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Marzullo M, Coni S, De Simone A, Canettieri G, Ciapponi L. Modeling Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2 Using Drosophila melanogaster. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:14182. [PMID: 37762484 PMCID: PMC10532015 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241814182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Myotonic dystrophy 2 (DM2) is a genetic multi-systemic disease primarily affecting skeletal muscle. It is caused by CCTGn expansion in intron 1 of the CNBP gene, which encodes a zinc finger protein. DM2 disease has been successfully modeled in Drosophila melanogaster, allowing the identification and validation of new pathogenic mechanisms and potential therapeutic strategies. Here, we describe the principal tools used in Drosophila to study and dissect molecular pathways related to muscular dystrophies and summarize the main findings in DM2 pathogenesis based on DM2 Drosophila models. We also illustrate how Drosophila may be successfully used to generate a tractable animal model to identify novel genes able to affect and/or modify the pathogenic pathway and to discover new potential drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Marzullo
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “C. Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.M.)
| | - Sonia Coni
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Assia De Simone
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “C. Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.M.)
| | - Gianluca Canettieri
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
- Istituto Pasteur Italia, Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Ciapponi
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “C. Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (M.M.)
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2
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Zhong L, Yang Z, Tang H, Xu Y, Liu X, Shen J. Differential analysis of negative geotaxis climbing trajectories in Drosophila under different conditions. ARCHIVES OF INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 111:e21922. [PMID: 35666567 DOI: 10.1002/arch.21922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The decline of Drosophila climbing behavior is one of the common phenomena of Drosophila aging. The so-called negative geotaxis refers to the natural upward climbing behavior of Drosophila melanogaster after it oscillates to the bottom of the test tube. The strength of climbing ability is regarded as the index of aging change of D. melanogaster. At present, many laboratories use the percentage of 10 fruit flies climbing a specific height in 5 s as a general indicator of the climbing ability of fruit flies. This group research index ignores the climbing performance of a single fruit fly, and the climbing height belongs to the concept of vertical distance in physics, which cannot truly and effectively reflect the concept of curve distance in the actual climbing process of fruit flies. Therefore, based on the image processing algorithm, we added an experimental method to draw the climbing trajectory of a single fruit fly. By comparing the differences in climbing behavior of fruit flies under different sex, group or single, oscillation condition or rotation inversion condition, we can find that the K-Nearest Neighbor target detection algorithm has good applicability in fruit fly climbing experiment, and the climbing ability of fruit flies decreases with age. Under the same experimental conditions, the climbing ability of female fruit flies was greater than that of male fruit flies. The climbing track length of a single fruit fly can better reflect the climbing process of a fruit fly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lichao Zhong
- College of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhizhang Yang
- College of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hao Tang
- College of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yifan Xu
- College of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xingyou Liu
- College of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jie Shen
- College of Artificial Intelligence, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou, China
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3
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Taylor MJ, Thompson AM, Alhajlah S, Tuxworth RI, Ahmed Z. Inhibition of Chk2 promotes neuroprotection, axon regeneration, and functional recovery after CNS injury. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq2611. [PMID: 36103534 PMCID: PMC9473583 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq2611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
DNA double-strand breaks occur in many acute and long-term neurological conditions, including neurodegeneration, neurotrauma, and stroke. Nonrepaired breaks chronically activate the DNA damage response in neurons, leading to neural dysfunction and apoptosis. Here, we show that targeting of the central ATM-Chk2 pathway regulating the response to double-strand breaks slows neural decline in Drosophila models of chronic neurodegeneration. Inhibitors of ATM-Chk2, but not the parallel ATR-Chk1 pathway, also promote marked, functional recovery after acute central nervous system injury in rats, suggesting that inhibiting nonhomologous end-joining rather than homologous recombination is crucial for neuroprotection. We demonstrate that the Chk2 inhibitor, prexasertib, which has been evaluated in phase 2 clinical trials for cancer, has potent neuroprotective effects and represents a new treatment option to promote functional recovery after spinal cord or optic nerve injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Taylor
