Browsing by master's degree program "Utbildningsprogrammet för provisorsexamen"

Viral promoters are an essential part of a normally functioning virus. Their main task is to drive the transcription of genes which govern hijacking of cell function and replication of viral particles. In addition to supporting normal function of a virus, they can be used to drive the transcription of transgenes which can be used in different therapies. In oncolytic therapies, transgenes can be used to prime the host system against neoplasms which has been shown to generate long term anti-tumour immunity. Human adenoviruses (Ad) are commonly used as a platform for oncolytic virotherapies. Human Ad’s replicate poorly in mouse tumour cell lines, yet some promoters, which are included in the viral constructs to drive the transcription of beneficial transgenes, are able to function. Currently it is unknown whether E3, the native promoter of adenovirus 5 of the E3 region, is capable of functioning in murine cell lines. In this thesis we study whether human cytomegalovirus promoter (CMV) and E3 differ in their efficacy to drive the transcription of the mOX40L and mCD40L transgenes. In the experimental part of this thesis, we compared the efficacies of two viral promoters, AdE3 and AdCVM, in transcribing mOX40Land mCD40L in vitro. Efficacy of transcription was assessed through immunofluorescence and flow cytometry in human and murine cell lines. Furthermore, the effects of promoters on viral infection, killing and replication were evaluated in burst assay and the colorimetric MTS proliferation assay. MTS and burst assay were conducted to confirm if viral infection, killing and replication occurs in human and murine cell lines. Both AdE3 and AdCMV were able to infect and kill human cell lines and cell viability decreased in correlation to the number of viral particles used. In murine cell lines, no decrease in cell viability was detected in the 4T1 cell line. In burst assay, viral replication was observed for both AdE3 and AdCMV in the human MDA-MB-436 cell line. In murine CT26 cell line, no replication was observed for AdE3 or AdCMV constructs. Immunofluorescence assay was performed to visualize transgene expression and localization. Results indicated that mOX40L was localized on cell surface while mCD40L was detected both outside and inside of the cytosolic compartment. Flow cytometry results revealed that both AdE3 and AdCMV constructs are capable of efficiently transcribing mOX40L in human cell lines. In the flow cytometry results for AdE3, two large cell populations with different fluorescence intensities were detected. AdCMV lacked this feature which is postulated to be due to higher lytic activity of the viral construct. In murine cell lines, HCMV could produce mOX40L, but production in murine cell lines was severely attenuated compared to human cell lines. mOX40L produced by the AdE3 construct did not differ from the baseline and was deemed incapable of producing mOX40L in murine cell lines. For the purpose of studying novel virotherapeutics the results of this thesis would indicate that human CMV can be used to drive expression of transgenes in murine cell lines. Despite this, it is preferable to use host specific viruses and promoter sequences for a better translation between mice and humans. Viruksen promoottorit ovat keskeisessä osassa toimintakykyisessä viruksessa. Virus promoottorin päätarkoituksena on geenien transkriptio, mitkä vastaavat solun keskeisten toimintojen kaappaamisesta ja virus partikkeleiden replikaatiosta. Näiden toimintojen lisäksi promoottoreita voidaan käyttää transgeenien transkriptiossa, mitä voidaan hyödyntää sairauksien hoidossa. Onkolyyttisissä terapioissa transgeenejä voidaan käyttää virittämään kehon immuunipuolustus taistelemaan kasvainkudosta vastaan. Ihmisen adenovirusta käytetään usein onkolyyttisten viroterapioiden alustana. Ihmisen adenovirus (Ad) replikoituu hyvin heikosti hiiren syöpäsoluissa, mutta osa adenovirukseen sisälletyistä eksogeenisistä promoottoreista, joita käytetään terapeuttisten transgeenien transkription ajamiseen, kykenee toimimaan ja tuottamaan haluttua proteiinia. Tällä hetkellä ei tiedetä, kykeneekö E3, joka on adenoviruksen E3 lokuksen promoottori, toimimaan hiiren solulinjoissa. Tässä tutkielmassa selvitämme ihmisen sytomegalovirus promoottorin (CMV) ja E3 eroa niiden tehossa ajaa mOX40L ja mCD40L transgeenien transkriptiota. Kokeellisessa osuudessa vertailimme kahden virus promoottorin, E3 ja CMV, eroa niiden tehossa ajaa mCD40L ja mOX40L transkriptiota in vitro. Transkription tehoa tutkittiin immunofluoresenssin ja virtaussytometrian avulla ihmisen ja hiiren syöpäsolulinjoissa. Tämän lisäksi promoottorien vaikutusta virus infektioon, replikaatioon ja kykyyn tappaa soluja arvioitiin burst kokeella ja kolorimetrisellä MTS menetelmällä. MTS ja burst kokeiden avulla varmistettiin AdE3 ja AdCMV virusten kyky infektoida, tappaa ja