אודות
A tremendous biodiversity evolved on Earth allows species to face the challenges in their diverse habitats. The subterranean blind mole-rat of the genus Nannospalax (hereafter, Spalax) is a remarkably long-lived, solitary, wild, obligatory fossorial rodent of the Eastern Mediterranean region. Spalax inhabits sealed underground burrows, relatively protected from extreme climatic changes, pathogens, and predators; however, it faces extreme hypoxic and hypercapnic conditions that can reach ~7% O2, and ~6%CO2 in the natural habitat, which appears to be lethal to many mammalian species. Hypoxia stimulates reactive oxygen species excessive generation that compromises genome integrity, proteostasis, and homeostasis in general. Spalax is an extremely long-living mammal relatively to its body mass (~20 years in captivity; 120-200 g); moreover, it tolerates chemical carcinogens. I am interested in studying the physiological, cellular, metabolic and genetic strategies; and the evolutionary changes and the fine-tuning of the molecular mechanisms that underlies longevity, resistance to environmental stress and cancer.
פרסומים
- Effects of Pathogen Load and Host Genetic Background on Tandem Kinase-Mediated Resistance in Wheat, Govta, L., Govta, N., Shams, I., Coaker, G. & Fahima, T., 1 May 2026, In: Phytopathology. 116, 5, p. 697-706 10 p.
- Adaptation of the Spalax galili transcriptome to hypoxia may underlie the complex phenotype featuring longevity and cancer resistance, Poetzsch, G., Jelacic, L., Dammer, L., Hellmann, S. L., Balling, M., Andrade-Navarro, M., Avivi, A., Shams, I., Bicker, A. & Hankeln, T., Dec 2025, In: npj Aging. 11, 1, 16.
- Correction to: Adaptation of the Spalax galili transcriptome to hypoxia may underlie the complex phenotype featuring longevity and cancer resistance (npj Aging, (2025), 11, 1, (16), 10.1038/s41514-025-00206-3), Poetzsch, G., Jelacic, L., Dammer, L., Hellmann, S. L., Balling, M., Andrade-Navarro, M., Avivi, A., Shams, I., Bicker, A. & Hankeln, T., Dec 2025, In: npj Aging. 11, 1, 32.
- Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species-Aided Localized Cell Death Contributing to Immune Responses Against Wheat Powdery Mildew Pathogen, Li, Y., Roychowdhury, R., Govta, L., Jaiwar, S., Wei, Z. Z., Shams, I. & Fahima, T., May 2023, In: Phytopathology. 113, 5, p. 884-892 9 p.
- Damage-Free Shortening of Telomeres Is a Potential Strategy Supporting Blind Mole-Rat Longevity, Adwan Shekhidem, H., Sharvit, L., Huffman, D. M., Manov, I., Atzmon, G. & Shams, I., Apr 2023, In: Genes. 14, 4, 845.
- Senescent Secretome of Blind Mole Rat Spalax Inhibits Malignant Behavior of Human Breast Cancer Cells Triggering Bystander Senescence and Targeting Inflammatory Response, Odeh, A., Eddini, H., Shawasha, L., Chaban, A., Avivi, A., Shams, I. & Manov, I., Mar 2023, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 24, 6, 5132.
- Absence of the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans in populations of the Near Eastern Fire Salamander (Salamandra infraimmaculata) in Israel, Jurkowicz, G., Horwitz, R., Gafny, S., Blaustein, L. & Shams, I., 2022, In: Salamandra. 58, 1, p. 64-66 3 p.
- Glutamine homeostasis and its role in the adaptive strategies of the blind mole rat, spalax, Miskevich, D., Chaban, A., Dronina, M., Abramovich, I., Gottlieb, E. & Shams, I., 31 Oct 2021, In: Metabolites. 11, 11, 755.
- Comprehensive analysis of13 c6 glucose fate in the hypoxia-tolerant blind mole rat skin fibroblasts, Miskevich, D., Chaban, A., Dronina, M., Abramovich, I., Gottlieb, E. & Shams, I., 27 Oct 2021, In: Metabolites. 11, 11, 734.
- Distinct organization of adaptive immunity in the long-lived rodent Spalax galili, Izraelson, M., Metsger, M., Davydov, A. N., Shagina, I. A., Dronina, M. A., Obraztsova, A. S., Miskevich, D. A., Mamedov, I. Z., Volchkova, L. N., Nakonechnaya, T. O., Shugay, M., Bolotin, D. A., Staroverov, D. B., Sharonov, G. V., Kondratyuk, E. Y., Zagaynova, E. V., Lukyanov, S., Shams, I., Britanova, O. V. & Chudakov, D. M., Feb 2021, In: Nature Aging. 1, 2, p. 179-189 11 p.
- Aging without inflammaging: Lesson from Spalax, Manov, I., Odeh, A. & Shams, I., 31 Aug 2020, In: Aging. 12, 16, p. 15875-15877 3 p.
- Supernumerary b chromosomes and plant genome changes: A snapshot of wild populations of aegilops speltoides tausch (poaceae, triticeae), Shams, I. & Raskina, O., 1 Jun 2020, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 21, 11, 3768.
- Downregulation of the inflammatory network in senescent fibroblasts and aging tissues of the long-lived and cancer-resistant subterranean wild rodent, Spalax, Odeh, A., Dronina, M., Domankevich, V., Shams, I. & Manov, I., 1 Jan 2020, In: Aging Cell. 19, 1, e13045.
- Telomeres and longevity: A cause or an effect?, Shekhidem, H. A., Sharvit, L., Leman, E., Manov, I., Roichman, A., Holtze, S., Huffman, D. M., Cohen, H. Y., Hildebrandt, T. B., Shams, I. & Atzmon, G., 1 Jul 2019, In: International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 20, 13, 3233.
