תחום מחקר: רפואת ילדים וכבד
Synopsis:
My research is focusing mainly in main topics.
1. Liver fibrosis
In my lab we studied the signal transduction pathway of Hepatic Stellate Cells. We demonstrated the antifibrotic effect of Vitamin D on liver fibrosis. We also showed that vitamin D has antiproliferative and antifibrotic effects on liver fibrosis in in vitro, using an in vitro model of primary HSCs (Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol, 2015, 308: G112–G120) and in vivo models (Gut, 2011,60-12: 1728-37 . Based on those results vitamin D can be considered as having potential therapeutic value.
2. Milk derived exosomes and their miRNA-Characterization and importance in infant nutrition
Milk is the main nutritional source for newborn mammals and breastfeeding is recognized as one of the most valuable contributors to infant health. Infants that are breastfed enjoy significant health benefits in comparison to those fed with infant formulas (Molecular Nutrition and Food Research,2017, 61(10): 1700009). Recently, our group demonstrated that the skim and fat layer of mammalians milk contains a variety of miRNAs that appear to play important roles in the postnatal development of the offspring. We found high expression of different miRNAs in milk, that may appear to play regulatory roles in many biological and metabolic processes associated with obesity, diabetes, immune system development and diseases prevention. These miRNAs are highly conserved in humans, bovine and goat milk. In contrast, infant formula contains very low amount (almost undetectable) of miRNAs. Furthermore, we showed that exosomes and fat globules present in milk were able to enter into normal and tumor cells and affect their miRNA profile expression and biological functions. For instance (Nutrients 2020;12:2589-2597