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KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF

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MOHAMMAD ASİF
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2010 - 2019212020 - 20227
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    Correlation of host inflammatory cytokines and immune-related metabolites, but not viral NS1 protein, with disease severity of dengue virus infection
    (2020-08-01T00:00:00Z) Soe, Hui Jen; Manikam, Rishya; Raju, Chandramathi Samudi; Khan, MOHAMMAD ASİF; Sekaran, Shamala Devi; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    Severe dengue can be lethal caused by manifestations such as severe bleeding, fluid accumulation and organ impairment. This study aimed to investigate the role of dengue non-structural 1 (NS1) protein and host factors contributing to severe dengue. Electrical cell-substrate impedance sensing system was used to investigate the changes in barrier function of microvascular endothelial cells treated NS1 protein and serum samples from patients with different disease severity. Cytokines and metabolites profiles were assessed using a multiplex cytokine assay and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry respectively. The findings showed that NS1 was able to induce the loss of barrier function in microvascular endothelium in a dose dependent manner, however, the level of NS1 in serum samples did not correlate with the extent of vascular leakage induced. Further assessment of host factors revealed that cytokines such as CCL2, CCL5, CCL20 and CXCL1, as well as adhesion molecule ICAM-1, that are involved in leukocytes infiltration were expressed higher in dengue patients in comparison to healthy individuals. In addition, metabolomics study revealed the presence of deregulated metabolites involved in the phospholipid metabolism pathway in patients with severe manifestations. In conclusion, disease severity in dengue virus infection did not correlate directly with NS1 level, but instead with host factors that are involved in the regulation of junctional integrity and phospholipid metabolism. However, as the studied population was relatively small in this study, these exploratory findings should be confirmed by expanding the sample size using an independent cohort to further establish the significance of this study.
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    Advancing Personalized Medicine Through the Application of Whole Exome Sequencing and Big Data Analytics
    (2019-02-01T00:00:00Z) Suwinski, Pawel; Ong, ChuangKee; Ling, Maurice H. T.; Poh, Yang Ming; Khan, Asif M.; Ong, Hui San; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    There is a growing attention toward personalized medicine. This is led by a fundamental shift from the -one size fits all- paradigm for treatment of patients with conditions or predisposition to diseases, to one that embraces novel approaches, such as tailored target therapies, to achieve the best possible outcomes. Driven by these, several national and international genome projects have been initiated to reap the benefits of personalized medicine. Exome and targeted sequencing provide a balance between cost and benefit, in contrast to whole genome sequencing (WGS). Whole exome sequencing (WES) targets approximately 3% of the whole genome, which is the basis for protein-coding genes. Nonetheless, it has the characteristics of big data in large deployment. Herein, the application of WES and its relevance in advancing personalized medicine is reviewed. WES is mapped to Big Data -10 Vs- and the resulting challenges discussed. Application of existing biological databases and bioinformatics tools to address the bottleneck in data processing and analysis are presented, including the need for new generation big data analytics for the multi-omics challenges of personalized medicine. This includes the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the clinical utility landscape of genomic information, and future consideration to create a new frontier toward advancing the field of personalized medicine.
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    T3SEdb: data warehousing of virulence effectors secreted by the bacterial Type III Secretion System
    (2010-10-01T00:00:00Z) Tay, Daniel Ming Ming; Govindarajan, Kunde Ramamoorthy; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF; Ong, Terenze Yao Rui; Samad, Hanif M.; Soh, Wei Wei; Tong, Minyan; Zhang, Fan; Tan, Tin Wee; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    Background: Effectors of Type III Secretion System (T3SS) play a pivotal role in establishing and maintaining pathogenicity in the host and therefore the identification of these effectors is important in understanding virulence. However, the effectors display high level of sequence diversity, therefore making the identification a difficult process. There is a need to collate and annotate existing effector sequences in public databases to enable systematic analyses of these sequences for development of models for screening and selection of putative novel effectors from bacterial genomes that can be validated by a smaller number of key experiments.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Avian Influenza H7N9 Virus Adaptation to Human Hosts
    (2021-05-01T00:00:00Z) Tan, Swan; Sjaugi, Muhammad Farhan; Fong, Siew Chinn; Chong, Li Chuin; Abd Raman, Hadia Syahirah; Nik Mohamed, Nik Elena; August, Joseph Thomas; Khan, Asif M.; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    Avian influenza virus A (H7N9), after circulating in avian hosts for decades, was identified as a human pathogen in 2013. Herein, amino acid substitutions possibly essential for human adaptation were identified by comparing the 4706 aligned overlapping nonamer position sequences (1-9, 2-10, etc.) of the reported 2014 and 2017 avian and human H7N9 datasets. The initial set of virus sequences (as of year 2014) exhibited a total of 109 avian-to-human (A2H) signature amino acid substitutions. Each represented the most prevalent substitution at a given avian virus nonamer position that was selectively adapted as the corresponding index (most prevalent sequence) of the human viruses. The majority of these avian substitutions were long-standing in the evolution of H7N9, and only 17 were first detected in 2013 as possibly essential for the initial human adaptation. Strikingly, continued evolution of the avian H7N9 virus has resulted in avian and human protein sequences that are almost identical. This rapid and continued adaptation of the avian H7N9 virus to the human host, with near identity of the avian and human viruses, is associated with increased human infection and a predicted greater risk of human-to-human transmission.
