Yasir Mohamud

University of British Columbia | UBC · Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Mitochondria serve an ultimate purpose that seeks to balance the life and death of cells, a role that extends well beyond the tissue and organ systems to impact not only normal physiology but also the pathogenesis of diverse diseases. Theorized to have originated from ancient proto-bacteria, mitochondria share similarities with bacterial cells, inc...

Breast cancer’s immunosuppressive environment hinders effective immunotherapy, but oncolytic viruses hold promise for addressing this challenge by targeting tumor cells and altering the microenvironment. Yet, neutralizing antibodies and immune clearance impede their clinical utility. This study explored microRNA-modified coxsackievirus B3 (miR-CVB3...

Viruses have evolved diverse strategies to evade the host innate immune response and promote infection. The retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors RIG-I and MDA5 are antiviral factors that sense viral RNA and trigger downstream signal via mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS) to activate type I interferon expression. 14-3-...

Background Immunotherapy has emerged as an efficient therapeutic approach for cancer management. However, stimulation of host immune system against cancer cells often fails to achieve promising clinical outcomes mainly owing to the immunosuppressive characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Combination therapeutics that can trigger susta...

There is growing evidence showing that single administration of immunotherapeutic agents has limited efficacy in a number of cancer patients mainly due to tumor heterogeneity and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In this study, a novel nanoparticle-based strategy was applied to achieve efficient tumor-targeted therapy by combining chemother...

Melanoma is a malignant tumor that accounts for the deadliest form of skin cancers. Despite the significant efforts made recently for development of immunotherapeutic strategies including using immune checkpoint inhibitors and cancer vaccines, the clinical outcomes are unsatisfying. Different factors affect efficient cancer immunotherapy such as si...

The myocardium/heart is the most mitochondria-rich tissue in the human body with mitochondria comprising approximately 30% of total cardiomyocyte volume. As the resident “powerhouse” of cells, mitochondria help to fuel the high energy demands of a continuously beating myocardium. It is no surprise that mitochondrial dysfunction underscores the path...

Background There is growing evidence showing that single administration of immunotherapeutic agents has limited efficacy in a number of cancer patients mainly due to tumor heterogeneity and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. In this study, a novel nanoparticle-based strategy was applied to achieve efficient tumor-targeted therapy by combinin...

Genetic modification of coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) by inserting target sequences (TS) of tumor-suppressive and/or organ-selective microRNAs (miRs) into viral genome can efficiently eliminate viral pathogenesis without significant impacts on its oncolytic activity. Nonetheless, reversion mutants (loss of miR-TS inserts) were identified as early as day...

Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NBD), leucine-rich repeat (LRR) containing protein family (NLRs) are intracellular pattern recognition receptors that mediate innate immunity against infections. The endothelium is the first line of defense against blood-borne pathogens, but it is unclear which NLRs control endothelial cell (EC) intrinsic...

Enteroviruses (EVs) are medically important RNA viruses that cause a broad spectrum of human illnesses for which limited therapy exists. Although EVs have been shown to usurp the cellular recycling process of autophagy for pro-viral functions, the precise manner by which this is accomplished remains to be elucidated. In the current manuscript, we s...

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) displays great oncolytic activity against various cancer cells. Previously, we demonstrated that adding targeting sequences (TS) of miR-145/143, which are downregulated in cancer compared with normal cells, into CVB3 genome drastically attenuates tissue toxicity, while retaining its oncolytic activity towards lung tumor. He...

Despite only comprising half of all known viral species, RNA viruses are disproportionately responsible for many of the worst epidemics in human history, including outbreaks of influenza, poliomyelitis, Ebola, and most recently, the coronavirus disease‐2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. The propensity for RNA viruses to replicate in cytosolic compartments h...

Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease of the motor neuron system associated with both genetic and environmental risk factors. Infection with enteroviruses, including poliovirus and coxsackievirus, such as coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), has been proposed as a possible causal/risk factor for ALS due to the evi...

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), an enterovirus (EV) in the family of Picornaviridae, is a global human pathogen for which effective antiviral treatments and vaccines are lacking. Previous research demonstrated that EV-D68 downregulated the membrane fusion protein SNAP47 (synaptosome associated protein 47) and SNAP47 promoted EV-D68 replication via regula...

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatalneurodegenerative disease of the motor neuron system associated with both genetic and environmental risk factors.Infection with enteroviruses, including poliovirus and coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3), has been proposed as a possible causal/risk factor for ALSdue to the evidence that enteroviruses c...

Enteroviruses (EVs) usurp the host autophagy pathway for pro-viral functions; however, the consequence of EV-induced diversion of autophagy on organelle quality control is poorly defined. Using coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) as a model EV, we explored the interplay between EV infection and selective autophagy receptors, i.e., Tax1-binding protein 1/TRAF6...