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Adam M. Thompson
- Neuroscience and Ophthalmology, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Sharif Alhajlah
- Applied Medical Science College, Shaqra University, Addawadmi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Richard I. Tuxworth
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Zubair Ahmed
- Neuroscience and Ophthalmology, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
- Centre for Trauma Sciences Research, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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Yadav RK, Gautam DK, Muj C, Gajula Balija MB, Paddibhatla I. Methotrexate negatively acts on inflammatory responses triggered in Drosophila larva with hyperactive JAK/STAT pathway. DEVELOPMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY 2021; 123:104161. [PMID: 34107277 DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2021.104161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2020] [Revised: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Drosophila is a valuable paradigm for studying tumorigenesis and cancer. Mutations causing hematopoietic aberrations and melanotic-blood-tumors found in Drosophila mutants are vastly studied. Clear understanding about the blood cells, signaling pathways and the tissues affected during hematopoietic tumor formation provide an opportunity to delineate the effects of cancer therapeutics. Using this simple hematopoietic archetype, we elucidated the effects of the anti-cancer drug, Methotrexate (MTX) on immune responses in two scenarios i.e. against wasp infection and in hematopoietic mutant, hopTum-l. Through this in vivo study we show that MTX impedes the immune responses against wasp infection including the encapsulation response. We further observed that MTX reduces the tumor penetrance in gain-of-function mutants of JAK/STAT pathway, hopTum-l. MTX is anti-inflammatory as it hinders not only the immune responses of acute inflammation as observed after wasp infestation, but also chronic inflammatory responses associated with constitutively activated JAK/STAT pathway mutant (hopTum-l) carrying blood tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Kant Yadav
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 500046, Telangana, India
| | - Dushyant Kumar Gautam
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 500046, Telangana, India
| | - Chukhu Muj
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 500046, Telangana, India
| | - Madhu Babu Gajula Balija
- Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 500046, Telangana, India.
| | - Indira Paddibhatla
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 500046, Telangana, India.
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Neto LJDL, Ramos AGB, de Freitas TS, Barbosa CRDS, de Sousa Júnior DL, Siyadatpanah A, Nejat M, Wilairatana P, Coutinho HDM, da Cunha FAB. Evaluation of Benzaldehyde as an Antibiotic Modulator and Its Toxic Effect against Drosophila melanogaster. Molecules 2021; 26:5570. [PMID: 34577039 PMCID: PMC8471095 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26185570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Products of natural origin remain important in the discovery of new bioactive molecules and are less damaging to the environment. Benzaldehyde is a product of the metabolism of plants, and similarly to oxygenated terpenes, it can have antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and toxic action against Drosophila melanogaster; we aimed to verify these activities. The broth microdilution tests determined the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of benzaldehyde alone and in association with antibiotics and ethidium bromide (EtBr). Toxicity against Drosophila melanogaster was determined by fumigation tests that measured lethality and damage to the locomotor system. The results indicated that there was an association of norfloxacin and ciprofloxacin with benzaldehyde, from 64 μg/mL to 32 μg/mL of ciprofloxacin in the strain K6028 and from 256 μg/mL to 128 μg/mL of norfloxacin in the strain 1199B; however, the associations were not able to interfere with the functioning of the tested efflux pumps. In addition, benzaldehyde had a toxic effect on flies. Thus, the results proved the ability of benzaldehyde to modulate quinolone antibiotics and its toxic effects on fruit flies, thus enabling further studies in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiz Jardelino de Lacerda Neto
- Laboratory of Semi-Arid Bioprospecting (LABSEMA), Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (L.J.d.L.N.); (A.G.B.R.); (D.L.d.S.J.); (F.A.B.d.C.)
- Graduate Program in Biological Chemistry, Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (T.S.d.F.); (C.R.d.S.B.)
| | - Andreza Guedes Barbosa Ramos
- Laboratory of Semi-Arid Bioprospecting (LABSEMA), Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (L.J.d.L.N.); (A.G.B.R.); (D.L.d.S.J.); (F.A.B.d.C.)
