81 · SK Tarik Aziz, Sushil Kumar, Sk Riyajuddin, Kaushik Ghosh, Gilbert Daniel Nessim, Deepak P Dubal. “Bimetallic Phosphides for Hybrid Supercapacitors”. The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 12, 5138-5149, 2021. · Diego Trucco, Lorenzo Vannozzi, Eti Teblum, Madina Telkhozhayeva, Gilbert Daniel Nessim, Saverio Affatato, Hind AlHaddad, Gina Lisignoli, Leonardo Ricotti. “Graphene Oxide-Doped Gellan Gum– PEGDA Bilayered Hydrogel Mimicking the Mechanical and Lubrication Properties of Articular Cartilage”. Advanced healthcare materials, 2021. · Valentina Trovato, Eti Teblum, Yulia Kostikov, Andrea Pedrana, Valerio Re, Gilbert Daniel Nessim, Giuseppe Rosace. “Electrically conductive cotton fabric coatings developed by silica sol-gel precursors doped with surfactant-aided dispersion of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes fillers in organic solvent-free aqueous solution”. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2021. · Bibhudatta Malik, Kalimuthu Vijaya Sankar, Rajashree Konar, Yoed Tsur, Gilbert Daniel Nessim. “Determining the Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution Reaction Kinetics of Fe3S4@Ni3S2 Using Distribution Function of Relaxation Times”. ChemElectroChem, 2021. · Saverio Affatato, Diego Trucco, Paola Taddei, Lorenzo Vannozzi, Leonardo Ricotti, Gilbert Daniel Nessim, Gina Lisignoli. “Wear Behavior Characterization of Hydrogels Constructs for Cartilage Tissue Replacement”. Materials, 2021. Prof. Nir Uri The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences Member of BINA Medicine Center Research Areas Molecular biology of cancer Abstract Targeting selectively the energy generation system of cancer cells The aspiration to achieve efficacious cancer targeted therapy involves intense global R&D efforts. Blockage of fundamental processes like the unique and reprogramed energy generation system of malignant cells should offer new tools for efficient interference with cancer progression. While deciphering the energy generation system of cancer cells we identified an enzyme termed- FerT, which normally resides only in the energy power-station (termed mitochondria) of sperm cells, and is harnessed by cancer cells to empower their reprogrammed mitochondria. We found that FerT potentiates the generation of energy by mitochondria in cancer cells in general and in metastatic cells (cells which leave the primary tumor and are spreading throughout the patient’s body) in particular, thereby enabling them to survive under stress conditions like nutrient and oxygen deprivation. This supports the survival of metastatic cancer cells under harsh conditions which they encounter during their dissemination throughout the patient’s body. To translate these findings into a novel anti-cancer therapy we have combined, synthetic-chemistry, robotic, and high throughput screening approaches, for the development of a synthetic low molecular weight compound which binds and inhibits the activity of the FerT enzyme. Our lead compound called E260 targets and inhibits FerT in the power station- mitochondria of malignant cells, thereby selectively imposing energy crisis and consequent death of cancer cells in general and metastatic cells in particular. Since metastatic spreading of malignant cells throughout the patient’s body is the main cause of death from cancer, our findings portray E260 as a new, potential and promising anti-cancer drug. The above described findings were published in the high profile journal Nature communication: Elkis, Y., Cohen, M., Yaffe, E., Feldman, T., Satmary, S., Nyska, A., Shpungin, S., and Nir, U. (2017) A Fer/ FerT targeting compound selectively evokes metabolic stress and necrotic death in malignant cells. Nature Comm. DOI:10.1038/s41467-017-00832-w Deformation and destruction of the mitochondria (energy power station) of metastatic cancer cells (indicated by blue arrows the right panels which represent two magnification) by the newly developed anti-cancer agent-E260. Publications 2021 and 2022 · Elina Grinshtain, Sally Shpungin, Micha Baum, Uri Nir, Haim Breitbart. “The Fer tyrosine kinase protects sperm from spontaneous acrosome reaction”. Developmental Biology, 2022. · Odeya Marciano, Linoy Mehazri, Sally Shpungin, Alexander Varvak, Eldad Zacksenhaus and Uri Nir. “Fer and FerT Govern Mitochondrial Susceptibility to Metformin and Hypoxic Stress in Colon and Lung Carcinoma Cells”. Cells, 2021, 10(1), 97. · Linoy Mehazri, Sally Shpungin, Shai Bel and Uri Nir. “ Loss of Fer Jeopardizes Metabolic Plasticity and Mitochondrial Homeostasis in Lung and Breast Carcinoma Cells”. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(7), 3387. Untreated cancer cell Cancer cell treated with E260
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