Recent Publications
Avi Peretz: Full genome viral sequences inform patterns of SARS-CoV-2 spread into and within Israel (Nat Commun . )
Full genome sequences are increasingly used to track the geographic spread and transmission dynamics of viral pathogens. Here, with a focus on Israel, we sequence 212 SARS-CoV-2 sequences and use them to perform a comprehensive analysis to trace the origins and spread of the virus.
Amir Mari: Cutaneous involvement of hepatitis C virus. Which future after new antiviral drugs? (G Ital Dermatol Venereol .)
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the main causes of chronic liver disease with approximately 71 million chronically infected individuals worldwide.1 The last decade marked the development of multiple direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), which are medications targeted at specific steps within the HCV life cycle resulting in disruption of viral replication and infection. Compared to interferon-based treatments, the emergence of these drugs revolutionized the management and care of HCV infected patients in several aspects....
Tali Elkanovich, Majd Hajouj, Ohad Ronen: The natural neck crease as an anatomic landmark for thyroid surgery incision (Surgeon .)
The anatomical relations between the neck skin crease and the thyroid gland isthmus and cricoid cartilage are important for surgical planning.
Between 2016 and 2018 anatomical measurements were performed on 118 participants during a presurgical ultrasound exam and were verified during surgery. The data were stratified according to age, sex, patient's body mass index (BMI), and height.
Chaim Putterman: Neurofilament light is a biomarker of brain involvement in lupus and primary Sjögren's syndrome (J Neurol . )
To test the hypothesis that neurofilament light (NfL) in CSF is a biomarker of CNS involvement in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS), we measured NfL in CSF from 52 patients with lupus and 54 with pSS and explored associations with clinical, structural, immunological and biochemical abnormalities.
[Lupus_erythematosus_Wellcome_L0070513_6 from Wikimedia Commons]
Yael Sciaky-Tamir, Inbar Ben Shachar: Vaginal delivery in SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant women in Israel: a multicenter prospective analysis (Arch Gynecol Obstet . )
Among SARS-CoV-2-infected mothers, vaginal delivery rates were high and associated with favorable outcomes with no cases of neonatal COVID-19. This investigates the mode of delivery and its impact on immediate neonatal outcome in SARS-CoV-2-infected women.
Hanna Mandel, Tzipora C Falik-Zaccai: Mammalian Homologue NME3 of DYNAMO1 Regulates Peroxisome Division (Int J Mol Sci . )
Peroxisomes proliferate by sequential processes comprising elongation, constriction, and scission of peroxisomal membrane. It is known that the constriction step is mediated by a GTPase named dynamin-like protein 1 (DLP1) upon efficient loading of GTP. However, mechanism of fuelling GTP to DLP1 remains unknown in mammals. We earlier show that nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) kinase-like protein, termed dynamin-based ring motive-force organizer 1 (DYNAMO1), generates GTP for DLP1 in a red alga, Cyanidioschyzon merolae. In the present study, we identified that nucleoside diphosphate kinase 3 (NME3), a mammalian homologue of DYNAMO1, localizes to peroxisomes.
Hadar Mor, Omry Koren: Microbial signature in IgE-mediated food allergies (Genome Med . )
Multiple studies suggest a key role for gut microbiota in IgE-mediated food allergy (FA) development, but to date, none has studied it in the persistent state.
Dalit Porat Ben Amy: Custom-Made Trays for Targeted Treatment of Oral Vesiculobullous Diseases - A Proposed Protocol (Dermatol Ther .)
Topical and intra-lesional corticosteroids (CS) are effective treatments for oral manifestations of autoimmune Vesiculobullous diseases (VBD), however, may cause unnecessary absorption in the adjacent healthy mucosal surfaces, local infections, atrophy and injection pain.
Avinoam Markovich, Ohad Ronen: Factors predicting length of stay in patients hospitalized for acute parotitis (J Investig Med . )
Acute suppurative parotitis (ASP) is an acute infection of the parotid gland that necessitates hospitalization in some patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical laboratory values including hydration, nutritional status, inflammatory markers and age, and to compare them with duration of hospitalization of patients with ASP.
Nir Qvit: Engineering "Antimicrobial Peptides" and Other Peptides to Modulate Protein-Protein Interactions in Cancer (Curr Top Med Chem .)
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a class of peptides found across a wide array of organisms that play key roles in host defense. AMPs induce selective death in target cells and orchestrate specific or nonspecific immune responses. Many AMPs exhibit native anticancer activity in addition to antibacterial activity, and others have been engineered as antineoplastic agents. We discuss the use of AMPs in detection and treatment of cancer as well as mechanisms of AMPinduced cell death.
Atara Uzan-Yulzari, Maya Morr, Hala Tareef-Nabwani, Oren Ziv, Anca Leibovici, Ayelet Shai, Omry Koren: The intestinal microbiome, weight, and metabolic changes in women treated by adjuvant chemotherapy for breast and gynecological malignancies (BMC Med.)
Adjuvant chemotherapy induces weight gain, glucose intolerance, and hypertension in about a third of women. The mechanisms underlying these events have not been defined. This study assessed the association between the microbiome and weight gain in patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy for breast and gynecological cancers.
Chen Shochat, Rajashekar Donaka, David Karasik: Deletion of SREBF1, a functional bone-muscle pleiotropic gene, alters bone density and lipid signaling in zebrafish (Endocrinology .)
These studies reinforce the importance of lipidomics investigation by detailing how KO of SREBF1 affects both BMD and lipid-signaling mediators, thus confirming the importance of SREBF1 for musculoskeletal homeostasis.
Pre- and Post-Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Serum Brain Natriuretic Peptide Levels and All-Cause Mortality (Cardiology . )
Risk stratification in patients post-transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is limited to and is based on clinical judgment and surgical scoring systems. Serum natriuretic peptides are used for general risk stratification in patients with aortic stenosis, reflecting the increase in their afterload and thereby stressing the need for valve intervention. The objective of this study was to determine the predictive value of pre- and post-procedural serum brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) on 1-year all-cause mortality in patients who underwent TAVR. (Gabby Elbaz-Greener, Diab Ghanim, Fabio Kusniec, Asaf Rabin, Doron Sudarsky, Shemy Carasso, Tal Czeiger, Mirit Shoan-Dayan, Ali Sakhnini, Liza Grosman-Rimon, Offer Amir)
Nehama Cohen-Kfir, Miriam Ethel Bentwich, Nomy Dickman, Basem Higazi, Limor Kalfon, Mary Rudolf, Tzipora C Falik-Zaccai: Challenges to effective and autonomous genetic testing and counseling for ethno-cultural minorities: a qualitative study (BMC Med Eth
The Arab population in Israel is a minority ethnic group with its own distinct cultural subgroups. Minority populations are known to underutilize genetic tests and counseling services, thereby undermining the effectiveness of these services among such populations. However, the general and culture-specific reasons for this underutilization are not well defined. Moreover, Arab populations and their key cultural-religious subsets (Muslims, Christians, and Druze) do not reside exclusively in Israel, but are rather found as a minority group in many European and North American countries. Therefore, focusing on the Arab population in Israel allows for the examination of attitudes regarding genetic testing and counseling among this globally important ethnic minority population. (BMC Med Ethics)