Faculty

Ahmad Besaratinia

Ahmad Besaratinia

Professor of Research Population and Public Health Sciences
Medicine
NRT 1509A 1450 Biggy Street Health Sciences Campus Los Angeles

Epigenomic Dysregulation in Youth Vapers: Implications for Disease Risk Assessment Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 2024 Aug 12. . View in PubMed

The Untapped Biomarker Potential of MicroRNAs for Health Risk-Benefit Analysis of Vaping vsSmoking. Cells. 2024 Aug 10; 13(16). . View in PubMed

Exploring the Utility of Long Non-Coding RNAs for Assessing the Health Consequences of Vaping Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Aug 05; 25(15). . View in PubMed

The interplay of DNA damage and repair, gene expression, and mutagenesis in mammalian cells during oxidative stress Carcinogenesis. 2024 Jul 18. . View in PubMed

The State of Research and Weight of Evidence on the Epigenetic Effects of Bisphenol A Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Apr 27; 24(9). . View in PubMed

Vaping Dose, Device Type, and E-Liquid Flavor are Determinants of DNA Damage in Electronic Cigarette Users Nicotine Tob Res. 2023 05 22; 25(6):1145-1154. . View in PubMed

DNA Hydroxymethylation in Smoking-Associated Cancers Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Feb 28; 23(5). . View in PubMed

Secondhand smoke affects reproductive functions by altering the mouse testis transcriptome, and leads to select intron retention in Pde1a Environ Int. 2022 03; 161:107086. . View in PubMed

The consequential impact of JUUL on youth vaping and the landscape of tobacco products: The state of play in the COVID-19 era Prev Med Rep. 2021 Jun; 22:101374. . View in PubMed

Hydroxychloroquine induces oxidative DNA damage and mutation in mammalian cells DNA Repair (Amst). 2021 10; 106:103180. . View in PubMed

Relationships among smoking, oxidative stress, inflammation, macromolecular damage, and cancer Mutat Res Rev Mutat Res. 2021 Jan-Jun; 787:108365. . View in PubMed

A novel role for vaping in mitochondrial gene dysregulation and inflammation fundamental to disease development Sci Rep. 2021 11 23; 11(1):22773. . View in PubMed

From Tobacco Cigarettes to Electronic Cigarettes: The Two Sides of a Nicotine Coin Front Oral Health. 2021; 2:790634. . View in PubMed

COVID-19: a pandemic converged with global tobacco epidemic and widespread vaping-state of the evidence Carcinogenesis. 2021 08 19; 42(8):1009-1022. . View in PubMed

Vaping epidemic: challenges and opportunities Cancer Causes Control. 2020 Jul; 31(7):663-667. . View in PubMed

Secondhand Smoke Induces Liver Steatosis through Deregulation of Genes Involved in Hepatic Lipid Metabolism Int J Mol Sci. 2020 Feb 14; 21(4). . View in PubMed

Hypomethylation of LINE-1 repeat elements and global loss of DNA hydroxymethylation in vapers and smokers Epigenetics. 2020 08; 15(8):816-829. . View in PubMed

Spontaneous and photosensitization-induced mutations in primary mouse cells transitioning through senescence and immortalization J Biol Chem. 2020 07 17; 295(29):9974-9985. . View in PubMed

Vaping: A growing global health concern EClinicalMedicine. 2019 Dec; 17:100208. . View in PubMed

Deregulation of Biologically Significant Genes and Associated Molecular Pathways in the Oral Epithelium of Electronic Cigarette Users Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Feb 10; 20(3). . View in PubMed

DNA Hydroxymethylation at the Interface of the Environment and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 08 05; 16(15). . View in PubMed

Mutation Analysis in Cultured Cells of Transgenic Rodents Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Jan 16; 19(1). . View in PubMed

A Versatile Assay for Detection of Aberrant DNA Methylation in Bladder Cancer Methods Mol Biol. 2018; 1655:29-41. . View in PubMed

The Lambda Select cII Mutation Detection System J Vis Exp. 2018 04 26; (134). . View in PubMed

