Research

Publications

1999-2002

  • Fekete C., Strutton P.H., Cagampang F.R.A., Hrabovszky E., Kalló I., Shughrue PJ., Dobó E., Mihály E., Baranyi L., Okada H., Panula P., Merchenthaler I., Coen C.W. and Liposits Z. (1999): Estrogen receptor-immunoreactivity is present in the majority of central histaminergic neurons: evidence for a new neuroendocrine pathway associated with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone-synthesising neurons in rats and humans. Endocrinology: 140:4335-4341.

2003-2006

  • Hrabovszky E., Kalló I., Steinhauser A., Merchenthaler I., Coen C.W., Petersen S.L. and Liposits Z. (2004): Estrogen receptor-β in oxytocin and vasopressin neurons of the rat and human hypothalamus. Immunocytochemical and in situ hybridization studies. J Comp Neurol: 473:315-333.
  • Menyhért J., Wittmann G., Hrabovszky E., Keller É., Liposits Zs. and Fekete Cs. (2006): Interconnection between orexigenic neuropeptide Y- and anorexigenic α-melanocyte stimulating hormone-synthesizing neuronal systems of the human hypothalamus. Brain Res: 1076(1):101-105.
  • Menyhért J., Wittmann G., Hrabovszky E., Szlávik N., Keller É., Horváth T.L., Tschöp M.H., Liposits Z. and Fekete Cs. (2006): Distribution of ghrelin-immunoreactive neuronal networks in the human hypothalamus. Brain Res: 1125(1): 31-36.

2007-2010

  • Hrabovszky E., Kalló I., Szlávik N., Keller É., Merchenthaler I. and Liposits Z. (2007) Gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons express estrogen receptor-β. J Clin Endocr Metab: 92(7):2827-2830.
  • Hrabovszky E., Ciofi P., Vida B., Horvath M.C., Keller É., Caraty A., Bloom S.R., Ghatei M.A., Dhillo W.S., Liposits Z. and Kallo I. (2010) The kisspeptin system of the human hypothalamus. Sexual dimorphism and relationship with gonadotropin-releasing hormone and neurokinin B neurons. Eur J Neurosci: 31(11):1984-1998.

2011-2014

  • Hrabovszky E., Molnár C.S., Sipos M.T., Vida B., Ciofi P., Borsay B.A., Sarkadi L., Herczeg L., Bloom S.R., Ghatei M.A., Dhillo W.S., Kalló I. and Liposits Z. (2011) Sexual dimorphism of kisspeptin and neurokinin B immunoreactive neurons in the infundibular nucleus of aged men and women. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2011 Dec 1;2:80.
  • Hrabovszky E., Molnár C.S., Nagy R., Vida B., Borsay B.A., Racz K., Herczeg L., Watanabe M. Kallo I. and Liposits Z. (2012) Glutamatergic and GABA-ergic innervation of human gonadotropin-releasing hormone-I neurons. Endocrinology: 153(6):2766-2776.
  • Kalló I., Mohácsik P., Vida B., Zeöld A., Bardóczi Z., Zavacki A.M., Farkas E., Kádár A., Hrabovszky E., Arrojo E., Drigo R., Dong L., Barna L., Palkovits M., Borsay B.A., Herczeg L., Lechan R.M., Bianco A.C., Liposits Z., Fekete C. and Gereben B. (2012) A novel pathway regulates thyroid hormone availability in rat and human hypothalamic neurosecretory neurons. PLoS One: 7(6):e37860.
  • Hrabovszky E., Sipos M.T., Molnár C.S., Ciofi P., Borsay B.A., Gergely P., Herczeg L., Bloom S.R., Ghatei M.A., Dhillo W.S. and Liposits Z. (2012) Low degree of overlap between kisspeptin, neurokinin B and dynorphin A immunoreactivities in the infundibular nucleus of young male human subjects challenges the KNDY neuron concept. Endocrinology: 153(10):4978-4989
  • Molnár C.S., Vida B., Sipos M.T., Ciofi P., Borsay B.Á., Rácz K., Herczeg L., Bloom S.R., Ghatei M.A., Dhillo W.S., Liposits Z. and Hrabovszky E. (2012) Morphological evidence for enhanced kisspeptin and neurokinin B signaling in the infundibular nucleus of the aging man. Endocrinology: 153(11):5428–5439.
  • Hrabovszky E., Borsay B.A., Rácz K., Herczeg L., Ciofi P., Bloom S.R., Ghatei M.A., Dhillo W.S. and Liposits Z. (2013) Substance P immunoreactivity exhibits frequent colocalization with kisspeptin and neurokinin B in the human infundibular region. PLoS One: 8(8): e72369.
  • Hrabovszky E. and Liposits Z. (2013) Afferent neuronal control of type-I gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH-I) neurons in the human. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2013 Sep 20;4:130.
  • Hrabovszky E. (2014) Neuroanatomy of the human hypothalamic kisspeptin system. Neuroendocrinology: 99(1):33-48.
  • Hrabovszky E., Molnár C.S., Borsay B.A., Rácz K., Herczeg L. and Liposits Z. (2013) Orexinergic input to dopaminergic neurons of the human ventral tegmental area. PLoS One: 8(12):e83029.
  • Skrapits K., Borsay B.A., Herczeg L., Ciofi P., Bloom S.R., Ghatei M.A., Dhillo W.S., Liposits Z. and Hrabovszky E. (2014) Colocalization of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript with kisspeptin and neurokinin B in the human infundibular region. PLoS One: 9(8):e103977.
  • Borsay B.A., Skrapits K., Herczeg L., Ciofi P., Bloom S.R., Ghatei M.A., Dhillo W.S., Liposits Z. and Hrabovszky E. (2014) Hypophysiotropic gonadotropin-releasing hormone projections are exposed to dense plexuses of kisspeptin, neurokinin B and substance P immunoreactive fibers in the human: a study on tissues from postmenopausal women. Neuroendocrinology: 100(2-3):141-152.

