Rukset Attar | Yeditepe University (original) (raw)

Papers by Rukset Attar

Non-coding RNA Research

One of the complex themes in recent years has been the multi-layered regulation of TGFβ signaling... more One of the complex themes in recent years has been the multi-layered regulation of TGFβ signaling in cancer cells. TGFβ/SMAD signaling pathway is a highly complicated web of proteins which work spatio-temporally to regulate multiple steps of carcinogenesis. TGFβ/SMAD has been shown to dualistically regulate cancer progression. Therefore, TGFβ/SMAD signaling behaves as a "double-edged sword" in molecular oncology. Accordingly, regulation of TGFβ/SMAD is multi-layered because of oncogenic and tumor suppressor long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs). In this review, we have summarized most recent breakthroughs in our understanding related to regulation of TGFβ/SMAD signaling by lncRNAs. We have comprehensively analyzed how different lncRNAs positively and negatively regulate TGFβ/SMAD signaling in different cancers. We have gathered missing pieces of an incomplete jigsaw puzzle of lncRNA-interactome ranging from "sponge effects" of lncRNAs to mechanistic modulation of TGFβ/SMAD signaling by lncRNAs.

Cellular and Molecular Biology

The diversity of highly bioactive and pharmacologically active natural products which recognize e... more The diversity of highly bioactive and pharmacologically active natural products which recognize essential biological targets having exquisite specificity, constitutes a massive pharmacological database for discovery of valuable drugs. The rapid accumulation of information has revealed chemopreventive role of nobiletin against wide variety of cancers. Recent efforts are now being expanded and new integrative omics technologies have illuminated continuously upgrading list of molecular mechanisms which underlie carcinogenesis and metastasis. In this mini-review, we explore the progress that has been made in the identification of promising molecular targets of nobiletin.

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Recent phenomenal advancements in genomic and proteomic technologies and rapid breakthroughs in t... more Recent phenomenal advancements in genomic and proteomic technologies and rapid breakthroughs in the interpretation of large gene expression datasets have enabled scientists to comprehensively characterize the gene signatures involved in ferroptosis. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of non-apoptotic cell death that has gained the worthwhile attention of both basic and clinical researchers. Ferroptosis has dichotomous, context-dependent functions both as a tumor suppressor and promoter of carcinogenesis. Essentially, pharmacological modulation of ferroptosis by its induction as well as its inhibition holds enormous potential to overcome drug resistance and to improve the therapeutic potential of chemotherapeutic drugs in a wide variety of cancers.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Cancer is a life-threatening and multifaceted disease. Pioneering research works in the past thre... more Cancer is a life-threatening and multifaceted disease. Pioneering research works in the past three decades have mechanistically disentangled intertwined signaling networks which play contributory roles in carcinogenesis and metastasis. Phenomenal strides have been made in leveraging our scientific knowledge altogether to a new level of maturity. Rapidly accumulating wealth of information has underlined a myriad of transduction cascades which can be pharmaceutically exploited for cancer prevention/inhibition. Natural products serve as a treasure trove and compel interdisciplinary researchers to study the cancer chemopreventive roles of wide-ranging natural products in cell culture and preclinical studies. Experimental research related to thymoquinone has gradually gained momentum because of the extra-ordinary cancer chemopreventive multifunctionalities of thymoquinone. In this mini-review, we provide an overview of different cell signaling cascades reported to be regulated by thymoqu...

Journal of the Turkish-German Gynecological Association, 2021

Objective: The COMT enzyme synthesized from the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene detoxifi... more Objective: The COMT enzyme synthesized from the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene detoxifies the carcinogenic catechol estrogens. In present study we aimed to examine the relationship of the disease with COMT Val158Met polymorphism which is thought to affect the risk of ovarian cancer. Material and Methods: The study groups consist of 97 individulas as a patient group with ovarian cancer (n=47) and control group (n=47). The allele and genotype frequencies. determined according to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Genetic analysis were performed by Real-Time PCR device, and the statistical analysis were performed by SPSS program. Results: COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism is compared in terms of genotype and allele frequencies, there were no significant relation is obtained among groups (p=0.413) Conclusion: This study is the first and only study determine the relationship between ovarian cancer and the COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism within the Turkish population. Although there are no statistically meaningful relationships among genoytpes belonging to the patient and control groups, this study should be further carried out by increasing the sample size of the study groups.

Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2016

Purpose of investigation: To evaluate the preventive and reducing effect of aloe vera gel on surg... more Purpose of investigation: To evaluate the preventive and reducing effect of aloe vera gel on surgically-induced endometrial foci in rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four reproductive aged female non-pregnant, nulligravid Sprague-Dawley albino rats were used. The rats were randomly divided to three groups (Group 1: control, Group 2: aloe vera endometriosis formation, and Group 3: aloe vera endometriosis treatment). A peritoneal lavage using one-ml saline was taken at all the operations for determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and catalase (CAT). Forty-eight horns were implanted in 24 rats. Results: All the implants were properly formed after implantation. In Group 3, before aloe vera application, the sum of the volumes was 87.2 ± 20.4 mm 3 and after treatment the volumes dropped to 28.9 ± 14.9 mm 3 (p = 0.01). As evaluation of aloe vera on the formation of endometriosis in the second operation in Group 2, the sum of the volumes was 2.9±1.4 mm 3 and in Group 1, 118.9 ± 20.0 mm 3 (p = 0.001). Likewise, similar changes were observed in the histopatological scores. Conclusion: The application of aloe vera was seen to raise antioxidant levels in the peritoneal fluid and to reduce oxidative stress markers. Aloe vera is effective in the inhibition of formation and regression of endometriotic lesions.

Increasingly sophisticated information has started to shed light on essential role of signal tran... more Increasingly sophisticated information has started to shed light on essential role of signal transduction cascades in endometriosis and how these pathways promote transformations from benign to premalignant endometriosis. It is becoming progressively more understandable that genetic/epigenetic mutations, inactivation of tumor suppressors, aberrant expression of different microRNAs play decisive role in malignant transformation of endometriosis.

Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2020

Genetic, genomic and proteomic studies have refined our concepts related to underlying mechanisms... more Genetic, genomic and proteomic studies have refined our concepts related to underlying mechanisms of pancreatic cancer. Increasingly sophisticated knowledge has started to shed light on the fact that pancreatic cancer harbored multiple epigenetic and genetic alterations and revealed complicated and dense tumor microenvironments. Our rapidly evolving knowledge about pancreatic cancer has helped us in identification of myriad of underlying mechanisms which play instrumental role in disease onset, drug resistance and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Additionally, loss of apoptosis is the cornerstone of cancer biology and researchers have devoted considerable attention to the versatile regulators involved in loss and restoration of apoptosis. Discovery of TNF/TNFR, FasL/Fas and TRAIL/TRAIL-R opened new horizons for detailed analysis of intracellular mechanisms regulated by these pro-apoptotic molecules. Decades of cutting-edge research helped in translation of TRAIL-based the...

Gene, 2020

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, 2020

: Blueberries belong to the genus Vaccinium of the family Ericaceae. Rapidly accumulating experim... more : Blueberries belong to the genus Vaccinium of the family Ericaceae. Rapidly accumulating experimentally verified data is uncovering tremendous pharmacological properties of biologically active constituents of Blueberries against different diseases. Our rapidly evolving knowledge about multifaceted nature of cancer has opened new horizons to search for different strategies to target multiple effectors of oncogenic networks to effectively inhibit cancer onset and progression. Excitingly, Whole blueberry powder and various bioactive constituents (Pterostilbene, malvidin-3-galactoside) of Blueberries have been shown to efficiently inhibit metastasis in animal models. These results are encouraging and future studies must converge on identification of cell signaling pathways effectively modulated by Blueberries in different cancers. It seems exciting to note that researchers are focusing on metastasis inhibitory effects of Blueberry, however, to reap full benefits it is necessary to take a step back and critically re-interpret the mechanisms used by active components of Blueberry to inhibit or prevent metastasis. Overview of the existing scientific evidence revealed visible knowledge gaps and better understanding of the targets of Blueberry will be helpful in efficient and meaningful translation of laboratory findings to clinically effective therapeutics.

Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2019

Reconceptualization of different anesthetics as anticancer agents has opened new horizons for a b... more Reconceptualization of different anesthetics as anticancer agents has opened new horizons for a better and sharper analysis of true potential of Sevoflurane as a promising and frontline candidate in the pipeline of anticancer agents. Sevoflurane mediated regulation of cell signaling pathways and non-coding RNAs has leveraged our understanding to another level. There have been remarkable advancements in unraveling mechanistic insights related to the ability of sevoflurane to modulate microRNAs in different cancers. Astonishingly, sevoflurane mediated regulation of miRNAs and long non-coding RNAs have been more comprehensively addressed in ischemia-reperfusion injuries. However, researchers yet have to gather missing pieces of premium research-work to uncover mechanistic regulation of long non-coding RNAs by sevoflurane in various cancers. Sevoflurane modulated control of miRNAs have been reported in glioma, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. In this review...

Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2019

Central dogma of molecular biology, a term coined by Francis Crick in 1958 was considered to be t... more Central dogma of molecular biology, a term coined by Francis Crick in 1958 was considered to be the cornerstone of molecular biology unless molecular biologists challenged the idea after ground-breaking discovery of non-coding RNAs. Discovery of microRNAs marked a new era and revolutionized our understanding related to puzzling mysteries about intermediate steps between transcription and translation. Technological advancements have spawned a multitude of platforms for profiling of long-noncoding RNAs and miRNAs in different cancers. Detailed investigation of mRNA targets of miRNAs has enabled high-order analyses of interconnected networks and revealed affected pathways in different cancers. miR-143 has emerged as a multi-talented tumor suppressor microRNA having considerable ability to inhibit and prevent cancer via regulation of myriad of oncogenes. In this review, we will summarize most recent evidence related to characteristically unique ability of miR-143 to target different onc...

Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 2019

Entry of β-elemene into various phases of clinical trials advocates its significance as a premium... more Entry of β-elemene into various phases of clinical trials advocates its significance as a premium candidate likely to gain access to mainstream medicine. Based on the insights gleaned from decades of research, it seems increasingly transparent that β-elemene has shown significant ability to modulate multiple cell signaling pathways in different cancers. We partition this multicomponent review into how β-elemene strategically modulates various signal transduction cascades. We have individually summarized regulation of tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis-inducing ligand, signal transducers and activators of transcription, transforming growth factor/SMAD, NOTCH, and mammalian target of rapamycin pathways by β-elemene. Last, we will discuss the results of clinical trials of β-elemene and how effectively we can use these findings to stratify patients who can benefit most from β-elemene. K E Y W O R D S apoptosis, cancer, elemene, signaling 1 | INTRODUCTION β-Elemene is a member of the class of organic compounds known as elemane sesquiterpenoids. These are sesquiterpenoids having an elemane skeleton in their structural framework. The molecular weight of β-elemene is 204.357 g/mol. β-Elemene has emerged as a premium natural product having excellent ability to

F1000 - Post-publication peer review of the biomedical literature, 2016

Yeditepe Medical Journal, 2013

F1000 - Post-publication peer review of the biomedical literature, 2013

European journal of gynaecological oncology, 2008

We aimed to evaluate the knowledge and interest level of Turkish women about HPV, HPV vaccines an... more We aimed to evaluate the knowledge and interest level of Turkish women about HPV, HPV vaccines and cervical cancer using a questionaire. A 25-item questionnaire was distributed to women in three different cities located in separate sociocultural locations. At the closure of the study 143 women responded and returned the survey. Of the participants 62.2% (89) had a university degree, 36.4% (52) a high school education, and 1.4% (2) had lower school degrees; 98.5% of the women would consent to have their daughter vaccinated for HPV and 94.7% would consent to have their son vaccinated if vaccine provided prevention against cancer and related diseases. However in both cases women gave importance to the "cost" - unless vaccine could be free. On logistic regression analyses none of the variables (i.e., questions) in the survey predicted women's willingness to accept the vaccine for themselves or their children. Women in Turkey would be willing to have themselves and their ch...