replikoitua ihmisen ja hiiren syöpäsolulinjoissa. Sekä Ad3 ja AdCMV todettiin kykenevän infektoimaan ja tappamaan ihmissyöpäsoluja ja solujen viabiliteetin lasku korreloi virus partikkeleiden määrän kanssa. Hiiren 4T1 syöpäsoluissa ei todettu solujen viabiliteetin laskevan. Burst kokeessa havaitsimme sekä AdE3 että AdCMV kykenevän replikoitumaan ihmisen MDA-MB-436 solulinjassa. Hiiren CT26 solulinjassa kummankaan viruksen ei havaittu kykenevän replikoitumaan. Immunofluoresenssi kokeessa visualisoimme transgeenien ilmentymisen ja paikantumisen. Tulokset osoittivat, että mOX40L paikantui solun pinnalle. mCD40L havaittiin puolestaan sekä solun ulkopuolella että sytosolissa. Virtaussytometria kokeen tulokset osoittivat, että sekä AdE3 ja AdCMV pystyivät tehokkaasti ilmentämään mOX40L ihmisen solulinjoissa. AdE3 virtausytometria tuloksissa löydettiin kaksi solupopulaatiota, joilla oli toisistaan poikkeavat fluoresenssi intensiteetit. Tätä ilmiötä ei havaittu AdCMV:lla infektoiduilla soluilla, mikä saattoi johtua korkeammasta lyyttisestä aktiivisuudesta. Hiirisolulinjoissa CMV kykeni ilmentämään mOX40L, mutta transkription teho oli selvästi alhaisempi verrattuna ihmissolulinjoihin. E3 promoottorin ilmentämä mOX40L ei eronnut kontrollista ja sen todettiin olevan kykenemätön tuottamaan mOX40L hiirisolulinjoissa. Tuloksemme osoittavat, että ihmisen CMV promoottori kykenee ilmentämään transgeenejä hiiren 4T1 ja CT26 solulinjoissa. On kuitenkin huomattava, että isäntälajille natiivien virusten ja promoottorien käyttö olisi tarkoituksenmukaisempaa tulosten käännettävyyden kannalta hiiristä ihmisiin.

The most typical symptoms of dementia include impairment of cognitive brain functions, such as memory and thinking. Most common forms of dementia include Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia, which is caused by degeneration of the frontotemporal lobe. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, covering about 75% of all the cases. The pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease includes beta-amyloid plaques and tau proteins, which accumulate in the brain, and which have been linked to damage to nerve pathways and the appearance of the typical symptoms of the disease. The disorder is progressive, but the exact cause remains unknown. However, old age (>65 years), the APOE-4 gene, lifestyle, and some comorbidities, such as cardiovascular diseases, are considered risk factors. Even though extensive research has been conducted, there is currently no curative treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Sleep disorders can be both a symptom of Alzheimer's disease and a risk factor for the onset of the disorder. Therefore, the mechanisms of sleep and circadian rhythm are connected to the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease, for example through the glymphatic system that cleans the brain mainly during deep sleep. Many drugs for Alzheimer's disease have a recommended time of administration. The dosing time can be very important issue in terms of the effectiveness of the drug. According to a recent study, sleep and circadian rhythm have not been considered in most studies on new rapid-acting antidepressants. Therefore, we carried out an analogous systematic literature review for Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The aim of this study was to find out whether sleep and circadian rhythm have been considered in the most cited preclinical and clinical drug research articles for Alzheimer's disease and dementia during the last decade (2010–2020). In addition, it was examined which drug groups the studied compounds belonged to, and what was the sex distribution of the test subjects in the studies. The number of subjects was also determined from clinical studies, and the animal species from preclinical studies. The research articles analysed in the study were collected with a systematic literature review of Scopus database. The study found that most studies did not include any consideration of sleep or circadian rhythm. Most of the investigated compounds were small molecules, followed by supplements and herbs, and rest classified as biological drugs. Most of the clinical trials were relatively small studies with less than a hundred subjects or hundreds of subjects. Among the 100 most cited clinical research articles, there were 14 reanalyses and observational studies that were not included in this analysis of subject numbers. In clinical studies, most of the test subjects were usually female, while preclinical studies used commonly male animals. To conduct more open and reliable science in the future, drug research should pay more attention to the subjects’ sleep patterns, the time of drug administration, and reporting on these issues in the articles, which is usually part of the requirements of scientific journals. This could potentially narrow the translational gap between preclinical and clinical research.

