National projects

Ion channels are now considered unconventional, promising oncological targets, whose expression is often altered in cancer cells and which areemerging as critical players in tumorigenesis. The idea of targeting Kv1.3 ion channels directly in mitochondria, whose function critically depends onion fluxes and which are crucial for both cell survival and apoptosis, could...

Scientific background and problem identification. Vaginal infections are the most common reason women seek medical help and can cause serioushealth consequences, such as pelvic inflammatory disease, increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Themost common vaginal infections are bacterial vaginosis and vaginal candidiasis, bot...

Soil quality is decreasing worldwide, due to erosion and intensive use of farmland. Crop plants are not adapted to reduced nutrient content, which is why we need to develop novel soil fertilization approaches delivering nutrients to the vicinity of the roots. In alpine oligotrophic soils mineral-weathering microbes accumulate in “hotspots” in the rhizosp...

Osteosarcopenia (OSA) affects 5-37% of community-dwelling older people (≥65 years) and is diagnosed at even higher rates in people with lowenergy trauma (osteoporotic) bone fractures (7.1–96.3%). There are no diagnostic biochemical markers available and no approved pharmacological agents for treatment of sarcopenia so far. With the present project, we aim t...

(slovene) Kljub pomembnemu napredku zdravljenja ulceroznega kolitisa je 30 % pacientov neodzivnih na razpoložljiva zdravila. Ti pacienti trpijo za hudimi simptomi črevesne disfunkcije. Številni potrebujejo operativno odstranitev celotnega debelega črevesa. Ustekinumab, IL 12/23 zaviralec z odličnim varnostnim profilom, je najnovejše zdravilo za zdravlj...

Currently, our world is facing an acute shortage of mucosal vaccine adjuvants. The recent progress in our understanding of innate immunity has opened up new avenues for mucosal vaccine development. The innate immune system is comprised of APCs, in particular dendritic cells (DCs), which contain a series of innate immune receptors. Ligands of these receptors engage D...

(slovene) V zadnjem desetletju se je nabralo dovolj dokazov, ki kažejo, da zdravilne učinkovine skozi čistilne naprave nenehno vstopajo v vodno okolje in nanj negativno vplivajo. Težave se še poslabšajo, ko se bolnišnična odpadna voda, ki vsebuje visoke koncentracije različnih protimikrobnih učinkovin, vključno z antibiotiki, spušča nepos...

Intracellular targets of the innate immune system that can be modulated by small molecule agents, which offer numerous advantages compared to large biopharmaceuticals, represent big opportunities in pharmacy and innovative possibility to reverse the immune tolerance in the treatment of cancer patients. One of the most important aforementioned targets are Toll-like r...

The ProBiS-Fold approach, on which the ProBiS-Fold web server is based, will enable for the first-time interactions between most human protein structures not limited to the Protein Data Base structures only, prediction of selectivity and ligand binding, and observation of conserved water effects and ligand binding sequence variants. This work will provide the scient...

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death. The complex nature of cancer depends on genetic predispositions and environmental influences and poses a major challenge for treatment, as the efficiency of treatment depends on the specific response of each cancer tissue to a particular drug. The exploration of novel molecules that provide an efficient means to combat c...