Laboratory team members

 

 

The laboratory team is comprised of senior research members, undergraduate students as well as visiting students coming for summer or limited periods. As a team we are actively involved and interact continuously with other teams at the Goldyne Savad Gene Therapy Institute.  I’m both the Director of the Institute and heads my own team described below, one of the teams in the institute. Our Institute is one large open space enabling direct and continuous interaction between the 10 research groups based within the Institute. [Meital: Here, a picture of the lab open space].  The many technologies and equipment strategically placed and positioned on the lab benches enables   easy accessibility to all researchers. This even includes large equipment like confocal microscopy and FACS machines. [A picture of the confocal microscope].

 

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​​​​​​Nofar Rosenberg, a PhD student

One of the pivotal question in the field of liver cancer is which cell is the source of the carcinogenic clone. To answer this question, we have crossed the MDR2 KO mice, which on the background of the B6 develops HCC at the age of 14 months, with a which enables lineage tracing of hepatic progenitors (this mouse expressed out of the ROSA locus GFP dependent on Foxl1 (a progenitor cell marker) expression). Currently Nofar is collecting the mice data on HCC and also on the development of cholangiocarcinoma. During the coming year, we will have an answer to our question. During her investigation she also found a new target for miR122 which could explain its tumor suppressive properties and is establishing the results with additional experimental investigations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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​Aurelia Markezana, a PhD student

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is the preferred treatment for some patients with HCC. However, the experience is that following RFA there is recurrence or development of a second primary in the cirrhotic liver following the RFA. Aurelia is interested in understanding the mechanism of this phenotype. In her first stage she  is modeling part of the story by asking whether in vitro heated hepatocytes could enhance the tumorigenic phenotype. This she does by applying the medium of heated cells over non-heated cells. She has already observed that hepatocytes following heating secrete pro-tumorigenic factors. Now she is assessing whether the same is also happening in vivo. The dissecting of the mechanism in vivo will enable to assess a therapeutic approach to prevent tumor recurrence. This is a very relevant clinical program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dayan Ayaish, a PhD student

Nodding syndrome (NS) is a killer of children aged 3-18 in the Horn of Africa.  Thousands of children die each year after several years of suffering. Although this disease is associated with Onchocerca volvulus infection (river blindness) and the presence of neurotoxic autoantibodies, the mechanism of disease is not understood. We pioneered the discovery of autoantibody development after other brain infections, including herpes virus encephalitis, and have hypothesized that NS is also an autoimmune malady based on our preliminary results: Patients have a specific cytokine profile; they harbour specific autoantibodies including anti-AMPA GluR3, anti-NMDA-NR1 and -NR2A; these antibodies bind cultured human neurons derived from human embryonic stem cells, and killed by yet unknown mechanisms. The autoantibodies also bind human T cells, and kill a specific population of T cells. Upon administration of purified patient IgG compared to control IgG into mice brains these develop seizures and some die – indicating that the IgG causes this dreadful condition. These initial observations strongly suggest an autoimmune etiology, but much investigation is needed to prove that this is the mechanism. Dayana has initiated her investigation in the institute on this project.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lika Gemaiev, a PhD student

For many years, we have investigated in our lab the role of the imprinted lncRNA H19 gene in hepatocarcinogenesis. We have published a few reports on the role of H19 in carcinogenesis. There is a debate in the literature whether H19 is a tumor suppressor gene or an oncogene. To answer this question related to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) we have generated engineered mice on the background of MDR2 KO in which H19 is ablated. Now we have these mice on the background of B6 and are approaching the age of 14 months, the age in which HCC is expected to develop. Lika is performing this investigation to answer whether in this model H19 is an oncogene or a tumor suppressor. The answer could have translational aspects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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​​​​Shanny Barnoy, BsC student

We are investigating the hormone-like effect of miR-122 which is generated in the liver, is secreted to the blood stream from where it reaches remote tissues in the bodies, and exerts  its regulatory effect. We are interested in studying the vehicle responsible for transporting the secreted miR-122 in the blood.

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​​​​​​​​​​​​Dana Eidelshtein, a PhD student

We investigate the anti-fibrotic effects of miRNA in the liver. Using bioinformatic tools we found that miR-9 targets the TGF-β pathway. We found that NOX4, which plays a vital role in promoting and preserving fibrosis, is a specific target of miR-9. Using LX-2 cells (human hepatic stellate cells), we treated activated HSCs with miR-9 and miR-122 and successfully decreased fibrosis levels measured by α-SMA signal. Additionally, we have shown that miR-9 is a secreted miRNA in fibrotic cells, and may help us set ground for developing a therapeutical agent against liver fibrosis.

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​Osher Amran, a PhD student

Pancreatitis is a pancreas inflammation. The most common causes of pancreatitis include gallstones (40%), alcohol abuse (33%), idiopathic (15-25%) and post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatograpy (ERCP) (5-10%). Treatments for pancreatitis are limited and generally supportive. The overall mortality rate in acute pancreatitis is 10-15%. Thus, there is an urgent need for finding a treatment for pancreatitis. According to some recent papers, FGF21 can be a treatment for pancreatitis. In our research, we want to try some FGF21 agonists as a medication for pancreatitis. We will induce pancreatitis in two different known models of pancreatitis in mice and hopefully will cure them with our medications