During viral infection, the dynamic virus-host relationship is constantly in play. Many cellular proteins such as RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) have been shown to mediate antiviral responses during viral infection. Here we reported that the RBP, fused in sarcoma/translocated in liposarcoma (FUS/TLS), acts as a host restricting factor against the infe...

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a prevalent etiological agent for viral myocarditis and neurological disorders, particularly in infants and young children. Virus-encoded proteinases have emerged as cytopathic factors that contribute to disease pathogenesis in part through targeting the cellular recycling machinery of autophagy. Although it is appreciat...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.omto.2020.01.002.].

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monit...

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monit...

The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 alongside the outbreaks of SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012 underscore the significance to understand betacoronaviruses as a global health challenge. SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent for COVID-19, has infected over 50 million individuals’ worldwide with more than ∼1 million fatalities. Autophagy modulators have emerge...

the PDF can be download freely on pubmed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33634751/

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monit...

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monit...

Breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among women, putting their life in jeopardy. Cancer immunotherapy is a novel approach with the ability to boost the host immune system to recognize and eradicate cancer cells with high selectivity. As a promising treatment, immunotherapy can not only eliminate the primary tumors...

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a single-stranded positive RNA virus that usurps cellular machinery, including the evolutionarily anti-viral autophagy pathway, for productive infections. Despite the emergence of double-membraned autophagosome-like vesicles during CVB3 infection, very little is known about the mechanism of autophagy initiation. In this...

The ongoing pandemic of COVID-19 alongside the outbreaks of SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012 underscore the significance to understand betacoronaviruses as a global health challenge. SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent for COVID-19, has infected more than 29 million individuals worldwide with nearly ~1 million fatalities. Understanding how SARS-CoV-2 in...

Genetic analyses of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have revealed a strong association between mutations in genes encoding many RNA-binding proteins (RBPs), including TARDBP, FUS, hnRNPA1, hnRNPA2B1, MATR3, ATXN2, TAF15, TIA-1, and EWSR1, and disease onset/progression. RBPs are a group of evolutionally conserved proteins that part...

We recently discovered that coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) is a potent oncolytic virus against KRAS mutant lung adenocarcinoma. Nevertheless, the evident toxicity restricts the use of wild-type (WT)-CVB3 for cancer therapy. The current study aims to engineer the CVB3 to decrease its toxicity and to extend our previous research to determine its safety and...

KRAS mutant (KRAS mut ) lung adenocarcinoma is a refractory cancer without available targeted therapy. The current study explored the possibility to develop coxsackievirus type B3 (CVB3) as an oncolytic agent for the treatment of KRAS mut lung adenocarcinoma. In cultured cells, we discovered that CVB3 selectively infects and lyses KRAS mut lung ade...

Enteroviruses (EVs) are the most common human pathogens worldwide. Recent international outbreaks in North America and South East Asia have emphasized the need for more effective anti-viral therapies. As obligate parasites, EVs rely on the host cellular machinery for effective viral propagation. Accumulating evidence has indicated that EVs subvert...

(1) Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects motor neurons in the cerebral cortex, brainstems, and spinal cord, leading to progressive paralysis and eventual death. About 95% of all ALS cases are sporadic without known causes. Enteroviruses have been suspected to play a role in ALS due to their...

The role for the NOD‐like receptor (NLR) P3 inflammasome in enterovirus infection remains controversial. Available data suggest that the NLRP3 inflammasome is protective against enterovirus A71 but detrimental to the host during coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection. CVB3 is a common etiologic agent associated with myocarditis and pancreatitis. Previo...

Cell autonomous immunity is the ability of individual cells to initiate a first line of host defense against invading microbes, such as viruses. Autophagy receptors, a diverse family of multivalent proteins, play a key role in this host response by detecting, sequestering, and eliminating virus in a process termed virophagy. To counteract this, pos...

Picornaviruses, one of the major causes of human diseases ranging from the common cold to acute flaccid paralysis, have a short cytosolic lifecycle that, in cultured cells, ends in cell lysis. For years, the prevailing model was that these viruses exit from cells exclusively through cell lysis. However, over the last several years it has become app...

Picornaviruses have evolved to hijack host cellular machinery, including the autophagic pathway. However, the mechanisms remain largely unclear. We use coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) as a model organism to explore the possible role of picornavirus subversion of the autophagic pathway in viral infection. Our in vivo and in vitro experiments demonstrate th...

Protein quality control (PQC) plays a key role in maintaining cardiomyocyte function and homeostasis, and malfunction in PQC is implicated in various forms of heart diseases. Molecular chaperones serve as the primary checkpoint for PQC; however, their roles in the pathogenesis of viral myocarditis, an inflammation of the myocardium caused by viral...