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Opioids are one of the oldest analgesics used to relieve pain. Besides their therapeutic properties, they also have negative side effects, which include impaired tissue regeneration. Therefore, it can be assumed that opioids also have a negative effect on stem cells which are responsible for tissue healing. One of stem cell populations involved in wound regeneration are mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). MSCs are undifferentiated, multipotent cells that could be find in almost all tissues. They have immunoregulatory properties and they can migrate to the site of inflammation or injury where they contribute to healing of tissues. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of morphine and methadone on properties and migration of MSCs. Their effect on the metabolic activity of MSCs and also on the production of cytokines and growth factors was measured. The effect of these opioids on the immunoregulatory properties of MSCs acting on both innate and adaptive immune cells in vitro was studied. The effect of morphine on expression of adhesive molecules on MSCs was also examined. Furthermore, the effect of morphine on migration properties of systemically administered exogenous MSCs in vivo was investigated in mouse models. Distribution of MSCs to individual organs and to the site of...

H-Y antigens are specifically male histocompatibility antigens, that are presented in the human body by glycoproteins HLA-A2, HLA-B7 and HLA-B8. If they reach the body of women (by transplantation or transfer trough the placenta from a male fetus etc.), they can provoke an alloimmune reaction. In its first half, this thesis introduces the concept of alloimmunity, describes male histocompatibility antigens and their molecular nature, and the related modulation of the maternal immune system. In the main part, the thesis focuses on the effect of H-Y antigens on offspring. Studies have shown that it is the maternal immune response to H-Y antigens during pregnancy that could cause premature births, reduced birth weight, secondary miscarriages and consequently changes in the secondary sex ratio. Various hypotheses also attribute to these antigens to the contribution to the development of homosexuality in men. A common precondition for all observed phenomena is that the mother has already encountered male cells in the past, which, when contacted repeatedly, provoked a disproportionate maternal immune response.