- Graduate Program in Biological Chemistry, Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (T.S.d.F.); (C.R.d.S.B.)
| | - Thiago Sampaio de Freitas
- Graduate Program in Biological Chemistry, Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (T.S.d.F.); (C.R.d.S.B.)
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Molecular Biology (LMBM), Regional University of Cariri (URCA), Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil
| | - Cristina Rodrigues dos Santos Barbosa
- Graduate Program in Biological Chemistry, Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (T.S.d.F.); (C.R.d.S.B.)
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Molecular Biology (LMBM), Regional University of Cariri (URCA), Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil
| | - Dárcio Luiz de Sousa Júnior
- Laboratory of Semi-Arid Bioprospecting (LABSEMA), Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (L.J.d.L.N.); (A.G.B.R.); (D.L.d.S.J.); (F.A.B.d.C.)
- Graduate Program in Biological Chemistry, Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (T.S.d.F.); (C.R.d.S.B.)
| | - Abolghasem Siyadatpanah
- Ferdows School of Paramedical and Health, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand 9717434765, Iran
| | - Morteza Nejat
- Master of Internal Surgery Nursing, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand 9717434765, Iran;
| | - Polrat Wilairatana
- Department of Clinical Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
| | - Henrique Douglas Melo Coutinho
- Laboratory of Microbiology and Molecular Biology (LMBM), Regional University of Cariri (URCA), Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil
| | - Francisco Assis Bezerra da Cunha
- Laboratory of Semi-Arid Bioprospecting (LABSEMA), Regional University of Cariri, Crato 63105-000, CE, Brazil; (L.J.d.L.N.); (A.G.B.R.); (D.L.d.S.J.); (F.A.B.d.C.)
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Soni P, Ghufran MS, Olakkaran S, Puttaswamygowda GH, Duddukuri GR, Kanade SR. Epigenetic alterations induced by aflatoxin B 1: An in vitro and in vivo approach with emphasis on enhancer of zeste homologue-2/p21 axis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 762:143175. [PMID: 33131875 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 10/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The potent environmental toxicant aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), is a group I carcinogen reported to induce the expression of many cancer associated proteins. Epigenetic alterations such as DNA methylation and histone modifications play vital role in AFB1-mediated carcinogenesis. These epigenetic modifications may result in the recruitment of specific proteins and transcription factors to the promoter region and regulate gene expression. Here we show that AFB1, at lower concentrations (100 and 1000 nM) induced proliferation in L-132 and HaCaT cells with activation of the Akt pathway, which ultimately steered abnormal proliferation and transmission of survival signals. We demonstrated a significant reduction in the expression of p21 with a remarkable increase in the expression of cyclin D1 that correlated with increased methylation of CpG dinucleotides in p21 proximal promoter, while cyclin D1 promoter remained unmethylated. The chromatin immunoprecipitation results revealed the enrichment of DNMT3a and H3K27me3 repressive marks on the p21 proximal promoter where EZH2 mediated H3K27me3 mark enhanced the binding of DNMT3a at the promoter and further contributed to the transcriptional inactivation. The overall study provided the novel information on the impact of AFB1 on p21 inactivation via EZH2 and promoter methylation which is known to be a vital process in proliferation. Furthermore, AFB1 induced the expression of EZH2 analogue protein E(z), cyclin D1 analogue cyclin D and decreased the expression of p21 analogue Dacapo in Drosophila melanogaster. Interestingly, the aggressiveness in their expression upon re-exposure in successive generations suggested first hand perspectives on multigenerational epigenetic memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Priyanka Soni
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Kerala, Tejaswini Hills, Periye, Kasargod 671316, Kerala, India
| | - Md Sajid Ghufran
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Kerala, Tejaswini Hills, Periye, Kasargod 671316, Kerala, India
| | - Shilpa Olakkaran
- Department of Zoology, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Kerala, Tejaswini Hills, Periye, Kasargod 671316, Kerala, India
| | | | - Govinda Rao Duddukuri
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Central University of Kerala, Tejaswini Hills, Periye, Kasargod 671316, Kerala, India
| | - Santosh R Kanade
- Department of Plant Science, School of Life Science, University of Hyderabad, Prof. C. R. Rao Road Gachibowli, Hyderabad 500046, India.