Adequate vaccine coverage and vaccine refusal have been prominently featured in the media during the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision-makers have considered adequate vaccine coverage important for maintaining the capacity of healthcare. The purpose of this study is to produce population-based research data about the factors affecting the willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine. With the help of that information, it is possible to identify the factors that influence individual’s decision-making about whether to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The data of the study is the first Kansalaispulssi-data of the year 2022. Kansalaispulssi is a survey, made by the assignment of the State Council, which is used to research Finnish citizen’s views of the current topics. The research design is cross-sectional. The analysis of the study is done by crosstabulation using the Chi-square test. Age and financial situation of the person were related to the willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine and the person's view of the role of the vaccine in preventing severe corona disease and getting rid of the COVID-19 pandemic. Age also influenced the person's view of the importance of the vaccine in preventing the COVID-19 disease. Gender, province, or educational level had no effect on a person's vaccine views in this study. Based on the research, Finnish citizens are very pro-vaccine. They also understand well the role of the vaccine in preventing a serious illness caused by the disease.

Digitalization of health care and the corona pandemic have increased availability and use of online services provided by community pharmacies. In Finland, willingness to use online pharmacy services has been studied from population approach. Less is known about the user satisfaction with the core online pharmacy services such as dispensing and medication counseling services. This study aimed to investigate satisfaction with the University Pharmacy’s online services (ya.fi) from customers’ approach. Primarily, customer satisfaction with dispensing and medication counseling services was assessed. In addition, characteristics affecting customer satisfaction were analyzed. The conceptual framework of the study was Andersen's Model of Health Services Use. The data for this study was collected by a cross-sectional survey conducted in August 2020 among University Pharmacy’s online pharmacy customers who had made a purchase during the last three months. The survey instrument consisted mainly of structured Likert-scale questions, which were used to form two sum variables: satisfaction on online dispensing services (3 variables, Cronbach's alpha 0.803) and satisfaction on online counseling services (2 variables, Cronbach's alpha 0.883). Satisfaction on online dispensing services was studied through willingness to recommend and use the services in the future. Satisfaction on online counseling services was studied through a comparison of medication counseling on an online pharmacy and a conventional pharmacy. IBM SPSS (28) -software was used for statistical analysis consisting of bivariate (Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests) and multivariate (generalized linear model) analyses to identify factors affecting satisfaction with dispensing and medication counseling services. Of 15 172 invitations sent to fill out the survey, 2555 eligible responses were received (16 %). Of the respondents, 92 % had concomitantly used the services of a conventional pharmacy. . The mean of satisfaction on online dispensing services on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the most positive option "completely agree") was 4.3 (SD 0.8). Similarly, the mean of satisfaction on online counseling services was 3.7 (SD 0.9). According to the multivariate analyses, significant characteristics affecting satisfaction on online dispensing services were age, form of living (alone/family with children/couple), purchase of prescription or OTC medicine, frequency of internet use and previous visits to a conventional pharmacy. Characteristics affecting satisfaction on online counseling services were education, purchase of prescription medicine, use of chat information service, frequency of internet use and previous visits to a conventional University Pharmacy outlet. The services on ya.fi online pharmacy rated most important by the respondents were services about medicine availabilities (in conventional University Pharmacy outlets and during a shortage) and information about medicines (prices, Kela reimbursements and information about customers' prescriptions). Customers were satisfied with online dispensing and counseling services. Online dispensing services received a higher satisfaction rate than online counseling services. Customers who had used the chat service and purchased a prescription medicine online were more likely to assess online counseling services to be equal or better than in a conventional pharmacy. Active use of internet and purchases of medicines online were factors connected to higher satisfaction with online dispensing services. Most online pharmacy customers had also visited conventional pharmacies. The results from this study can be utilized in the development of online and other pharmacy services.

