Browsing by Author "Giray, Asli"

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Cytokine expression profiles in Autism spectrum disorder: A multi-center study from Turkey
(2020) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Tufan, Evren; Gokcen, Cem; Kilicaslan, Fethiye; Karadag, Mehmet; Mutluer, Tuba; Yektas, Cigdem; Coban, Nurdan; Kandemir, Hasan; Buber, Ahmet; Coskun, Seyma; Acikbas, Ufuk; Guler, Gulen; Topal, Zehra; Celik, Fatma; Altintas, Ebru; Giray, Asli; Aka, Yeliz; Kutuk, Ozgur; 0000-0002-2918-7871; 0000-0001-9854-7220; 0000-0003-2735-4805; 32563959; AAI-9626-2021; AAH-1671-2019; G-8832-2015
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction as well as restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. The pathogenesis of ASD is not completely understood, but a growing body of research has demonstrated that the immune response may be a contributing factor in the etiology and/or ontogeny of ASD. The aim of this study was to determine the expression levels of IL-1 beta, IL-1 alpha, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-alpha and TGF-beta in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with ASD and healthy controls in order to determine the contributions of cytokines to ASD. Within the study timeframe, 195 children with ASDs (80.5% male) and 162 controls (73.6% male) were enrolled. Most children with ASD had a comorbid disorder (n = 114, 58.5%), with the most common diagnoses as Intellectual Developmental Disorder (IDD, n = 64, 32.8%) and ADHD (n = 64, 32.8%). The majority of children with ASD had severe autistic symptoms as evaluated via Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS, n = 130, 64.6%). The mean CARS score in the ASD sample was 40.8 (S.D. = 7.6). The patients with ASD were found to have significantly higher levels of IL-6 (p < 0.001) and significantly lower levels of IL-17 (p < 0.05, all Bonferroni corrected). Treatment tended to affect IL-4 levels. Lastly, discriminant function analysis (DFA) revealed that a combination of IL-6, IL-17 and IL-1 alpha correctly classified 56.6% of cases. Despite extensive immunological evidence suggesting immune system aberrations, further research is required to clarify the relationship between immune profiles and ASD symptoms.
High Depression Symptoms and Burnout Levels Among Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Multi-Center, Cross-Sectional, Case-Control Study (Jan, 10.1007/s10803-021-04874-4, 2021)
(2021) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Tufan, Ali Evren; Kilicaslan, Fethiye; Guler, Gulen; Celik, Fatma; Altintas, Ebru; Gokcen, Cem; Karadag, Mehmet; Yektas, Cigdem; Mutluer, Tuba; Kandemir, Hasan; Buber, Ahmet; Topal, Zehra; Acikbas, Ufuk; Giray, Asli; Kutuk, Ozgur; 0000-0002-2918-7871; 0000-0001-9854-7220; 33591437; AAI-9626-2021
Mitochondrial estrogen receptors alter mitochondrial priming and response to endocrine therapy in breast cancer cells
(2021) Karakas, Bahriye; Aka, Yeliz; Giray, Asli; Temel, Sehime Gulsum; Acikbas, Ufuk; Basaga, Huveyda; Gul, Ozgur; Kutuk, Ozgur; 34294688
Breast cancer is the most common cancer with a high rate of mortality and morbidity among women worldwide. Estrogen receptor status is an important prognostic factor and endocrine therapy is the choice of first-line treatment in ER-positive breast cancer. However, most tumors develop resistance to endocrine therapy. Here we demonstrate that BH3 profiling technology, in particular, dynamic BH3 profiling can predict the response to endocrine therapy agents as well as the development of acquired resistance in breast cancer cells independent of estrogen receptor status. Immunofluorescence analysis and subcellular fractionation experiments revealed distinct ER-alpha and ER-beta subcellular localization patterns in breast cancer cells, including mitochondrial localization of both receptor subtypes. shRNA-mediated depletion of ER-beta in breast cancer cells led to resistance to endocrine therapy agents and selective reconstitution of ER-beta in mitochondria restored sensitivity. Notably, mitochondria-targeted ER-alpha did not restore sensitivity, even conferred further resistance to endocrine therapy agents. In addition, expressing mitochondria-targeted ER-beta in breast cancer cells resulted in decreased mitochondrial respiration alongside increased total ROS and mitochondrial superoxide production. Furthermore, our data demonstrated that mitochondrial ER-beta can be successfully targeted by the selective ER-beta agonist Erteberel. Thus, our findings provide novel findings on mitochondrial estrogen signaling in breast cancer cells and suggest the implementation of the dynamic BH3 technique as a tool to predict acquired endocrine therapy resistance.
