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Alexei G. Basnakian, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor

Alexei G. Basnakian, M.D., Ph.D.
MD
Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy, 1976

PHD
USSR Academy of Medical Sciences, 1981

Research Interests
The main area of research of Dr. Basnakian and his associates are cytotoxic DNA endonucleases. Cell death is commonly associated with the enzymatic fragmentation of DNA. This includes a limited number of premortem DNA breaks (leading to cell death) and a huge number of postmortem DNA breaks (resulting from cell death). Cells have excessive DNA-degrading power provided by the recently recognized group of cytotoxic DNases/endonucleases which includes: deoxyribonuclease I, deoxyribonuclease II, caspase-activated DNase, endonuclease G, DNase gamma and several other enzymes. Sometimes these enzymes are called “apoptotic endonucleases,” however they participate in necrosis as well. Other roles of cell death endonucleases include clean-up after cell death, removal of foreign DNA inside the cell, and cleavage of DNA circulating in plasma and other body fluids. Normally, host cell DNA is protected against these DNases. However, during a toxic cell injury or disease, genomic DNA becomes accessible to cell death endonucleases due to the change of cellular homeostasis and increased permeability of membranes. Dr. Basnakian’s group tries to identify endonucleases, which participate in premortem DNA fragmentation in renal tubular epithelium during ischemic or toxic acute renal failure, in liver cells during acute toxic injury, in heart during hypoxia-reoxygenation, and in cancer cells during chemotherapeutic drug-induced apoptosis. His studies strongly indicate that the inhibition or inactivation of some endonucleases is protective against cell death in different models.

E-mail
basnakianalexeig@uams.edu


Selected Publications

Apostolov EO, Wang X, Shah SV, Basnakian AG (2007) Role of EndoG in development and cell injury. Cell Death & Differ, 14, 11, 1971-1974

Yin X, Apostolov EO, Shah SV, Wang X, Bogdanov K, Buzder T, Stewart AG, Basnakian AG (2007) Induction of renal endonuclease G by cisplatin is reduced in DNase I-deficient mice. J Am Soc Nephrol, 18, 9, 2544-2553

Banfalvi G, Ujvarosi K, Trenscenyi G, Somogyi S, Nagy G, Basnakian AG (2007) Cell culture density dependent toxicity and chromatin changes upon cadmium treatment in murine pre-B-cells. Apoptosis 12, 7, 1219-1228

Basnakian AG, Apostolov EO, Yin X, Abiri SO, Stewart AG, Singh AB, Shah SV (2006) Endonuclease G promotes cell death of non-invasive human breast cancer cells. Exp Cell Res, 312(20): 4139-4149

Banfalvi G, Gacsi M, Nagy G, Kiss ZB, Basnakian AG (2006) Common pathway of chromosome condensation in mammalian cells. DNA & Cell Biol, 25(5): 295-301.

Napirei M, Basnakian AG, Apostolov EO, Mannherz HG (2006) Deoxyribonuclease 1 mediates acetaminophen induced liver necrosis in male CD-1 (ICR) mice. Hepatology, 43, 2, 297-305

Basnakian AG, Apostolov EO, Yin X, Napirei M, Mannherz HG, Shah SV (2005) Cisplatin nephrotoxicity is mediated by DNase I. J Am Soc Nephrol 16, 3, 697-702

Basnakian AG, Ueda N, Hong X, Galitovsky VE, Yin X, Shah SV (2005) Ceramide synthase is essential for endonuclease-mediated death of renal tubular epithelial cells induced by hypoxia-reoxygenation. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 288, 2, F308-F314 (Epub 2004 Oct 12)

Basnakian AG, Singh AB, Shah SV (2002) Identification of novel alternatively spliced segments in rat DNase I gene expressed in the kidney. Gene 289(1-2), 87-96

Basnakian AG, Ueda N, Kaushal GP, Mikhailova MV, Shah SV. (2002) DNase I-like endonuclease in rat kidney cortex activated during ischemia/reperfusion injury. J Am Soc Nephrol 13(4), 1000-1007

Basnakian AG, James SJ (1996) Quantification of 3'OH DNA breaks by random oligonucleotide-primed synthesis (ROPS) assay. DNA & Cell Biology 15, 3, 255-262

Pravdenkova SV, Basnakian AG, James SJ, Andersen BJ (1996) DNA fragmentation and nuclear endonuclease activity in rat brain after severe closed head injury. Brain Research 729, 2, 151-155

Basnakian AG, James SJ (1995) Random oligonucleotide-primed synthesis (ROPS) DNA fragmentation assay Current Protocols in Molecular Biology (Ausubel FA et al, Eds.), The Red Book Bulletin, John Wiley & Sons, New York, Suppl 31, 1-4

View Dr. Basnakian's PubMed publication list.


University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology

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