Cell Biology
The Department of Cell Biology is now in its 11th year of existence. The main focus is the temporal and spatial relationship between extracellular stimuli and intracellular second messenger generation. Stimulus response coupling is studied in a number of research with aberrant signaling in diseases of the cardiovascular system, and lung fibrosis. Recently, we have started single cell studies in cardiac fibrosis during aging. The department has a tissue engineering unit focusing on generating cardiac tissue using induced pluripotent stem cells generated cardiac cell for diagnostic and therapeutic studies. In addition, calcium is measured during stem cell differentiation into the myriad of tissue specific precursor live cells using confocal microscopy. Intercellular communication is also measured through paracrine and autocrine stimulation of human lung cells. Disease in a dish model was also established by producing induced pluripotent stem cells from patient with the disease, aiming precise diagnostic and therapeutic studies. A further area of research is environmental health, studying the effect of exposure to pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, phthalates, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in general population with a particular reference to women and children. Our scientists continue to obtain external funding, foster collaborative research and provide state-of-the-art training and mentorship to Saudi Nationals at the pre- and post-doctoral level.
Main focus areas
•The main focus is the temporal and spatial relationship between extracellular stimuli and intracellular second messenger generation in cardiovascular diseases and lung fibrosis.
•Developing cardiac patch using human induced pluripotent stem cells generated cardiac and biological conductive fiber scaffold to be used for diagnostic and therapeutic testing.
•Single cell epigenetics, mechanosensation triggers, cell senescence on cardiac fibrosis during aging using murine model.
•Establishment of induced pluripotent cell lines from normal donors and specific disease donors for diagnostic and therapeutic research.
•Assess human exposure to environmental chemicals such as heavy metals, organochlorines pesticides, phthalates esters, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the general population with a particular reference to women and children. Investigate the association between exposure to pollutants and adverse health effects such as neurodevelopment, and pregnancy outcome
•Examine the potential genotoxic effect of certain chemicals present in consumer products using various assays with different genetic endpoints.
Cardiovascular Cell Biology & Pathology Modeling
One of the projects in the department is the generation of biological scaffolds by decellularizing animal hearts to produce cell-free scaffolds with preserved extracellular matrix proteins and intact vasculature. The decellularized scaffold were then repopulated with skin-derived reprogrammed induced pluripotent STEM cells (iPSCs). Interactions between these organs/tissues with the xenogeneic recipient immune cells is investigated. Our data demonstrated that such approach may lead to allogenizing a xenograft. The department surgeons perform the intricate microsurgery of genetically modified rodent hearts into naïve recipient of different species either abdominally or thoracically through the cuff technique for different cardiac biological and pathological investigations.
In a collaborative work with Lung Heat center at KFSHRC a study on idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), a progressive disorder that usually affects individuals over 55 years of age and is manifested inflammation, honeycomb cysts, distortion of the lung architecture, fibroblastic foci, fibrosis, and marked spatial heterogeneity. It is one object of the section to identify and describe herein new mutations in the calcium binding protein genes, S100A3 (NM 002960) and S100A13 (NM 002960) that lead to lower expression of the S100A3 and S100A13 proteins and is associated with aberrant intracellular calcium homeostasis and reduced capacity to tolerate oxidative stress in isolated cells. These results indicate that S100A3 and S100A13 regulates pulmonary fibrosis and restoration of S100A3 and S100A13 protein levels reverse the clinical symptoms and provide a new therapy for the disease. In addition, disease in a dish model is established as platform by imitating induced pluripotent stem cells from patient, aiming precise diagnosis and therapy studies.
Tissue Regeneration & Engineering
In recent years, tissue engineering has emerged as an additional armory in providing solution to the ever-increasing demand on viable organs and tissues for human patients. One of the projects in this department is the generation of biological scaffolds by decellularizing animal hearts to producecell-free scaffolds with preserved extracellular matrix proteins and intact vasculature. The decellularized rat heart ECM (rdECM) is combined with monolayered graphene on SiO2/Si substrates to synthesize nanofibers, and 3D hydrogel is fabricated by combining rdECM and graphene nanomesh. For this, dececellulaized rat heart ECM (rdECM) is combined with monolayered graphene on SiO2/Si substrates to synthesize nanofibers, and rdECM with grapheme nanomesh to produce 3D hydrogel. The resulting scaffolds is evaluated by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrical conductivity testing, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Moreover, the biocompatibility of scaffolds is studied by standardized assays of such as hemolytically active are studied on the patch to ensure its biological viability and functionality to be used in future clinical applications.
Translational models of cardiovascular pathology and senescence
The heart undergoes several functional and structural changes in response to aging, one hallmark across range of species is myocardial reserve capacity reduction. Physiological changes in older population include decreased sympathetic signaling, increases in the mass of left ventricle due to increased wall volume and thickness, and prolonged systolic contraction and diastolic relaxation, which lead to a decline in myocardial performance. Our group is studying the gradual age related cardiac fibrosis stages leading to cardiac aging in a murine model, by analyzing ECM component and epigenetics mechanisms behind it at different lifespan points. Also, high fat- high carbohydrate diet impact on cardiac aging is studied as an environmental factor on the same model and the analysis of molecular and epigenetics will be performed as well.
Environmental Health
Since the inception of the Environmental Health Research Unit in 1990, it has focused its research on environmental pollution in Saudi Arabia and its impact on public health. More specifically, it tries to assess the extent of exposure to pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, phthalates, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the general population with a particular reference to women and children. The Saudi environment has changed drastically over the last few decades. The rapid urban, commercial industrial and agricultural development of the Kingdom has led inadvertently to some visible and invisible elements of environmental deterioration. For example, the massive increase in land transportation, factories, oil refineries, use of pesticides etc. has increased the levels of air, food and water pollution that may be the invisible causes behind some serious diseases such as cancer, birth defects, neurodevelopmental and other potential hazards to the environment and public health. The section has managed to achieve over the years a national and international scientific recognition through its publications, funds, training, and collaborations. The environmental studies may prove to be modest steps on the long road to establish a database that can provide the information necessary for public health departments, health care providers, and policymakers to promote public health awareness, develop a better knowledge of health and disease as well as implement more appropriate measures.
Workshops:
•Annual Hands-on stem cell culture and maintenance for research purposes.
•The workshop is seven working days of handling stem cell tissue culture maintenance and differentiation to cardiac and alveolar cells, characterization by immunofluorescence and intracellular calcium release study on confocal microscopy.
•An annual Hands-on Training in Basic Cell Culture Techniques
•This workshop demonstrates the basic principles in animal cell culture (theoretical and practical) by explaining:
•The equipments and supplies used in a cell culture lab.
•The safety procedures and aseptic technique needed for tissue culture.
•The basic cell culture techniques such as routine maintenance of established cell lines, freezing, thawing and counting cultured cells
•Hands On-Training Course in HPLC and LCMS for persons working or interested in working in the fields of life sciences, pharmaceuticals, industrial, environmental, clinical and forensics sciences.
Career Opportunities
Cell Biology Department research is carried out by a talented and specialized collaborative team. This includes scientist and research technical staff.