2015-

  • Skrapits K., Borsay B.A., Herczeg L., Ciofi P., Liposits Z. and Hrabovszky E. (2015) Neuropeptide co-expression in hypothalamic kisspeptin neurons of laboratory animals and the human. Front Neurosci. 2015 Feb 10;9:29.
  • Skrapits K., Kanti V., Savanyú Z., Maurnyi C., Szenci O., Horváth A., Borsay B.Á., Herczeg L., Liposits Z. and Hrabovszky E. (2015) Lateral hypothalamic orexin and melanin-concentrating hormone neurons provide direct input to hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone neurons in the human. Front Cell Neurosci. 2015 Sep 4;9:348.
  • Takács S., Bardóczi Z., Skrapits K., Göcz B., Váczi V., Maglóczky Z., Szűcs I., Rácz G., Matolcsy A., Dhillo W.S., Watanabe M., Kádár A., Fekete C., Kalló I. and Hrabovszky E. (2018) Post mortem single-cell labeling with DiI and immunoelectron microscopy unveil the fine structure of kisspeptin neurons in humans. Brain Struct Funct. doi: 10.1007/s00429-018-1610-8.

Partners, participating institutions

The availability of human tissues relies on valued research collaborations with pathologists, forensic pathologists and their institutions, as listed below. Ethic permissions (ETT-TUKEB) to obtain and use human tissue samples for research have been obtained from the Medical Research Council of Hungary.

  • Human Brain Laboratory at the Institute of Experimental Medicine – Zsófia Maglóczky
    This collaboration provides human hypothalami fixed by vascular perfusion shortly after death. Such tissues are cut serially with a vibratome and are readily compatible with immunoelectron microscopic studies.
  • Department of Forensic Medicine of the University of Debrecen – Beáta Borsay, Kálmán Rácz and László Herczeg
    A large collection of human tissue samples (N>70) immersion-fixed with formaldehyde are available from this collaboration, in the form of cryoprotected floated sections that are ready to use for immunohistochemistry (11 publications).
  • Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Pécs – Zsolt Kozma
    A recently established collaboration provides immersion-fixed hypothalamic tissues for immunohistochemical experiments.
  • 1st Department of Pathology and Experimental Cancer Research, Semmelweis University, Budapest – András Matolcsy and Gergely Rácz
    This Institute is the main source of the short post mortem time tissues required for in situ hybridization, immunohistochemical and RT-qPCR experiments.
  • Human Brain Tissue Bank – Éva Renner and Miklós Palkovits
    This unit provides fresh-frozen tissues and slide mounted sections compatible with RT-qPCR and in situ hybridization experiments for specified scientific collaborations.

International research collaborations

International collaborations involving research on the human hypothalamus have been established and 9 co-authored papers published with foreign scientists based on common research interest in human reproductive neuroendocrinology. We expect that the formal establishment of HHRU in 2018 will open the way for new European collaborations and the preparation of EU grant applications with international partners and collaborators.

Resources, support

Current funding of HHRU comes from the National Science Foundation of Hungary (OTKA K112669) and the Hungarian Brain Research Program (NAP2) to Erik Hrabovszky.

CZ-Logo

This website is generously supported by Carl Zeiss Technika Kft in Hungary. Major Zeiss equipments used by the laboratory include an AxioCam MRc 5 digital camera mounted on a Zeiss AxioImager M1 microscope, a Zeiss Axioskop FS 1 microscope, a Zeiss micromanipulator and a Zeiss LSM780 confocal microscope.