Thermophysiology Research Group

Introduction

Normal body temperature – which is essential for life – is maintained by various thermoregulatory mechanisms. Any disturbance in the thermoregulatory processes jeopardizes the health of the whole organism. Thermoregulatory disorders can be found in a plethora of pathological conditions, including febrile diseases, systemic inflammation (e.g., sepsis), organ dysfunctions (e.g., pancreatitis), heat stroke, and hypothermia. Because of the wide range of thermoregulatory disorders, it is of utmost importance to discover the related pathophysiological processes. More and more influencing factors are identified in the thermoregulation system, such as the pH status and transient receptor potential channels. In our research, we aim at identifying the neural substrates and molecular mediators involved in the thermoregulatory processes mainly in different animal models, but to some extent also in human studies. The newly obtained findings can further advance the knowledge of bodily homeostasis, moreover, they can open new directions in clinical practice, most of all intensive therapy, and other sciences. For example, successful development of drugs that are designed specifically to target body temperature, could pave the road to pharmacologically controlled temperature management, thereby advancing the therapeutic approaches in clinical conditions with thermoregulatory disorders.

Laboratory techniques

Various surgeries in rodents (e.g., brain cannula, intraperitoneal and intravenous catheter implantations, vagotomy, cecal ligation, implantation of abdominal radiotransmitter and osmotic minipump). Thermocouple thermometry (core and skin temperature measurement in incubator chamber). Respirometry measurements (metabolic rate assessment with indirect calorimetry). Biotelemetry (investigation of circadian rhythm in rodents). Thermal imaging (skin and core temperature measurement with thermal camera in small animals and humans). Food intake, body composition, and nocifensive reaction measurements. Techniques of blood collection and tissue harvesting, as well as, sample storing for molecular biology experiments.

Selected publications

Pakai E., Tekus V., Zsiboras Cs., Rumbus Z., Olah E., Keringer P., Khidhir N., Matics R., Deres L., Ordog K., Szentes N., Pohoczky K., Kemeny A., Hegyi P., Pinter E., Garami A. (2018) The neurokinin-1 receptor contributes to the early phase of lipopolysaccharide-induced fever via stimulation of peripheral cyclooxygenase-2 protein expression in mice. Frontiers in Immunology 9:166. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.00166.

Garami A., Steiner AA., Romanovsky AA. (2018) Fever and hypothermia in systemic inflammation. In: Thermoregulation, Part I: From Basic Neuroscience to Clinical Neurology. Romanovsky AA., editor. Handbook of Clinical Neurology. Aminoff MJ., Boller F., Swaab DF., editors. Oxford, UK: Elsevier 157:565-597. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-64074-1.00034-3.

Olah E., Poto L., Hegyi P., Szabo I., Hartmann P., Solymar M., Petervari E., Balasko M., Habon T., Rumbus Z., Tenk J., Rostas I., Weinberg J., Romanovsky AA., Garami A. (2018) Therapeutic whole-body hypothermia reduces death in severe traumatic brain injury if the cooling index is sufficiently high: meta-analyses of the effect of single cooling parameters and their integrated measure. Journal of Neurotrauma 35:20. doi: 10.1089/neu.2018.5649.

Rumbus Z., Toth E., Poto L., Vincze A., Veres G., Czako L., Olah E., Marta K., Miko A., Rakonczay Z., Balla Zs., Kaszaki J., Foldesi I., Maleth J., Hegyi P., Garami A. (2018) Bidirectional relationship between reduced blood pH and acute pancreatitis: a translational study of their noxious combination. Frontiers in Physiology 9:1360. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2018.01360.

Garami A., Ibrahim M., Gilbraith K., Khanna R., Pakai E., Miko A., Pinter E., Romanovsky AA., Porreca F., Patwardhan AM. (2017) Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 antagonists prevent anesthesia-induced hypothermia and decrease postincisional opioid dose requirements in rodents. Anesthesiology 127:5. doi: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000001812.