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    Dissecting the Dynamics of HIV-1 Protein Sequence Diversity
    (2013-04-01T00:00:00Z) Hu, Yongli; Tan, Paul ThiamJoo; Tan, Tin Wee; August, J. Thomas; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    The rapid mutation of human immunodeficiency virus-type 1 (HIV-1) and the limited characterization of the composition and incidence of the variant population are major obstacles to the development of an effective HIV-1 vaccine. This issue was addressed by a comprehensive analysis of over 58,000 clade B HIV-1 protein sequences reported over at least 26 years. The sequences were aligned and the 2,874 overlapping nonamer amino acid positions of the viral proteome, each a possible core binding domain for human leukocyte antigen molecules and T-cell receptors, were quantitatively analyzed for four patterns of sequence motifs: (1) -index-, the most prevalent sequence; (2) -major- variant, the most common variant sequence; (3) -minor- variants, multiple different sequences, each with an incidence less than that of the major variant; and (4) -unique- variants, each observed only once in the alignment. The collective incidence of the major, minor, and unique variants at each nonamer position represented the total variant population for the position. Positions with more than 50% total variants contained correspondingly reduced incidences of index and major variant sequences and increased minor and unique variants. Highly diverse positions, with 80 to 98% variant nonamer sequences, were present in each protein, including 5% of Gag, and 27% of Env and Nef, each. The multitude of different variant nonamer sequences (i.e. nonatypes; up to 68%) at the highly diverse positions, represented by the major, multiple minor, and multiple unique variants likely supported variants function both in immune escape and as altered peptide ligands with deleterious T-cell responses. The patterns of mutational change were consistent with the sequences of individual HXB2 and C1P viruses and can be considered applicable to all HIV-1 viruses. This characterization of HIV-1 protein mutation provides a foundation for the design of peptide-based vaccines and therapeutics.
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    Analysis of viral diversity for vaccine target discovery
    (2017-12-01T00:00:00Z) Khan, Asif M.; Hu, Yongli; Miotto, Olivo; Thevasagayam, Natascha M.; Sukumaran, Rashmi; Raman, Hadia Syahirah Abd; Brusic, Vladimir; Tan, Tin Wee; August, J. Thomas; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    Background: Viral vaccine target discovery requires understanding the diversity of both the virus and the human immune system. The readily available and rapidly growing pool of viral sequence data in the public domain enable the identification and characterization of immune targets relevant to adaptive immunity. A systematic bioinformatics approach is necessary to facilitate the analysis of such large datasets for selection of potential candidate vaccine targets.
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    Developing critical thinking inSTEMeducation through inquiry-based writing in the laboratory classroom
    (2021-01-01T00:00:00Z) Jeon, Ah-Jung; Kellogg, David; Khan, MOHAMMAD ASİF; Tucker-Kellogg, Greg; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    Laboratory pedagogy is moving away from step-by-step instructions and toward inquiry-based learning, but only now developing methods for integrating inquiry-based writing (IBW) practices into the laboratory course. Based on an earlier proposal (Science 2011;332:919), we designed and implemented an IBW sequence in a university bioinformatics course. We automatically generated unique, double-blinded, biologically plausible DNA sequences for each student. After guided instruction, students investigated sequences independently and responded through IBW writing assignments. IBW assignments were structured as condensed versions of a scientific research article, and because the sequences were double blinded, they were also assessed as authentic science and evaluated on clarity and persuasiveness. We piloted the approach in a seven-day workshop (35 students) at Perdana University in Malaysia. We observed dramatically improved student engagement and indirect evidence of improved learning outcomes over a similar workshop without IBW. Based on student feedback, initial discomfort with the writing component abated in favor of an overall positive response and increasing comfort with the high demands of student writing. Similarly, encouraging results were found in a semester length undergraduate module at the National University of Singapore (155 students).
