Alaa Zare

Ms. Alaa Zare


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

11Years (2016-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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10 June 2016 in Cancers
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
NVNatalia Volodko
Natalia Volodko
Mohamed SallaMohamed Salla
Mohamed Salla
AZAlaa Zare
Alaa Zare
EAEl-Arbi Abulghasem
El-Arbi Abulghasem
KVKrista Vincent
Krista Vincent
SBShariaz Baksh
Shariaz Baksh
Epigenetic silencing of RASSF1A is frequently observed in numerous cancers and has been previously reported. The promoter region of RASSF1A is predicted to have 75 CpG sites, and very few studies demonstrate how the methylation of these sites affects expression. In addition, the expression relationship between RASSF1A and its downstream target, modulator of apoptosis 1 (MOAP-1), is poorly understood. In this study, we have explored the mRNA expression of RASSF1A, MOAP-1 and the well-characterized splice variant of RASSF1, RASSF1C, in cancer cell lines and primary tumors. We confirmed that the RASSF1A promoter is robustly methylated within a 32-CpG region in solid tumors and results in lower mRNA expression. The MOAP-1 promoter contains ~110 CpG sites, but was not found to be methylated in cancer cell lines when 19 predicted CpG sites were explored. Interestingly, MOAP-1 mRNA expression positively correlated with RASSF1A expression in numerous cancers, whereas RASSF1C expression remained the same or was increased in cell lines or tissues with epigenetic loss of RASSF1A. We speculate that MOAP-1 and RASSF1A may be more intimately connected than originally thought, and the expression of both are warranted in experimental designs exploring the biology of the RASSF1A/MOAP-1 molecular pathway.