An opportune and unique research to evaluate the public health impact of electronic cigarettes Cancer Causes Control. 2017 Oct; 28(10):1167-1171. . View in PubMed

Limited mutagenicity of electronic cigarettes in mouse or human cells in vitro Lung Cancer. 2017 10; 112:41-46. . View in PubMed

Expression of epigenetic modifiers is not significantly altered by exposure to secondhand smoke Lung Cancer. 2015 Dec; 90(3):598-603. . View in PubMed

Exposure of mice to secondhand smoke elicits both transient and long-lasting transcriptional changes in cancer-related functional networks Int J Cancer. 2015 May 15; 136(10):2253-63. . View in PubMed

The lingering question of menthol in cigarettes Cancer Causes Control. 2015 Feb; 26(2):165-169. . View in PubMed

Epigenetics of human melanoma: promises and challenges J Mol Cell Biol. 2014 Oct; 6(5):356-67. . View in PubMed

Electronic cigarettes: the road ahead Prev Med. 2014 Sep; 66:65-7. . View in PubMed

Epigenetic targeting of the Nanog pathway and signaling networks during chemical carcinogenesis Carcinogenesis. 2014 Aug; 35(8):1726-36. . View in PubMed

Alterations of DNA methylome in human bladder cancer Epigenetics. 2013 Oct; 8(10):1013-22. . View in PubMed

Genotoxicity of tobacco smoke-derived aromatic amines and bladder cancer: current state of knowledge and future research directions FASEB J. 2013 Jun; 27(6):2090-100. . View in PubMed

Mammalian cells acquire epigenetic hallmarks of human cancer during immortalization Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Jan 07; 41(1):182-95. . View in PubMed

Whole DNA methylome profiling in mice exposed to secondhand smoke Epigenetics. 2012 Nov; 7(11):1302-14. . View in PubMed

A high-throughput next-generation sequencing-based method for detecting the mutational fingerprint of carcinogens Nucleic Acids Res. 2012 Aug; 40(15):e116. . View in PubMed

New experimental data linking secondhand smoke exposure to lung cancer in nonsmokers FASEB J. 2012 May; 26(5):1845-54. . View in PubMed

Interactions between hepatitis B virus and aflatoxin B(1): effects on p53 induction in HepaRG cells J Gen Virol. 2012 Mar; 93(Pt 3):640-650. . View in PubMed

Organ specificity of the bladder carcinogen 4-aminobiphenyl in inducing DNA damage and mutation in mice Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2012 Feb; 5(2):299-308. . View in PubMed

Measuring the formation and repair of UV damage at the DNA sequence level by ligation-mediated PCR Methods Mol Biol. 2012; 920:189-202. . View in PubMed

UV wavelength-dependent DNA damage and human non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancer Photochem Photobiol Sci. 2012 Jan; 11(1):90-7. . View in PubMed

Whole body exposure of mice to secondhand smoke induces dose-dependent and persistent promutagenic DNA adducts in the lung Mutat Res. 2011 Nov 01; 716(1-2):92-8. . View in PubMed

Wavelength dependence of ultraviolet radiation-induced DNA damage as determined by laser irradiation suggests that cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers are the principal DNA lesions produced by terrestrial sunlight FASEB J. 2011 Sep; 25(9):3079-91. . View in PubMed

Loss of Rassf1a enhances p53-mediated tumor predisposition and accelerates progression to aneuploidy Oncogene. 2011 Feb 10; 30(6):690-700. . View in PubMed

Uveal melanoma and GNA11 mutations: a new piece added to the puzzle Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2011 Feb; 24(1):18-20. . View in PubMed

Unveiling the methylation status of CpG dinucleotides in the substituted segment of the human p53 knock-in (Hupki) mouse genome Mol Carcinog. 2010 Dec; 49(12):999-1006. . View in PubMed

Applications of the human p53 knock-in (Hupki) mouse model for human carcinogen testing FASEB J. 2010 Aug; 24(8):2612-9. . View in PubMed

