Keywords

Calcium Channels, L-Type; Epilepsy; Metabolism; Mitochondria; Neurons

Research interests

My main research focus is to understand the proces of epileptogenesis and the role that neuronal metabolism plays in it. More specifically, we study how neuronal firing of various intensities affects mitochondrial ATP production and glycolysis.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

We use primary cultures of mouse and rat hippocampal neurons. For the investigations of neuronal metabolism and calcium signaling we use neurons transiently expressing/stained with fluorescent-based indicators and imaging by laser-scanning confocal microscopy. Neuronal activity is assesed by minimally invasive perforated patch recordings using patch-clamp electrophysiology.

Grants

• Regulation of mitochondrial ATP synthesis by neuronal Cav1 (2020)
  Source of Funding: FWF (Austrian Science Fund), Standalone project
  Principal Investigator

Selected publications

1. Hotka, M. et al., 2020. L-type Ca2+ channel–mediated Ca2+ influx adjusts neuronal mitochondrial function to physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Science Signaling, 13(618), p.eaaw6923. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/scisignal.aaw6923.
2. Hotka, M. & Kubista, H., 2019. The paroxysmal depolarization shift in epilepsy research. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 107, pp.77,
3. Kubista, H., Boehm, S. & Hotka, M., 2019. The Paroxysmal Depolarization Shift: Reconsidering Its Role in Epilepsy, Epileptogenesis and Beyond. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(3), p.577. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms20030577.
4. Stiglbauer, V. et al., 2017. Cav1.3 channels play a crucial role in the formation of paroxysmal depolarization shifts in cultured hippocampal neurons. Epilepsia, 58(5), pp.858,
5. Burtscher, V. et al., 2018. A label-free approach to detect ligand binding to cell surface proteins in real time. eLife, 7. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.34944.