinos Poulas, Assoc. Prof. [Lab. Director] (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., tel:(+30) 2610 962353 962354)
Post-Doctoral Researchers: 4
Graduate Students: 14
The group is working mainly on the human nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) and on diseases in which these receptors are involved. AChRs are a family of membrane proteins located in many synapses, either in the nervous system (central and peripheral) or in the neuromuscular junctions, mediating neuromuscular transmission. Their importance in physiology and pathology and the fact that they have been extensively studied, renders the AChRs a model for neurotransmitter receptor molecules.
Research Activities/Expertise
- Nicotinic e-liquids - Toxicological studies
- Structure and function of AChR
- Tobacco Harm Reduction
- Expression, production and purification of recombinant proteins
- Crystallization/crystallography of proteins
- Cannabinoids, inflammation and autoimmunity
- Functional foods
Funded Projects
- Ministry of education, «PITHAGORAS» Structural studies of recombinant extracellular domains of AChR, 2004-2006, (In collaboration with G. Spyroulias)
- Ministry of Employment, EQUAL II: Development of a distance learning platform for people suffering from myasthenia gravis, 2005 – 2007
- University of Patras, Project «Karatheodoris»: Structural studies of AChR, 2005 – 2007
- MDA-Hellas. Myasthenia gravis studies, 2004 - 2006
- PENED 2003 Study of extracellular domains of AChR, 2005-2008
- PEP W. GREECE Innovative therapeutics, 2006-2008 (In collaboration with P. Cordopatis, A. Papapetropoulos and G. Spyroulias)
- THALES
- RESEARCHERS' NIGHT 2007-2018
- INFRASTRUCTURES - GSRT
- FUNCFOOD
Recent Publications
- Kouretas D, Tsatakis A, Poulas K. Editorial: Alternative tobacco products: Toxicology and health issues. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2018 May 26. pii: S0278-6915(18)30356-9.
- El Mubarak M, Danika C, Vlachos N, Farsalinos K, Poulas K, Sivolapenko G. Development and validation of analytical methodology for the quantification of aldehydes in e-cigarette aerosols using UHPLC-UV. 2018 Food and Chemical Toxicology. 116(Pt B):147-15
- Niarchos A, Lagoumintzis G, Poulas K. TA-GC cloning: a new simple and versatile technique for the directional cloning of PCR products for recombinant protein expression. 2017PLoS One. 12(11), e0186568
- Farsalinos KE, Yannovits N, Sarri T, Voudris V, Poulas K. Protocol proposal for, and evaluation of, consistency in nicotine delivery from the liquid to the aerosol of electronic cigarettes atomizers: regulatory implications. 2016 Addiction. 111(6):1069-76.
- Niarchos A, Lagoumintzis G, Poulas K. Utilizing the virus-induced blocking of apoptosis in an easy baculovirus titration method. 2015 Sci Rep. 5:15487