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Spierer AN, Yoon D, Zhu CT, Rand DM. FreeClimber: automated quantification of climbing performance in Drosophila. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb229377. [PMID: 33188065 PMCID: PMC7823161 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.229377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Negative geotaxis (climbing) performance is a useful metric for quantifying Drosophila health. Manual methods to quantify climbing performance are tedious and often biased, while many available computational methods have challenging hardware or software requirements. We present an alternative: FreeClimber. This open source, Python-based platform subtracts a video's static background to improve detection for flies moving across heterogeneous backgrounds. FreeClimber calculates a cohort's velocity as the slope of the most linear portion of a mean vertical position versus time curve. It can run from a graphical user interface for optimization or a command line interface for high-throughput and automated batch processing, improving accessibility for users with different expertise. FreeClimber outputs calculated slopes, spot locations for follow-up analyses (e.g. tracking), and several visualizations and plots. We demonstrate FreeClimber's utility in a longitudinal study for endurance exercise performance in Drosophila mitonuclear genotypes using six distinct mitochondrial haplotypes paired with a common D. melanogaster nuclear background.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam N Spierer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Denise Yoon
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Chen-Tseh Zhu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
- Global Plant Breeding, Bayer Crop Science, Chesterfield, MO 63017, USA
| | - David M Rand
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
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Tuxworth RI, Taylor MJ, Martin Anduaga A, Hussien-Ali A, Chatzimatthaiou S, Longland J, Thompson AM, Almutiri S, Alifragis P, Kyriacou CP, Kysela B, Ahmed Z. Attenuating the DNA damage response to double-strand breaks restores function in models of CNS neurodegeneration. Brain Commun 2019; 1:fcz005. [PMID: 32954257 PMCID: PMC7425387 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcz005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Revised: 06/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA double-strand breaks are a feature of many acute and long-term neurological disorders, including neurodegeneration, following neurotrauma and after stroke. Persistent activation of the DNA damage response in response to double-strand breaks contributes to neural dysfunction and pathology as it can force post-mitotic neurons to re-enter the cell cycle leading to senescence or apoptosis. Mature, non-dividing neurons may tolerate low levels of DNA damage, in which case muting the DNA damage response might be neuroprotective. Here, we show that attenuating the DNA damage response by targeting the meiotic recombination 11, Rad50, Nijmegen breakage syndrome 1 complex, which is involved in double-strand break recognition, is neuroprotective in three neurodegeneration models in Drosophila and prevents Aβ1-42-induced loss of synapses in embryonic hippocampal neurons. Attenuating the DNA damage response after optic nerve injury is also neuroprotective to retinal ganglion cells and promotes dramatic regeneration of their neurites both in vitro and in vivo. Dorsal root ganglion neurons similarly regenerate when the DNA damage response is targeted in vitro and in vivo and this strategy also induces significant restoration of lost function after spinal cord injury. We conclude that muting the DNA damage response in the nervous system is neuroprotective in multiple neurological disorders. Our results point to new therapies to maintain or repair the nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard I Tuxworth
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Matthew J Taylor
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Ane Martin Anduaga
- Department of Genetics & Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK
| | - Alaa Hussien-Ali
- Centre for Biomedical Science, Centre of Gene and Cell Therapy, School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | | | - Joanne Longland
- Neuroscience and Ophthalmology, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Adam M Thompson
- Neuroscience and Ophthalmology, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Sharif Almutiri
- Neuroscience and Ophthalmology, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.,Applied Medical Science College, Shaqra University, Addawadmi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Pavlos Alifragis
- Centre for Biomedical Science, Centre of Gene and Cell Therapy, School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | | | - Boris Kysela
- Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.,Aston Medical School, Aston Medical Research Institute, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
| | - Zubair Ahmed
- Neuroscience and Ophthalmology, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
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