Basic information
Investigator: MUDr. Tomáš Páleníček, PhD.
Main recipient: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Co-recipients: n/a
Research period: 1/8/2024 – 31/7/2027
Total budget: 2,398,645 CZK
NIMH budget: 2,398,645 CZK
Supported by: (MŠMT) Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic
Annotation
Recently, there has been a growing body of evidence that psychedelics, with psilocybin-containing mushrooms at the forefront, are finding applications in the treatment of various mental disorders. The specific aims of this study are:
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The development of optimized protocols for cultivating different species of Psilocybe spp. using submerged fermentation techniques in liquid mycelium, and simultaneously evaluating the presence of psychoactive biomolecules in the mycelium of each tested strain using HPLC and GC-MS under different growth conditions (Israel).
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Assessing the affinity of bioactive substances in individual extracts for 5HT serotonin receptors through in-vitro biological tests (Israel).
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Evaluating the effects of defined mushroom extracts (obtained from the Israeli side) and individual molecules on neuroplasticity markers in 2D and 3D (brain organoids) neuronal cultures as biomarkers of their therapeutic efficacy. The success of this study depends on our joint expertise from both sides: microbiology led by Prof. Eyal Kurzbaum (Israeli principal investigator), biochemical bioanalysis led by Dr. Yaron Dekel (Israeli co-investigator), and neuroplasticity in neuronal cultures and brain organoids led by Dr. Tomáš Páleníček (Czech principal investigator). The goal of our research is to develop new drugs and therapeutic methods based on psychoactive compounds from mushrooms. Both teams are licensed to work with substances like psilocybin/psilocin, and the Czech team has extensive experience in psychedelic research in both preclinical and clinical studies.