Prof. Dr hab. Maria Agnieszka Bzowska

Research interests

Enzyme structure and molecular mechanism, protein/ligand interactions, protein-protein interactions in the purine salvage pathway, protein crystallography, analytical ultracentrifugation, molecular spectroscopy; enzymes of the purine salvage pathway in H. pylori as molecular targets to eradicate this bacterium. Main achievement: determination of the three-dimensional structure and elucidation of the molecular mechanism of catalysis for purine nucleoside phosphorylases — key enzymes of the metabolic purine salvage pathway. Close cooperation with Beata Wielgus-Kutrowska.

Professional experience

1984	MSc in physics and biophysics. Thesis: “Emission spectroscopy methods in the studies of enzymatic reaction kinetics — enzymes acting on nucleosides and nucleotides. AMP deaminase from chicken skeletal muscle”, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
1990	PhD in physics. Thesis: “Molecular mechanism of purine nucleoside phosphorylase — kinetic studies of substrates and inhibitors using absorption and emission spectroscopy methods”., Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
2003	Habilitation / DSc in physics. “Three-dimensional structure and molecular mechanism of catalysis of proteins from the purine nucleoside phosphorylase family”.
2014	Professor title awarded by the President of Poland.
1984–present   1984–1990   1990–2015   2015–present	Department of Biophysics, Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw. Research and Teaching Assistant. Research and Teaching Associate. Professor.
1993–2002	Visiting scientist for 1–3 months per year in the protein crystallography laboratory of Prof. Wolfram Saenger, Institut für Kristallographie, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
2002–2018	Visiting scientist for about one month per year in the laboratory of Prof. Marija Luić, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.

Selected publications

• M.I. Wojtyś, W. Maksymiuk, M. Narczyk, A. Bubić, I. Leščić Ašler, P. Krzyżek, G. Gościniak, E.K. Jagusztyn-Krynicka, A. Bzowska. Vitamin B6 inhibits activity of Helicobacter pylori adenylosuccinate synthetase and growth of reference and clinical, antibiotic-resistant H. pylori strains. J. Enz. Inhib. Med. Chem. 39, 2372734 (2024). doi: 10.1080/14756366.2024.2372734
• B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, T. Grycuk, A. Bzowska. Part-of-the-sites binding and reactivity in the homooligomeric enzymes — facts and artifacts. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 642, 31–45 (2018). doi: 10.1016/j.abb.2018.01.011
• B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, K. Breer, M. Hashimoto, S. Hikishima, T. Yokomatsu, A. Dyzma, M. Narczyk, A. Girstun, K. Staroń, A. Bzowska. Trimeric purine nucleoside phosphorylase: exploring postulated one-third-of-the-sites binding in the transition-state. Bioorg. Med. Chem. 20, 6758–6769 (2012). doi: 10.1016/j.bmc.2012.08.045
• A. Bzowska, G. Koellner, B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, A. Stroh, G. Raszewski, A. Holý, T. Steiner, J. Frank. Crystal structure of calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase with two full trimers in the asymmetric unit: important implications for the mechanism of catalysis. J. Mol. Biol. 342, 1015–1032 (2004). doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2004.07.017
• A. Bzowska. Calf spleen purine nucleoside phosphorylase: complex kinetic mechanism, hydrolysis of 7-methylguanosine, and oligomeric state in solution. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1596, 293–317 (2002). doi: 10.1016/s0167-4838(02)00218-2
• G. Koellner, A. Bzowska, B. Wielgus-Kutrowska, M. Luić, T. Steiner, W. Saenger, J. Stępiński. Open and closed conformation of the E. coli purine nucleoside phosphorylase active center and implications for the catalytic mechanism. J. Mol. Biol. 315, 351–371 (2002). doi: 10.1006/jmbi.2001.5211
• A. Bzowska, E. Kulikowska, D. Shugar. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase: properties, functions and clinical aspects. Pharmacology & Therapeutics 88, 349–425 (2000). doi: 10.1016/s0163-7258(00)00097-8
• A. Bzowska, E. Kulikowska, D. Shugar. Properties of purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) of mammalian and bacterial origin. Z. Naturforsch. 45c, 59–70 (1990). doi: 10.1515/znc-1990-1-211

Participation in research projects

• “Targeting enzymes of the parasite's purine salvage pathway as a new approach to combat H. pylori infections, including those caused by strains resistant to available antibiotics” (2024–2028), Polish National Science Centre.
• “Protein-protein interactions of Helicobacter pylori purine salvage pathway enzymes” (2025–2028), Croatian Science Foundation.