The potential of extracellular vesicles (EVs) as diagnostic markers and drug delivery vehicles has been studied increasingly in recent years. One of the challenges in this field has been the isolation of EVs from complex biological fluids such as blood. The methods widely used for the isolation process include for example size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and ultracentrifugation (UC). As these methods use size and density of the particle, the have not been efficient enough in isolating EVs from certain particles such as lipoproteins. Due to the challenges related to these methods, other isolation methods have been sought to improve the efficiency of EV isolation. One of these methods is ion-exchange chromatography (IEC). From the two forms of IEC, anion-exchange chromatography has been studied more in EV isolation due to the negative net charge on EV particles. However, in this study the functionality and efficiency of cation-exchange chromatography (CEC) in EV isolation was studied as very little research has been done on this method. In this study, two CEC-resins were studied to define their applicability in EV isolation. A standard strong cation-exchange chromatographic resin SP Sepharose Fast Flow was compared to a strong tentacle-type resin. In addition to this, we studied the possibility to use a magnesium gradient to separate different forms of lipoproteins from EVs through dextran-sulfite precipitation. Tentacle-type CEC-resin was found to be more efficient in capturing EVs compared to the standard-type resin without magnesium. These EVs could then be eluted from the column with sodium chloride. The use of magnesium gradient allowed the separation of apolipoproteins in the samples. Higher concentrations of magnesium also reduced the number of lipoproteins in the samples altogether but resulted in the loss of EVs as well. These results were promising and showed that cation-exchange chromatography can be used in EV isolation. Tentacle-type resin seemed to be most efficient in removing impurities and capturing EVs. While more research is needed before these findings can be applied to clinical use, these results prove that cation-exchange chromatography can be used in EV isolation as a new, efficient and up scalable method.

New drugs against malaria are required, as millions of people are still affected yearly by this deadly disease. The development of drug resistance to current antimalarials is an ongoing process. Membrane-bound pyrophosphatases (mPPases) are potential new drug targets against malaria and other protozoan diseases. mPPases play a crucial role in the survival of the malaria parasite, they couple the energy released from the hydrolysis of pyrophosphate into the transport of protons or ions against an electrochemical gradient. The aim of this study was to identify potential mPPase inhibitors through a docking-based virtual screen of the Tres Cantos Antimalarial Compound Set, which consists of over 13500 malaria-active compounds. The virtual screen against a Thermotoga maritima mPPase protein structure identified a 2,4-diamino-1,6-dihydrotriazine among the top-ranking scaffolds. Four compounds found among the docking results containing this scaffold were synthesised: three with a halophenyl substituent, and one with a hydroxyl substituent. The compounds in their hydrochloride salt forms were synthesised using a three-component method for the synthesis of 2,4-diamino-1,6-dihydrotriazines. The compounds were also freed from the hydrochloride salts into their corresponding molecular forms. The structural characterisation of the compounds, especially the molecular forms, presented challenges. The docking results were also searched to identify compounds containing previously identified mPPase-active substructures. From the docking results, several other interesting compounds were identified in addition to the synthesised compounds. The knowledge and results obtained from this study can be used as openings for potential future docking and synthesis projects in the development of mPPase inhibitors. The activity of the compounds synthesised in the project remains to be evaluated in subsequent investigations.