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    High dengue virus load differentially modulates human microvascular endothelial barrier function during early infection
    (2017-12-01T00:00:00Z) Soe, Hui Jen; Khan, Asif M.; Manikam, Rishya; Raju, Chandramathi Samudi; Vanhoutte, Paul; Sekaran, Shamala Devi; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    Plasma leakage is the main pathophysiological feature in severe dengue, resulting from altered vascular barrier function associated with an inappropriate immune response triggered upon infection. The present study investigated functional changes using an electric cell-substrate impedance sensing system in four (brain, dermal, pulmonary and retinal) human microvascular endothelial cell (MEC) lines infected with purified dengue virus, followed by assessment of cytokine profiles and the expression of inter-endothelial junctional proteins. Modelling of changes in electrical impedance suggests that vascular leakage in dengue-infected MECs is mostly due to the modulation of cell-to-cell interactions, while this loss of vascular barrier function observed in the infected MECs varied between cell lines and DENV serotypes. High levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-alpha), chemokines (CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL11, CX3CL1, CCL2 and CCL20) and adhesion molecules (VCAM-1) were differentially produced in the four infected MECs. Further, the tight junctional protein, ZO-1, was down-regulated in both the DENV-1-infected brain and pulmonary MECs, while claudin-1, PECAM-1 and VE-cadherin were differentially expressed in these two MECs after infection. Non-purified virus stock was also studied to investigate the impact of virus stock purity on dengue-specific immune responses, and the results suggest that virus stock propagated through cell culture may include factors that mask or alter the DENV-specific immune responses of the MECs. The findings of the present study show that high DENV load differentially modulates human microvascular endothelial barrier function and disrupts the function of inter-endothelial junctional proteins during early infection with organ-specific cytokine production.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Computational design and characterization of a multiepitope vaccine against carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae strains, derived from antigens identified through reverse vaccinology
    (2022-01-01T00:00:00Z) Cuscino, Nicola; Fatima, Ayesha; Di Pilato, Vincenzo; Bulati, Matteo; Alfano, Caterina; Monaca, Elisa; Di Mento, Giuseppina; Di Carlo, Daniele; Cardinale, Francesca; Monaco, Francesco; Rossolini, Gian Maria; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF; Conaldi, Pier Giulio; Douradinha, Bruno; FATIMA, AYESHA; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    Klebsiella pneumoniae is a Gram-negative pathogen of clinical relevance, which can provoke serious urinary and blood infections and pneumonia. This bacterium is a major public health threat due to its resistance to several antibiotic classes. Using a reverse vaccinology approach, 7 potential antigens were identified, of which 4 were present in most of the sequences of Italian carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae clinical isolates. Bioinformatics tools demonstrated the antigenic potential of these bacterial proteins and allowed for the identification of T and B cell epitopes. This led to a rational design and in silico characterization of a multiepitope vaccine against carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae strains. As adjuvant, the mycobacterial heparin-binding hemagglutinin adhesin (HBHA), which is a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) agonist, was included, to increase the immunogenicity of the construct. The multiepitope vaccine candidate was analyzed by bioinformatics tools to assess its antigenicity, solubility, allergenicity, toxicity, physical and chemical parameters, and secondary and tertiary structures. Molecular docking binding energies to TLR-2 and TLR-4, two important innate immunity receptors involved in the immune response against K. pneumoniae infections, and molecular dynamics simulations of such complexes supported active interactions. A codon optimized multiepitope sequence cloning strategy is proposed, for production of recombinant vaccine in classical bacterial vectors. Finally, a 3 dose-immunization simulation with the multiepitope construct induced both cellular and humoral immune responses. These results suggest that this multiepitope construct has potential as a vaccination strategy against carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae and deserves further validation.
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    West Nile Virus T-Cell Ligand Sequences Shared with Other Flaviviruses: a Multitude of Variant Sequences as Potential Altered Peptide Ligands
    (2012-07-01T00:00:00Z) Jung, Keun-Ok; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF; Tan, Benjamin Yong Liang; Hu, Yongli; Simon, Gregory G.; Nascimento, Eduardo J. M.; Lemonnier, Francois; Brusic, Vladimir; Miotto, Olivo; Tan, Tin Wee; Marques, Ernesto T. A.; Dhalia, Rafael; Salmon, Jerome; August, J. Thomas; KHAN, MOHAMMAD ASİF
    Phylogenetic relatedness and cocirculation of several major human pathogen flaviviruses are recognized as a possible cause of deleterious immune responses to mixed infection or immunization and call for a greater understanding of the inter-Flavivirus protein homologies. This study focused on the identification of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-restricted West Nile virus (WNV) T-cell ligands and characterization of their distribution in reported sequence data of WNV and other flaviviruses. H-2-deficient mice transgenic for either A2, A24, B7, DR2, DR3, or DR4 HLA alleles were immunized with overlapping peptides of the WNV proteome, and peptide-specific T-cell activation was measured by gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (ELISpot) assays. Approximately 30% (137) of the WNV proteome peptides were identified as HLA-restricted T-cell ligands. The majority of these ligands were conserved in similar to >= 88% of analyzed WNV sequences. Notably, only 51 were WNV specific, and the remaining 86, chiefly of E, NS3, and NS5, shared an identity of nine or more consecutive amino acids with sequences of 64 other flaviviruses, including several major human pathogens. Many of the shared ligands had an incidence of >50% in the analyzed sequences of one or more of six major flaviviruses. The multitude of WNV sequences shared with other flaviviruses as interspecies variants highlights the possible hazard of defective T-cell activation by altered peptide ligands in the event of dual exposure to WNV and other flaviviruses, by either infection or immunization. The data suggest the possible preferred use of sequences that are pathogen specific with minimum interspecies sequence homology for the design of Flavivirus vaccines.