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022

Natural product research is a cornerstone of the architectural framework of clinical medicine. Be... more Natural product research is a cornerstone of the architectural framework of clinical medicine. Berbamine is a natural, potent, pharmacologically active biomolecule isolated from Berberis amurensis. Berbamine has been shown to modulate different oncogenic cell-signaling pathways in different cancers. In this review, we comprehensively analyze how berbamine modulates deregulated pathways (JAK/STAT, CAMKII/c-Myc) in various cancers. We systematically analyze how berbamine induces activation of the TGF/SMAD pathway for the effective inhibition of cancer progression. We also summarize different nanotechnological strategies currently being used for proficient delivery of berbamine to the target sites. Berbamine has also been reported to demonstrate potent anti-cancer and anti-metastatic effects in tumor-bearing mice. The regulation of non-coding RNAs by berbamine is insufficiently studied, and future studies must converge on the identification of target non-coding RNAs. A better understan...

Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2020

Cancer is a therapeutically challenging disease because of its heterogeneous and multifaceted nat... more Cancer is a therapeutically challenging disease because of its heterogeneous and multifaceted nature. Decades of research have sequentially and systematically enabled us to develop a sharper and better understanding of the heterogeneous nature of cancer. Genetic, genomic and proteomic studies have unraveled wide-ranging signaling cascades which play cornerstone role in disease onset and progression. More importantly, activation of pro-survival signaling and loss of apoptosis also play critical role in cancer progression. TRAIL-mediated signaling pathway has emerged as one of the most comprehensively analyzed cascade because of its exceptional ability to target cancer cells while leaving normal cells intact. TRAIL discovery and landmark achievements related to TRAIL/TRAIL-receptor signaling pathway attracted the attention of researchers. Therefore, scientists started to add missing pieces to an incomplete jig-saw puzzle and allowed contemporary researchers to conceptualize a better m...

Non-coding RNA Research

One of the complex themes in recent years has been the multi-layered regulation of TGFβ signaling... more One of the complex themes in recent years has been the multi-layered regulation of TGFβ signaling in cancer cells. TGFβ/SMAD signaling pathway is a highly complicated web of proteins which work spatio-temporally to regulate multiple steps of carcinogenesis. TGFβ/SMAD has been shown to dualistically regulate cancer progression. Therefore, TGFβ/SMAD signaling behaves as a "double-edged sword" in molecular oncology. Accordingly, regulation of TGFβ/SMAD is multi-layered because of oncogenic and tumor suppressor long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs). In this review, we have summarized most recent breakthroughs in our understanding related to regulation of TGFβ/SMAD signaling by lncRNAs. We have comprehensively analyzed how different lncRNAs positively and negatively regulate TGFβ/SMAD signaling in different cancers. We have gathered missing pieces of an incomplete jigsaw puzzle of lncRNA-interactome ranging from "sponge effects" of lncRNAs to mechanistic modulation of TGFβ/SMAD signaling by lncRNAs.

Cellular and Molecular Biology

The diversity of highly bioactive and pharmacologically active natural products which recognize e... more The diversity of highly bioactive and pharmacologically active natural products which recognize essential biological targets having exquisite specificity, constitutes a massive pharmacological database for discovery of valuable drugs. The rapid accumulation of information has revealed chemopreventive role of nobiletin against wide variety of cancers. Recent efforts are now being expanded and new integrative omics technologies have illuminated continuously upgrading list of molecular mechanisms which underlie carcinogenesis and metastasis. In this mini-review, we explore the progress that has been made in the identification of promising molecular targets of nobiletin.