Congenital heart diseases develop during heart development and encompass structural abnormalities in the heart present at birth, with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) representing a rare but life-threatening subtype. HLHS is characterised by the underdevelopment of left-sided heart structures, resulting in a major blood flow obstruction of the heart, impairing systemic circulation. Current knowledge of HLHS aetiology is scarce, which makes the development of effective treatments challenging. Therefore, identifying the disease mechanisms causing HLHS is essential. Notably, HLHS is linked with mutations in the NKX2-5 gene, which encodes for a cardiac transcription factor and has a pivotal role in heart development together with the transcription factor GATA4. This makes these genes intriguing research targets in HLHS. This study aims to enlighten how HLHS patient-derived human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) differ from those derived from healthy donors in terms of stress response by subjecting hiPSC-CMs to pro-hypertrophic stimuli, namely endothelin-1 (ET-1) and cyclic mechanical stretching. Additionally, the effects of GATA4-targeted compounds on these hypertrophy models were also studied, which included two inhibitors (3i-1262 and 3i-1000) and one activator (3i-0777) of GATA4-NKX2-5 interaction. Differentiation of CMs was performed using a small-molecule induction protocol based on sequential Wnt pathway activation and inhibition. The effects of ET-1 and cyclic mechanical stretching were analysed by High-content analysis for pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (proBNP) expression, and quantitative PCR for hypertrophic gene expression, respectively. Both ET-1 and cyclic mechanical stretching effectively induced hypertrophy in their respective models. This was observed in all cell lines as a higher hypertrophic response of proBNP in ET-1 exposed hiPSC-CMs and upregulation of hypertrophic genes NPPA and NPPB in stretched hiPSC-CMs. GATA4-targeted compounds did not show statistically significant effects on ET-1-induced hypertrophy or stretching-induced hypertrophic gene expression in any cell line, but various trends could be distinguished. As expected, both inhibitor compounds, 3i-1262 and 3i-1000, showed a tendency for antihypertrophic effects since they decreased the percentage of proBNP+ cells in all cell lines. Unexpectedly, the activator compound 3i-0777 also decreased the percentage of proBNP+ cells. We also observed that HLHS-disease cell line HEL 149 seemed to differ from the three other cell lines showing a phenotype that exhibits similar gene expression patterns as seen in heart failure patients. This was mainly observed as a statistically significantly lower basal MYH6 gene expression. However, the limited experimental setup of this study requires further experiments to detect significant differences and draw definitive conclusions regarding the effects of GATA4-targeted compounds on hypertrophic stimuli.

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) and subsequent heart failure are caused by irreversible loss of contractile cardiomyocytes due to low oxygen supply to the heart. As the leading cause of death worldwide, IHD raises an urgent need for regenerative therapies that prevent or reverse loss of cardiomyocytes. The fetal mammalian heart grows by cardiomyocyte proliferation and utilizes glycolysis as main energy metabolism pathway, until it is introduced to increased oxygen and fatty acid supply at birth. Subsequently, cardiac energy metabolism shifts from glycolysis to β-oxidation of fatty acids and cardiomyocytes exit the mitotic cell cycle. Due to cessation of proliferation the heart can no longer regenerate after ischemic injury and responds to it by introduction of maladaptive pathological processes leading to heart failure. To gain deeper insight on the roles of cardiac metabolism pathways and hypoxia in cell cycle activation, we evaluated the effects of pharmacological metabolic modulation and oxygen supply on cardiomyocyte phenotype and hypoxia response. Furthermore, we studied the changes in the metabolic genotype of cardiomyocytes under alterations of oxygen supply. We utilized quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) to evaluate the effects of hypoxia and metabolic maturation on the expression of genes involved in hypoxia signaling and metabolism of human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). Additionally, we investigated the effects of five metabolism-modulating compounds on cell cycle and phenotype of both metabolically matured and unmatured hiPSC-CMs, by utilizing high content analysis. We observed presence of hypoxia signaling as an increase in vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) expression following 3-hour hypoxic exposure. High expression of succinate dehydrogenase complex flavoprotein subunit A (SDHA) in hiPSC-CMs, which was downregulated at hypoxia, confirmed occurrence of oxidative metabolism induced by metabolic maturation. Surprisingly, metabolic maturation tended to increase proliferation and decrease stress response signaling of hiPSC-CMs. Introduction of the TCA cycle intermediate succinate decreased proliferation of metabolically unmatured hypoxic hiPSC-CMs by 8.2 %. Finally, inhibition of the mevalonate pathway and ketogenesis caused no alterations in hiPSC-CM phenotype or cell cycle, but introduction of the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate tended to increase proliferation, supporting current evidence that ketogenesis plays a role in cardiomyocyte cell cycle regulation. Our observations suggest that hypoxic hiPSC-CMs can be useful in investigating gene expression and phenotype. Even so, additional methodologies are needed for in-depth evaluation of metabolic reprogramming and its effects on cardiomyocyte phenotype.