Investigating the epigenetic effects of a prototype smoke-derived carcinogen in human cells PLoS One. 2010 May 12; 5(5):e10594. . View in PubMed

Transcription-dependent cytosine deamination is a novel mechanism in ultraviolet light-induced mutagenesis Curr Biol. 2010 Jan 26; 20(2):170-5. . View in PubMed

In vitro recapitulating of TP53 mutagenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma associated with dietary aflatoxin B1 exposureGastroenterology. 2009 Sep; 137(3):1127-371137. e1-5. . View in PubMed

Mutational spectra of human cancer Hum Genet. 2009 Jun; 125(5-6):493-506. . View in PubMed

Acrolein: excessive cytotoxicity or potent mutagenicity? Chem Res Toxicol. 2009 May; 22(5):751-3; author reply 753-4.. View in PubMed

DNA-lesion mapping in mammalian cells Methods. 2009 May; 48(1):35-9. . View in PubMed

Sunlight ultraviolet irradiation and BRAF V600 mutagenesis in human melanoma Hum Mutat. 2008 Aug; 29(8):983-91. . View in PubMed

Second-hand smoke and human lung cancer Lancet Oncol. 2008 Jul; 9(7):657-66. . View in PubMed

Rapid repair of UVA-induced oxidized purines and persistence of UVB-induced dipyrimidine lesions determine the mutagenicity of sunlight in mouse cells FASEB J. 2008 Jul; 22(7):2379-92. . View in PubMed

Lack of mutagenicity of acrolein-induced DNA adducts in mouse and human cells Cancer Res. 2007 Dec 15; 67(24):11640-7. . View in PubMed

Riboflavin activated by ultraviolet A1 irradiation induces oxidative DNA damage-mediated mutations inhibited by vitamin C Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Apr 03; 104(14):5953-8. . View in PubMed

Mutagenicity of ultraviolet A radiation in the lacI transgene in Big Blue mouse embryonic fibroblasts Mutat Res. 2007 Apr 01; 617(1-2):71-8. . View in PubMed

A review of mechanisms of acrylamide carcinogenicity Carcinogenesis. 2007 Mar; 28(3):519-28. . View in PubMed

Investigating human cancer etiology by DNA lesion footprinting and mutagenicity analysis Carcinogenesis. 2006 Aug; 27(8):1526-37. . View in PubMed

The role of DNA polymerase iota in UV mutational spectra Mutat Res. 2006 Jul 25; 599(1-2):58-65. . View in PubMed

DNA lesions induced by UV A1 and B radiation in human cells: comparative analyses in the overall genome and in the p53 tumor suppressor gene Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Jul 19; 102(29):10058-63. . View in PubMed

Investigating DNA adduct-targeted mutagenicity of tamoxifen: preferential formation of tamoxifen-DNA adducts in the human p53 gene in SV40 immortalized hepatocytes but not endometrial carcinoma cells Biochemistry. 2005 Jun 14; 44(23):8418-27. . View in PubMed

Mutations induced by ultraviolet light Mutat Res. 2005 Apr 01; 571(1-2):19-31. . View in PubMed

DNA adduction and mutagenic properties of acrylamide Mutat Res. 2005 Feb 07; 580(1-2):31-40. . View in PubMed

Similar mutagenicity of photoactivated porphyrins and ultraviolet A radiation in mouse embryonic fibroblasts: involvement of oxidative DNA lesions in mutagenesis Biochemistry. 2004 Dec 14; 43(49):15557-66. . View in PubMed

Biological consequences of 8-methoxypsoralen-photoinduced lesions: sequence-specificity of mutations and preponderance of T to C and T to a mutations J Invest Dermatol. 2004 Dec; 123(6):1140-6. . View in PubMed

DNA damage, repair, and mutation induction by (+)-Syn and (-)-anti-dibenzo[a,l]pyrene-11,12-diol-13,14-epoxides in mouse cells Cancer Res. 2004 Oct 15; 64(20):7321-8. . View in PubMed

