Heba Salah AbuShahla

Dr. Heba Salah AbuShahla


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

1Year (2026-Present)

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

Representative Publications

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16 July 2026 in Biology
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MAMuhammad Alzweiri
Muhammad Alzweiri
AAAhmed S.A. Ali Agha
Ahmed S.A. Ali Agha
NQNidal Qinna
Nidal Qinna
GAGhayda' Aldabet
Ghayda' Aldabet
HAHeba Salah AbuShahla
Heba Salah AbuShahla
TATalal Ahmad Aburjai
Talal Ahmad Aburjai
Current experimental neurotoxicity research commonly relies on evaluating individual behavioral and biochemical endpoints, often without considering whether spontaneous behavior and lipid metabolism exhibit coordinated multivariate organization under toxicological stress. To address this question, the present study employed an integrative framework combining spontaneous behavioral profiling, targeted plasma fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiling, chemometric analyses, targeted assessment of cholinergic function, and permutation-based statistical validation in an AlCl3-induced rat model of neurotoxicity. Behavioral assessment was performed using the Y-maze, and multivariate organization was evaluated using covariance analyses, principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), one-dimensional projection modeling, and nonparametric permutation testing (10,000 permutations). AlCl3 exposure was associated with early dose-related behavioral impairment at day 21 (ANOVA, p = 0.0006). In addition, both the measured fatty acid profiles and behavioral measures exhibited significant non-random multivariate organization, with progressive dose-related changes observed following AlCl3 exposure. Collectively, these findings suggest that neurotoxic exposure is associated with coordinated changes in the multivariate organization of measured fatty acid profiles, behavioral measures, and cholinergic function rather than isolated alterations in individual variables. Although confirmation in larger independent cohorts and broader molecular profiling remains warranted, the present findings support the use of multivariate organizational analysis as a complementary systems-level framework for investigating experimental neurotoxicity.

7 September 2026 in Biomedicines
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
AAAhmed S.A. Ali Agha
Ahmed S.A. Ali Agha
DHDima Hattab
Dima Hattab
ABAthirah Bakhtiar
Athirah Bakhtiar
AKArwa Omar Al Khatib
Arwa Omar Al Khatib
HAHeba Salah AbuShahla
Heba Salah AbuShahla
AAAmal Akour
Amal Akour
The emergence of seekRNA- and bridgeRNA-guided recombination has introduced a distinct paradigm in genome engineering by coupling programmable RNA-directed DNA recognition with recombinase-mediated insertion, excision, inversion, and genomic rearrangement without canonical double-strand breaks. Since their discovery in 2024, these systems have progressed rapidly from bacterial mobile genetic elements and mechanistic characterization to structural elucidation and programmable genome engineering in human cells. However, these advances remain distributed across foundational and rapidly emerging studies, creating a need for an integrated molecular perspective on their mechanisms, technological development, and position within contemporary genome engineering. This review synthesizes the molecular architecture, RNA-guided recognition, strand-exchange mechanisms, programmability, and engineering of seekRNA and bridgeRNA systems, with particular emphasis on complementary human-cell advances involving ISCro4 and engineered IS621. Whereas ISCro4 systems have enabled multikilobase DNA insertion, genomic excision, and near-megabase inversion, the enIS621–tebRNA platform has enabled scarless kilobase-scale integration across multiple human cell types, including proof-of-concept functional CD19 chimeric antigen receptor and factor IX gene insertion. The review further integrates recent genome-scale bacterial rewriting and Targetable Recombinase Assisted DNA Exchange (TRADE)-mediated DNA replacement, while benchmarking RNA-guided recombination against conventional site-specific recombination, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based editing, Programmable Addition via Site-specific Targeting Elements (PASTE), CRISPR-associated transposases, and emerging large-payload genome-writing strategies, including kilobase-scale nickase-targeting (KNIT) editing, Prime Assembly, engineered R2 retrotransposons, and TransCRISTI. This comparative framework highlights a broader transition from programmable sequence modification toward direct engineering of genomic architecture, while identifying recognition-site constraints, mismatch-tolerant recombination, unintended recombination products, delivery, and genome-wide specificity as key translational barriers. By integrating foundational mechanisms with recent mammalian engineering, genome-scale bacterial rewriting, large-payload technologies, and emerging computational design strategies, this review provides a contemporary framework for defining the distinctive capabilities, current limitations, and future development of programmable RNA-guided DNA recombination.