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder in which dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) degenerate and die. This causes multiple motor symptoms such as rigidity, bradykinesia and tremor and non-motor symptoms such as depression, hallucinations, and cognitive impairment. At the time of the diagnosis, approximately 60% of the dopaminergic cells can already be lost, which underlines the importance of neurorestorative treatments for PD. Currently used treatments are only symptomatic and mostly based on levodopa, which can lose its effectiveness as the disease progresses and additionally cause significant side effects such as dyskinesia. Neurotrophic factors (NTF) such as glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and neurturin (NRTN) have been studied in clinical trials with PD patients but have shown only modest effects on motor function. Additionally, they have been administered with invasive techniques such as intraputamenal or intracerebroventricular injections which includes many risks. Mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) belongs to unconventional NTF’s with unique molecular structure and mode of action. MANF has shown both neuroprotective and neurorestorative properties for nigrostriatal dopamine system in in vivo study in rat model of PD. To enable systemic administration of MANF, the molecule has been modified by retaining only the C-terminal domain to form C-terminal MANF fragment (C-MANF). C-MANF has shown neurorestorative effects when administered intrastriatally in 6-OHDA lesioned rats and when injected subcutaneously (s.c.) in an ALS animal model. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of daily and weekly s.c administered C-MANF in 6-OHDA mouse model of PD. Cylinder and amphetamine-induced rotation tests were performed as behavioural tests and thereafter morphological studies were done by analyzing tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)+ cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and optical density from TH+ axons in the striatum. Interestingly, weekly C-MANF treatment decreased the number of TH+ cells in SNpc and the density of TH+ fibers in the striatum compared to PBS. However, it decreased ipsilateral rotations and showed some positive effects in the cylinder test. On the other hand, daily C-MANF treatment increased the number of TH+ cells in SNpc and the density of TH+ fibers in the striatum but had a modest effect on ipsilateral rotations and the cylinder test compared to PBS. Although no statistically significant effects were observed in behavioral and morphological studies, s.c administered C-MANF presents a promising treatment option for PD. Particularly, daily administration of C-MANF showed neurorestorative effects in morphological studies; however, further research is required for validation. Additionally, the investigation of higher doses of C-MANF should be considered.

There is a growing need for antibiotic stewardship since antibiotic resistance is a global and increasing problem. One option would be outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) which has evolved globally since 1970s. In Helsinki, it has been applied in hospital-at-home units since 2018 with elastomeric antibiotic infusion pumps that enable 24-hour continuous infusion and normal daily life for the patient. The continuous infusion via infusion pumps enables the use of first-line antibiotics whereas with intermittent infusions broad-spectrum antibiotics, that require doses less frequently, are a more likely choice. Thus, antibiotic therapy with elastomeric infusion pumps is likely to enhance antibiotic stewardship. The aim of the study was to analyse if treatment with elastomeric infusion pumps in hospital-at-home unit is cheaper than theoretical hospital stay and to compare the costs. An economic evaluation was performed with the assumption that hospital-at-home care and hospital stay are equal when it comes to the outcomes of the therapy. The economic evaluation was made with cost-minimization analysis. Data were collected manually by nurses in three hospital-at-home units in Helsinki between September 2021 and March 2022. Patients’ age, gender, indication and length of the antibiotic infusion pump therapy, distance from the hospital-at-home unit and problems with the therapy were collected. Cost information were received personally from City of Helsinki and taken from a paper of Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. The data included 57 patients, of whom one had two treatment periods. The mean age was 60 years. Thirty-two percent of patients were female and 68% were male. The most common indications were bacteremia (n=24) and erysipelas (n=18). A total of 625 hospital bed days were saved, which is 10,8 days per patient on average. Cost savings with elastomeric infusion pump therapy were 89 000–116 000 euros compared to the theoretical treatment in a hospital ward depending on the cost information being used, which is 37–48% of the theoretical hospital stay costs. An economic evaluation was made separately for the treatment of bacteremia. The cost savings were 47 600–150 700 euros or 37–69% of the theoretical costs. Savings in travel costs were 2 300–3 800 euros when elastomeric pump therapy was compared to the conventional hospital-at-home intermittent infusion therapy of 4-6 nurse visits per day per patient. In conclusion, elastomeric infusion pump therapy in hospital-at-home units in Helsinki results in cost savings of 37–48% compared to theoretical hospital stay costs from the perspective of the entity responsible for the costs of the treatment.