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Recent phenomenal advancements in genomic and proteomic technologies and rapid breakthroughs in t... more Recent phenomenal advancements in genomic and proteomic technologies and rapid breakthroughs in the interpretation of large gene expression datasets have enabled scientists to comprehensively characterize the gene signatures involved in ferroptosis. Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of non-apoptotic cell death that has gained the worthwhile attention of both basic and clinical researchers. Ferroptosis has dichotomous, context-dependent functions both as a tumor suppressor and promoter of carcinogenesis. Essentially, pharmacological modulation of ferroptosis by its induction as well as its inhibition holds enormous potential to overcome drug resistance and to improve the therapeutic potential of chemotherapeutic drugs in a wide variety of cancers.

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Cancer is a life-threatening and multifaceted disease. Pioneering research works in the past thre... more Cancer is a life-threatening and multifaceted disease. Pioneering research works in the past three decades have mechanistically disentangled intertwined signaling networks which play contributory roles in carcinogenesis and metastasis. Phenomenal strides have been made in leveraging our scientific knowledge altogether to a new level of maturity. Rapidly accumulating wealth of information has underlined a myriad of transduction cascades which can be pharmaceutically exploited for cancer prevention/inhibition. Natural products serve as a treasure trove and compel interdisciplinary researchers to study the cancer chemopreventive roles of wide-ranging natural products in cell culture and preclinical studies. Experimental research related to thymoquinone has gradually gained momentum because of the extra-ordinary cancer chemopreventive multifunctionalities of thymoquinone. In this mini-review, we provide an overview of different cell signaling cascades reported to be regulated by thymoqu...

Journal of the Turkish-German Gynecological Association, 2021

Objective: The COMT enzyme synthesized from the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene detoxifi... more Objective: The COMT enzyme synthesized from the Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) gene detoxifies the carcinogenic catechol estrogens. In present study we aimed to examine the relationship of the disease with COMT Val158Met polymorphism which is thought to affect the risk of ovarian cancer. Material and Methods: The study groups consist of 97 individulas as a patient group with ovarian cancer (n=47) and control group (n=47). The allele and genotype frequencies. determined according to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Genetic analysis were performed by Real-Time PCR device, and the statistical analysis were performed by SPSS program. Results: COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism is compared in terms of genotype and allele frequencies, there were no significant relation is obtained among groups (p=0.413) Conclusion: This study is the first and only study determine the relationship between ovarian cancer and the COMT gene Val158Met polymorphism within the Turkish population. Although there are no statistically meaningful relationships among genoytpes belonging to the patient and control groups, this study should be further carried out by increasing the sample size of the study groups.

Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2016

Purpose of investigation: To evaluate the preventive and reducing effect of aloe vera gel on surg... more Purpose of investigation: To evaluate the preventive and reducing effect of aloe vera gel on surgically-induced endometrial foci in rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty-four reproductive aged female non-pregnant, nulligravid Sprague-Dawley albino rats were used. The rats were randomly divided to three groups (Group 1: control, Group 2: aloe vera endometriosis formation, and Group 3: aloe vera endometriosis treatment). A peritoneal lavage using one-ml saline was taken at all the operations for determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), and catalase (CAT). Forty-eight horns were implanted in 24 rats. Results: All the implants were properly formed after implantation. In Group 3, before aloe vera application, the sum of the volumes was 87.2 ± 20.4 mm 3 and after treatment the volumes dropped to 28.9 ± 14.9 mm 3 (p = 0.01). As evaluation of aloe vera on the formation of endometriosis in the second operation in Group 2, the sum of the volumes was 2.9±1.4 mm 3 and in Group 1, 118.9 ± 20.0 mm 3 (p = 0.001). Likewise, similar changes were observed in the histopatological scores. Conclusion: The application of aloe vera was seen to raise antioxidant levels in the peritoneal fluid and to reduce oxidative stress markers. Aloe vera is effective in the inhibition of formation and regression of endometriotic lesions.

Increasingly sophisticated information has started to shed light on essential role of signal tran... more Increasingly sophisticated information has started to shed light on essential role of signal transduction cascades in endometriosis and how these pathways promote transformations from benign to premalignant endometriosis. It is becoming progressively more understandable that genetic/epigenetic mutations, inactivation of tumor suppressors, aberrant expression of different microRNAs play decisive role in malignant transformation of endometriosis.

Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2020

Genetic, genomic and proteomic studies have refined our concepts related to underlying mechanisms... more Genetic, genomic and proteomic studies have refined our concepts related to underlying mechanisms of pancreatic cancer. Increasingly sophisticated knowledge has started to shed light on the fact that pancreatic cancer harbored multiple epigenetic and genetic alterations and revealed complicated and dense tumor microenvironments. Our rapidly evolving knowledge about pancreatic cancer has helped us in identification of myriad of underlying mechanisms which play instrumental role in disease onset, drug resistance and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). Additionally, loss of apoptosis is the cornerstone of cancer biology and researchers have devoted considerable attention to the versatile regulators involved in loss and restoration of apoptosis. Discovery of TNF/TNFR, FasL/Fas and TRAIL/TRAIL-R opened new horizons for detailed analysis of intracellular mechanisms regulated by these pro-apoptotic molecules. Decades of cutting-edge research helped in translation of TRAIL-based the...

Gene, 2020

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Anti-Cancer Agents in Medicinal Chemistry, 2020

: Blueberries belong to the genus Vaccinium of the family Ericaceae. Rapidly accumulating experim... more : Blueberries belong to the genus Vaccinium of the family Ericaceae. Rapidly accumulating experimentally verified data is uncovering tremendous pharmacological properties of biologically active constituents of Blueberries against different diseases. Our rapidly evolving knowledge about multifaceted nature of cancer has opened new horizons to search for different strategies to target multiple effectors of oncogenic networks to effectively inhibit cancer onset and progression. Excitingly, Whole blueberry powder and various bioactive constituents (Pterostilbene, malvidin-3-galactoside) of Blueberries have been shown to efficiently inhibit metastasis in animal models. These results are encouraging and future studies must converge on identification of cell signaling pathways effectively modulated by Blueberries in different cancers. It seems exciting to note that researchers are focusing on metastasis inhibitory effects of Blueberry, however, to reap full benefits it is necessary to take a step back and critically re-interpret the mechanisms used by active components of Blueberry to inhibit or prevent metastasis. Overview of the existing scientific evidence revealed visible knowledge gaps and better understanding of the targets of Blueberry will be helpful in efficient and meaningful translation of laboratory findings to clinically effective therapeutics.

Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2019

Reconceptualization of different anesthetics as anticancer agents has opened new horizons for a b... more Reconceptualization of different anesthetics as anticancer agents has opened new horizons for a better and sharper analysis of true potential of Sevoflurane as a promising and frontline candidate in the pipeline of anticancer agents. Sevoflurane mediated regulation of cell signaling pathways and non-coding RNAs has leveraged our understanding to another level. There have been remarkable advancements in unraveling mechanistic insights related to the ability of sevoflurane to modulate microRNAs in different cancers. Astonishingly, sevoflurane mediated regulation of miRNAs and long non-coding RNAs have been more comprehensively addressed in ischemia-reperfusion injuries. However, researchers yet have to gather missing pieces of premium research-work to uncover mechanistic regulation of long non-coding RNAs by sevoflurane in various cancers. Sevoflurane modulated control of miRNAs have been reported in glioma, colorectal cancer, breast cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. In this review...

Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2019

Central dogma of molecular biology, a term coined by Francis Crick in 1958 was considered to be t... more Central dogma of molecular biology, a term coined by Francis Crick in 1958 was considered to be the cornerstone of molecular biology unless molecular biologists challenged the idea after ground-breaking discovery of non-coding RNAs. Discovery of microRNAs marked a new era and revolutionized our understanding related to puzzling mysteries about intermediate steps between transcription and translation. Technological advancements have spawned a multitude of platforms for profiling of long-noncoding RNAs and miRNAs in different cancers. Detailed investigation of mRNA targets of miRNAs has enabled high-order analyses of interconnected networks and revealed affected pathways in different cancers. miR-143 has emerged as a multi-talented tumor suppressor microRNA having considerable ability to inhibit and prevent cancer via regulation of myriad of oncogenes. In this review, we will summarize most recent evidence related to characteristically unique ability of miR-143 to target different onc...

Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 2019

Entry of β-elemene into various phases of clinical trials advocates its significance as a premium... more Entry of β-elemene into various phases of clinical trials advocates its significance as a premium candidate likely to gain access to mainstream medicine. Based on the insights gleaned from decades of research, it seems increasingly transparent that β-elemene has shown significant ability to modulate multiple cell signaling pathways in different cancers. We partition this multicomponent review into how β-elemene strategically modulates various signal transduction cascades. We have individually summarized regulation of tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis-inducing ligand, signal transducers and activators of transcription, transforming growth factor/SMAD, NOTCH, and mammalian target of rapamycin pathways by β-elemene. Last, we will discuss the results of clinical trials of β-elemene and how effectively we can use these findings to stratify patients who can benefit most from β-elemene. K E Y W O R D S apoptosis, cancer, elemene, signaling 1 | INTRODUCTION β-Elemene is a member of the class of organic compounds known as elemane sesquiterpenoids. These are sesquiterpenoids having an elemane skeleton in their structural framework. The molecular weight of β-elemene is 204.357 g/mol. β-Elemene has emerged as a premium natural product having excellent ability to

F1000 - Post-publication peer review of the biomedical literature, 2016

Yeditepe Medical Journal, 2013

F1000 - Post-publication peer review of the biomedical literature, 2013

European journal of gynaecological oncology, 2008

We aimed to evaluate the knowledge and interest level of Turkish women about HPV, HPV vaccines an... more We aimed to evaluate the knowledge and interest level of Turkish women about HPV, HPV vaccines and cervical cancer using a questionaire. A 25-item questionnaire was distributed to women in three different cities located in separate sociocultural locations. At the closure of the study 143 women responded and returned the survey. Of the participants 62.2% (89) had a university degree, 36.4% (52) a high school education, and 1.4% (2) had lower school degrees; 98.5% of the women would consent to have their daughter vaccinated for HPV and 94.7% would consent to have their son vaccinated if vaccine provided prevention against cancer and related diseases. However in both cases women gave importance to the "cost" - unless vaccine could be free. On logistic regression analyses none of the variables (i.e., questions) in the survey predicted women's willingness to accept the vaccine for themselves or their children. Women in Turkey would be willing to have themselves and their ch...

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022

Natural product research is a cornerstone of the architectural framework of clinical medicine. Be... more Natural product research is a cornerstone of the architectural framework of clinical medicine. Berbamine is a natural, potent, pharmacologically active biomolecule isolated from Berberis amurensis. Berbamine has been shown to modulate different oncogenic cell-signaling pathways in different cancers. In this review, we comprehensively analyze how berbamine modulates deregulated pathways (JAK/STAT, CAMKII/c-Myc) in various cancers. We systematically analyze how berbamine induces activation of the TGF/SMAD pathway for the effective inhibition of cancer progression. We also summarize different nanotechnological strategies currently being used for proficient delivery of berbamine to the target sites. Berbamine has also been reported to demonstrate potent anti-cancer and anti-metastatic effects in tumor-bearing mice. The regulation of non-coding RNAs by berbamine is insufficiently studied, and future studies must converge on the identification of target non-coding RNAs. A better understan...

Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2020

Cancer is a therapeutically challenging disease because of its heterogeneous and multifaceted nat... more Cancer is a therapeutically challenging disease because of its heterogeneous and multifaceted nature. Decades of research have sequentially and systematically enabled us to develop a sharper and better understanding of the heterogeneous nature of cancer. Genetic, genomic and proteomic studies have unraveled wide-ranging signaling cascades which play cornerstone role in disease onset and progression. More importantly, activation of pro-survival signaling and loss of apoptosis also play critical role in cancer progression. TRAIL-mediated signaling pathway has emerged as one of the most comprehensively analyzed cascade because of its exceptional ability to target cancer cells while leaving normal cells intact. TRAIL discovery and landmark achievements related to TRAIL/TRAIL-receptor signaling pathway attracted the attention of researchers. Therefore, scientists started to add missing pieces to an incomplete jig-saw puzzle and allowed contemporary researchers to conceptualize a better m...