Office of Academic Affairs
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/4840
2024-03-29T12:06:58Z
-
Genome Editing Technology: A New Frontier for the Treatment and Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/42808
Genome Editing Technology: A New Frontier for the Treatment and Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases
Saeed, Sumbul; Khan, Shahid Ullah; Khan, Wasim Ullah; Abdel-Maksoud, Mostafa A.; Mubarak, Ayman S.; Aufy, Mohammed; Kiani, Faisal Ayub; Wahab, Abdul; Shah, Muhammad Wajid; Saleem, Muhammad Hamzah
Over the past 2 decades, genome-editing technique has proven to be a robust editing method that revolutionizes the field of biomedicine. At the genetic level, it can be efficiently utilized to generate various disease-resistance models to elucidate the mechanism of human diseases. It also develops an outstanding tool and enables the generation of genetically modified organisms for the treatment and prevention of various diseases. The versatile and novel clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR/Cas9) system mitigates the challenges of various genome editing techniques such as zinc-finger nucleases, and transcription activator-like effector nucleases. For this reason, it has become a ground-breaking technology potentially employed to manipulate the desired gene of interest. Interestingly, this system has been broadly utilized due to its tremendous applications for treating and preventing tumors and various rare disorders; however, its applications for treating cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain in infancy. More recently, 2 newly developed genome editing techniques, such as base editing and prime editing, have further broadened the accuracy range to treat CVDs under consideration. Furthermore, recently emerged CRISPR tools have been potentially applied in vivo and in vitro to treat CVDs. To the best of our knowledge, we strongly enlightened the applications of the CRISPR/Cas9 system that opened a new window in the field of cardiovascular research and, in detail, discussed the challenges and limitations of CVDs. 2023 Elsevier Inc.
2023-01-01T00:00:00Z
-
Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase gene associated with Nicotine initiation and addiction: Analysis of novel regulatory features at 5' and 3'-Regions
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/11867
Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase gene associated with Nicotine initiation and addiction: Analysis of novel regulatory features at 5' and 3'-Regions
Aziz, Hassan A.; Abdel-Salam, Abdel Salam G.; Al-Obaide, Mohammed A.I.; Alobydi, Hytham W.; Al-Humaish, Saif
© 2018 Aziz, Abdel-Salam, Al-Obaide, Alobydi and Al-Humaish. Tobacco smoking is widespread behavior in Qatar and worldwide and is considered one of the major preventable causes of ill health and death. Nicotine is part of tobacco smoke that causes numerous health risks and is incredibly addictive; it binds to the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) in the brain. Recent studies showed α7nAChR involvement in the initiation and addiction of smoking. Kynurenic acid (KA), a significant tryptophan metabolite, is an antagonist of α7nAChR. Inhibition of kynurenine 3-monooxygenase enzyme encoded by KMO enhances the KA levels. Modulating KMO gene expression could be a useful tactic for the treatment of tobacco initiation and dependence. Since KMO regulation is still poorly understood, we aimed to investigate the 5' and 3'-regulatory factors of KMO gene to advance our knowledge to modulate KMO gene expression. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to identify the regulatory sequences associated with expression of KMO. The displayed differential expression of KMO mRNA in the same tissue and different tissues suggested the specific usage of the KMO multiple alternative promoters. Eleven KMO alternative promoters identified at 5'-regulatory region contain TATA-Box, lack CpG Island (CGI) and showed dinucleotide base-stacking energy values specific to transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs). The structural features of regulatory sequences can influence the transcription process and cell type-specific expression. The uncharacterized LOC105373233 locus coding for non-coding RNA (ncRNA) located on the reverse strand in a convergent manner at the 3'-side of KMO locus. The two genes likely expressed by a promoter that lacks TATA-Box harbor CGI and two TFBSs linked to the bidirectional transcription, the NRF1, and ZNF14 motifs. We identified two types of microRNA (miR) in the uncharacterized LOC105373233 ncRNA, which are like hsa-miR-5096 and hsa-miR-1285-3p and can target the miR recognition element (MRE) in the KMO mRNA. Pairwise sequence alignment identified 52 nucleotides sequence hosting MRE in the KMO 3' UTR untranslated region complementary to the ncRNA LOC105373233 sequence. We speculate that the identified miRs can modulate the KMO expression and together with alternative promoters at the 5'-regulatory region of KMO might contribute to the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic algorithm for tobacco smoking.
2018-06-13T00:00:00Z
-
Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors among University Female Students
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/5632
Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors among University Female Students
Aziz, Hassan A; Gomaa, Abdel-Salam
Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a main cause
of morbidity and mortality globally. High levels of cholesterol
are considered a major risk factor of CHD. This study sought to
find out the prevalence of high cholesterol levels among Qatar
University female students.
Methods: Total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein
(HDL) cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
cholesterol measurements were examined on 275 female
students aged 18-26 years (M=21). Each participant completed
a questionnaire about age, body mass index (BMI), medical
family history, medical conditions and lifestyle. Analysis of
data was done using SPSS version 23.
Results: Among the 275 volunteers, 12.4% had high
TC, 14.9% had low HDL cholesterol and 15.6% had high
LDLcholesterol. Also, a positive statistical significance
relation was seen between the different cholesterols (TC, LDL
and HDL) and the risk factors (family history, BMI, diet and
exercises) except for HDL cholesterol and diet which showed
no statistical significance relation.
Conclusion: The cholesterol levels are within the desirable
ranges. Students should maintain their cholesterol levels
within those ranges and be aware of the factors that can cause
hypercholesterolemia.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a main cause of morbidity
and mortality globally. This study sought to find out the
prevalence of high cholesterol levels among Qatar University
female students. Total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterols
measurements were examined on 275 female students aged 18-
26 years (M=21). Each participant completed a self-assessment
questionnaire. 12.4% had high TC, 14.9% had low HDL
cholesterol and 15.6% had high LDL cholesterol. A positive
statistical significance relation was seen between the different
cholesterols (TC, LDL and HDL) and the risk factors (family
history, BMI, diet and exercises) except for HDL cholesterol
and diet which showed no statistical significance relation.
2017-07-26T00:00:00Z
-
Necrotizing Fasciitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes: A case report and literature review of disease diagnosis and management
http://hdl.handle.net/10576/5631
Necrotizing Fasciitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes: A case report and literature review of disease diagnosis and management
Aziz, Hassan A
Background: A 55-year-old male presented to the emergency room at a local hospital complaining of
chest discomfort and severe left elbow pain.
Case Presentation: Erythema and symptoms of peripheral neuropathy were evident in the left
hand. The patient reported recent trauma to his left elbow; however a radiograph of the left arm was
unremarkable for fracture. After being admitted to the intensive care unit for observation, he developed
worsening pain out of proportion and progressive decreased sensation in his left hand.
Diagnosis: Initially, left arm compartment syndrome was suspected and treated accordingly. After
surgical intervention, the patient’s subsequent symptoms and preliminary blood culture results revealed
Gram positive cocci in chains, indicating necrotizing fasciitis. The isolate was identifi ed as group A betahemolytic
Streptococcus (GABS).
Treatment and Follow-up: Broad-spectrum antibiotics given at outset were extended with additional
antibiotics. Treatment consisted of fi ve separate surgeries involving extensive debridement of necrotic
tissue amounting to approximately 55 to 65 percent of the patient’s body surface area. The patient was
eventually released to a burn center for skin grafting and wound closure and in less than three months,
he expired.
2017-08-10T00:00:00Z