Genotoxicity of acrylamide and glycidamide J Natl Cancer Inst. 2004 Jul 07; 96(13):1023-9. . View in PubMed

G-to-T transversions and small tandem base deletions are the hallmark of mutations induced by ultraviolet a radiation in mammalian cells Biochemistry. 2004 Jun 29; 43(25):8169-77. . View in PubMed

Enhancement of the mutagenicity of benzo(a)pyrene diol epoxide by a nonmutagenic dose of ultraviolet A radiation Cancer Res. 2003 Dec 15; 63(24):8708-16. . View in PubMed

Weak yet distinct mutagenicity of acrylamide in mammalian cells J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003 Jun 18; 95(12):889-96. . View in PubMed

Mutational signature of the proximate bladder carcinogen N-hydroxy-4-acetylaminobiphenyl: inconsistency with the p53 mutational spectrum in bladder cancer Cancer Res. 2002 Aug 01; 62(15):4331-8. . View in PubMed

A molecular dosimetry approach to assess human exposure to environmental tobacco smoke in pubs Carcinogenesis. 2002 Jul; 23(7):1171-6. . View in PubMed

Biomonitoring of tobacco smoke carcinogenicity by dosimetry of DNA adducts and genotyping and phenotyping of biotransformational enzymes: a review on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Biomarkers. 2002 May-Jun; 7(3):209-29. . View in PubMed

Effects of oral administration of N-acetyl-L-cysteine: a multi-biomarker study in smokers Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Feb; 11(2):167-75. . View in PubMed

A multi-biomarker approach to study the effects of smoking on oxidative DNA damage and repair and antioxidative defense mechanisms Carcinogenesis. 2001 Mar; 22(3):395-401. . View in PubMed

Immunoperoxidase detection of 4-aminobiphenyl- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-DNA adducts in induced sputum of smokers and non-smokers Mutat Res. 2000 Jul 10; 468(2):125-35. . View in PubMed

Comparison between smoking-related DNA adduct analysis in induced sputum and peripheral blood lymphocytes Carcinogenesis. 2000 Jul; 21(7):1335-40. . View in PubMed

Applicability of induced sputum for molecular dosimetry of exposure to inhalatory carcinogens: 32P-postlabeling of lipophilic DNA adducts in smokers and nonsmokers Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2000 Apr; 9(4):367-72. . View in PubMed

Immunoperoxidase detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts in mouth floor and buccal mucosa cells of smokers and nonsmokers Environ Mol Mutagen. 2000; 36(2):127-33. . View in PubMed

Dr. Besaratinia’s research focuses on the molecular causes and mechanistic underpinning of human disease. His laboratory investigates the role of genetics and epigenetics in the development of a wide variety of diseases, including cancer at multiple organ sites, cardiovascular-, respiratory-, immune-related (inflammatory), and metabolic diseases. Emphasis is placed on genetic mechanisms, such as DNA damage & repair and mutagenesis, and epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNA dysregulation. Of special interest are chronic diseases with modifiable risk factors, including lifestyle, diet, and occupational/medicinal/environmental determinants. A primary area of research is tobacco-related diseases in connection to the use of new and emerging tobacco products, specifically electronic cigarettes (vapes). Dr. Besaratinia’s group conducts human subject research involving the general population, at-risk populations, disease cohorts, or clinical trials, complemented with experimental studies in laboratory animals and cell culture models. His team uses a combination of classic molecular biology techniques and cutting-edge ‘omics’ technologies to detect alterations in the genome, epigenome, and transcriptome in human cells and tissues, or laboratory mice and cell cultures treated with known or suspected disease-causing agents. Systems biology approaches are then deployed to integrate the results in order to elucidate how the interplay of genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic changes contributes to the development of diseases. The ultimate goal is to develop molecular markers, otherwise known as ‘biomarkers’, that can be used for prevention, early detection, treatment, and monitoring of the progression of diseases.
sc ctsi logoPowered by SC CTSI