Novel inflammatory targets for immunotherapies in pediatric patients with trichotillomania
(2020) Kutuk, Meryem Ozlem; Tufan, Ali Evren; Kilicaslan, Fethiye; Mutluer, Tuba; Gokcen, Cem; Karadag, Mehmet; Yektas, Cigdem; Kandemir, Hasan; Buber, Ahmet; Aksu, Gulen Guler; Topal, Zehra; Giray, Asli; Celik, Fatma; Acikbas, Ufuk; Kutuk, Ozgur; 0000-0002-2918-7871; 32113788; AAI-9626-2021
Immune dysregulation may be important in the etiology of obsessive-compulsive and related disordersandbody-focusedrepetitivebehaviors, such as Trichotillomania (TTM). The role of inflammation and inflammatory markers in TTM has received relatively little attention. This study was aimed to determine the expression levels of inflammatory markers (i.e. IL-1 beta, IL-1 alpha, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-alpha and TGF-5) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with TTM and healthy controls and to evaluate their association with clinical variables. Seventy-seven patients with TTM and 107 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Peripheral blood was collected in standardized conditions. The mean age of patients and controls did not differ significantly (10.8 +/- 4.4 and 12.0 +/- 3.2 years; respectively). The majority of patients with TTM and controls were females (n = 55, 71.4 % and n = 55, 51.4 %; respectively); with a greater preponderance of females among TTM. Patients with TTM had significantly elevated expression levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6 and IL-17 compared to controls. However, the expression level of IL-4 was significantly reduced in TTM patients compared to controls. Accordingly, we found a proinflammatory state in TTM and those findings may suggest novel treatment options for TTM and further, crossdisciplinary studies focusing on neuro- inflammation in TTM conducted on larger samples are needed.
RAB25 confers resistance to chemotherapy by altering mitochondrial apoptosis signaling in ovarian cancer cells
(2020) Temel, Sehime Gulsun; Giray, Asli; Karaka, Bahriye; Gul, Ozgur; Kozanoglu, Ilknur; Celik, Husnu; Basaga, Huveyda; Acikbas, Ufuk; Sucularli, Ceren; Oztop, Sidika; Aka, Yeliz; Kutuk, Ozgur; 0000-0001-5653-6080; 0000-0001-9854-7220; 0000-0002-5268-1210; 32901335; AAJ-7911-2020; AAH-1671-2019; AAE-1241-2021
Ovarian cancer remains one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related death in women. Many patients with ovarian cancer suffer from de novo or acquired resistance to chemotherapy. Here, we report that RAB25 suppresses chemotherapy-induced mitochondrial apoptosis signaling in ovarian cancer cell lines and primary ovarian cancer cells. RAB25 blocks chemotherapy-induced apoptosis upstream of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization by either increasing antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins or decreasing proapoptotic BCL-2 proteins. In particular, BAX expression negatively correlates with RAB25 expression in ovarian cancer cells. BH3 profiling assays corroborated that RAB25 decreases mitochondrial cell death priming. Suppressing RAB25 by means of RNAi or RFP14 inhibitory hydrocarbon-stapled peptide sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to chemotherapy as well as RAB25-mediated proliferation, invasion and migration. Our data suggest that RAB25 is a potential therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.