Page 54 - Rappaport Institute Magazine 2024

PHYSIOLOGY, BIOPHYSICS AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY
Zaid Abassi, DSc Professor of Physiology
PhD, 1989 – Technion, Israel
Host response to anti-cancer drugs
My research focuses on Integrative System Biology, especially the interaction between the heart and kidney under normal conditions (Cardio-renal axis), and pathophysiological settings (Cardio-renal syndrome). The latter is associated with sodium retention and cardiac remodeling. My research focuses on the mechanisms underlying edema formation as well as cardiac hypertrophy in experimental congestive heart failure (CHF). In order to address these questions, we developed in our lab an experimental model of CHF induced by the creation of an aortocaval fistula (ACF) between the aorta and vena cava in rats. We demonstrated that this model mimics the neurohormonal and renal consequences of clinical CHF. In particular, we demonstrated that rats with ACF exhibit a marked activation of neurohormonal systems, including the rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), sympathetic nervous system (SNS), atrial and brain natriuretic peptides (ANP and BNP), and increased. In addition, there is a remarkable decrease in renal blood flow (RBF) and a decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) with a tendency to avid salt and water retention by the. Noteworthy, we have demonstrated that salt retention occurs despite elevated levels of circulatory ANP and BNP, where the diuretic/natriuretic beneficial effects of the latter are attenuated, a phenomenon known as “natriuretic peptide resistance”.
Selected Publications
ˆ Khoury E.E., Fokra A., Kinaneh S., Knaney Y., Aronson D. and Abassi Z. Distribution of Cardiac and Renal Corin and Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/ Kexin-6 in the Experimental Model of Cardio-Renal Syndrome of Various Severities. Frontiers in Physiology, Front. Physiol. 12:673497. doi: 10.3389/ fphys.2021.673497.
ˆ Cohen-Segev R, Nativ O, Kinaneh S, Aronson D, Kabala A, Hamoud S, Karram T, Abassi Z. Effects of Angiotensin 1-7 and Mas Receptor Agonist on Renal System in a Rat Model of Heart Failure. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jul 14;24(14):11470. doi: 10.3390/ijms241411470.
ˆ Khoury EE, Knaney Y, Fokra A, Kinaneh S, Azzam Z, Heyman SN, Abassi Z. Pulmonary, cardiac and renal distribution of ACE2, furin, TMPRSS2 and ADAM17 in rats with heart failure: Potential implication for COVID-19 disease. J. Cell Mol Med. 2021 Apr;25(8):3840-3855. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.16310.
abassi@technion.ac.il
Zaid Abassi Lab
Biosynthesis of ANP by cardiac myocytes.
Corin, a cardiac serine protease, is responsible for converting proANP to mature active ANP. Initially, inactive procorin is produced by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and transferred
to Golgi apparatus and eventually to cellar membrane where it interacts with PCSK6, a key enzyme in the conversion of procorin to corin.