Prof. Dr. Karl Frei

 

Main Goals, Keywords

Our research interests lie in the field of brain tumors (therapy and interaction with the immune system) and on cellular and molecular aspects of the blood-brain barrier in various pathophysiological conditions (tumor, epilepsy and bacterial meningitis).

Keywords: Glioblastoma, blood-brain barrier, dendritic cells, epilepsy, drug resistance, bacterial meningitis, moyamoya angiopathy

Group Members

1 professor, 1 senior research fellow, 1 PhD student, 1 MD/PhD student, 2 medical doctoral students, 1 technician

Previous and Current Research

• Investigations on the mechanism of taurolidine-induced cell death of glioblastoma cells. (In collaboration with Prof. Dr. A. Fontana, University Hospital Zurich and Prof. Dr. H. Mohler, University of Zurich)
• Studies on the molecular and cellular aspects of blood-brain barrier (BBB) function in brain tumors and bacterial meningitis using in vivo models and an in vitro BBB model. (In collaboration with PD Dr. R. Lindberg and Prof. Dr. R. Landmann, University Hospital Basel)
• Functional and morphological characterization of tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells (DCs) in malignant gliomas. (In collaboration with Prof. Dr. A. Fontana)
• The role of MDR1 P-glycoprotein and multidrug resistance-associated proteins in medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy. (In collaboration with Prof. Dr. H.G. Wieser, University Hospital Zurich)
• Global gene expression analysis in Moyamoya angiopathy

Future Projects

• Association between protective and risk-enhancing psychosocial factors and the progression of stress related disorders
• Prospective cohort studies to elucidate possible pathways: a) chronic activation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis b) chronic activation of the sympathetic nervous system c) related alterations in functions of immune parameters
• Evaluation of psychophysiological methods for the measurement of parasympathetic activation
• Evaluation of different standardized laboratory human stress tests

Techniques and Equipment

Murine models of inflammatory (bacterial and viral meningitis) and demyelinating (EAE) CNS diseases. Brain tumor model in mice and rat and expertise in microsurgery. Cell cultures of a broad range of primary mammalian cells (rat, mouse and human) and cell lines. Molecular biology (Northern blot, gene array and RT-PCR), protein biochemistry (Western blot, immunoprecipitation, ELISA) and immunohistological methods (immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence).
CO₂/O₂-incubators, biohazard laminar flow benches, ultracentrifuge, centrifuges, spectrophotometer, cell harvester, microtomes (for paraffin- and cryosections), ELISA reader, inverted fluorescence microscope, Zeiss photomicroscope, lyophilisator, various blotting systems, RT-PCR machine.

Selected Publications

• Lachos J, Zattoni M, Wieser HG, Fritschy JM, Langmann T, Schmitz G, Errede M, Virgintino D, Yonekawa Y, Frei K. Characterization of the gene expression profile of human hippocampus in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis. Epilepsy Res Treat. 2011;2011:758407. doi: 10.1155/2011/758407. Epub 2011 Mar 6
• Mittelbronn, M., Harter, P., Warth, A., Lupescu, A., Schilbach, K., Vollmann, H., Capper, D., Goeppert, B., Frei, K., Bertalanffy, H., Weller, M., Meyermann, R., Lang, F., Simon, P.  EGR-1 is regulated by N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor stimulation and associated with patient survival in human high grade astrocytomas. Brain Pathol. Apr; 19(2): 195-204 (2009). Epub 2008 May 16.
• Stendel, R., Biefer, H.R., Dékány, G.M., Kubota, H., Münz, C., Wang, S., Mohler, H., Yonekawa, Y., Frei, K. The antibacterial substance taurolidine exhibits anti-neoplastic action based on a mixed type of programmed cell death. Autophagy. Feb; 5(2): 194-210 (2009). Epub 2009 Feb 13.

Selected Lectures, Seminars or Colloquia

• POL-Gruppenunterricht Molekulare Medizin
• Praktischer Kurs in Immunologie für Teilnehmende des Postgraduate-Kurses, Studierende der Molekularbiologie und Biochemie

Funding

National Center for Competence in Research (NCCR) „Neural Plasticity and Repair", Olga Mayenfisch Foundation