- The transcriptome landscape of the carcinogenic treatment response in the blind mole rat: Insights into cancer resistance mechanisms, Altwasser, R., Paz, A., Korol, A., Manov, I., Avivi, A. & Shams, I., 8 Jan 2019, In: BMC Genomics. 20, 1, 17.
- Adipose-Derived Stem Cells of Blind Mole Rat Spalax Exhibit Reduced Homing Ability: Molecular Mechanisms and Potential Role in Cancer Suppression, Mamchur, A., Leman, E., Salah, S., Avivi, A., Shams, I. & Manov, I., Oct 2018, In: Stem Cells. 36, 10, p. 1630-1642 13 p.
- Reduced calcium influx in the hypoxia-tolerant Spalax: The role of the erythropoietin receptor, Salah-Hussiesy, S., Mamchur, A., Odeh, A., Domankevich, V. & Shams, I., Sep 2018, In: Cell Calcium. 74, p. 123-130 8 p.
- Intraspecific and intraorganismal copy number dynamics of retrotransposons and tandem repeat in Aegilops speltoides Tausch (Poaceae, Triticeae), Shams, I. & Raskina, O., 1 Jul 2018, In: Protoplasma. 255, 4, p. 1023-1038 16 p.
- Postnatal Exocrine Pancreas Growth by Cellular Hypertrophy Correlates with a Shorter Lifespan in Mammals, Anzi, S., Stolovich-Rain, M., Klochendler, A., Fridlich, O., Helman, A., Paz-Sonnenfeld, A., Avni-Magen, N., Kaufman, E., Ginzberg, M. B., Snider, D., Ray, S., Brecht, M., Holmes, M. M., Meir, K., Avivi, A., Shams, I., Berkowitz, A., Shapiro, A. M. J., Glaser, B. & Ben-Sasson, S. & 2 others, , 18 Jun 2018, In: Developmental Cell. 45, 6, p. 726-737.e3
- Soluble mediators produced by pro-resolving macrophages inhibit angiogenesis, Michaeli, S., Dakwar, V., Weidenfeld, K., Granski, O., Gilon, O., Schif-Zuck, S., Mamchur, A., Shams, I. & Barkan, D., 25 Apr 2018, In: Frontiers in Immunology. 9, APR, 768.
- Resistance to DNA damage and enhanced DNA repair capacity in the hypoxia-tolerant blind mole rat Spalax carmeli, Domankevich, V., Eddini, H., Odeh, A. & Shams, I., Apr 2018, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 221, 8, jeb174540.
- Hypoxia tolerance, longevity and cancer-resistance in the mole rat Spalax - A liver transcriptomics approach, Schmidt, H., Malik, A., Bicker, A., Poetzsch, G., Avivi, A., Shams, I. & Hankeln, T., 1 Dec 2017, In: Scientific Reports. 7, 1, 14348.
- Genome maintenance and bioenergetics of the long-lived hypoxia-tolerant and cancer-resistant blind mole rat, Spalax: A cross-species analysis of brain transcriptome, Malik, A., Domankevich, V., Han, L., Fang, X., Korol, A., Avivi, A. & Shams, I., 9 Dec 2016, In: Scientific Reports. 6, 38624.
- Adaptive patterns in the p53 protein sequence of the hypoxia- and cancer-tolerant blind mole rat Spalax, Domankevich, V., Opatowsky, Y., Malik, A., Korol, A. B., Frenkel, Z., Manov, I., Avivi, A. & Shams, I., 2 Sep 2016, In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. 16, 1, 177.
- Molecular evolution of antioxidant and hypoxia response in long-lived, cancer-resistant blind mole rats: The Nrf2-Keap1 pathway, Schmidt, H., Hangmann, J., Shams, I., Avivi, A. & Hankeln, T., 15 Feb 2016, In: Gene. 577, 2, p. 293-298 6 p.
- Erratum: Genome-wide adaptive complexes to underground stresses in blind mole rats Spalax (Nature Communications (2015) 5 (3966) DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4966), Fang, X., Nevo, E., Han, L., Levanon, E. Y., Zhao, J., Avivi, A., Larkin, D., Jiang, X., Feranchuk, S., Zhu, Y., Fishman, A., Feng, Y., Sher, N., Xiong, Z., Hankeln, T., Huang, Z., Gorbunova, V., Zhang, L., Zhao, W. & Wildman, D. E. & 33 others, , 12 Aug 2015, In: Nature Communications. 6, 8051.
- Iron-rich ferritin in the hypoxia-tolerant rodent Spalax ehrenbergi: A naturally-occurring biomarker confirms the internalization and pathways of intracellular macromolecules, Iancu, T. C., Arad, T., Shams, I. & Manov, I., Sep 2014, In: Journal of Structural Biology. 187, 3, p. 254-265 12 p.
- Genome-wide adaptive complexes to underground stresses in blind mole rats Spalax, Fang, X., Nevo, E., Han, L., Levanon, E. Y., Zhao, J., Avivi, A., Larkin, D., Jiang, X., Feranchuk, S., Zhu, Y., Fishman, A., Feng, Y., Sher, N., Xiong, Z., Hankeln, T., Huang, Z., Gorbunova, V., Zhang, L., Zhao, W. & Wildman, D. E. & 33 others, , 3 Jun 2014, In: Nature Communications. 5, 3966.
- Pronounced cancer resistance in a subterranean rodent, the blind mole-rat, Spalax: In vivo and in vitro evidence, Manov, I., Hirsh, M., Iancu, T. C., Malik, A., Sotnichenko, N., Band, M., Avivi, A. & Shams, I., 9 Aug 2013, In: BMC Biology. 11, 91.
- Transcription pattern of p53-targeted DNA repair genes in the hypoxia-tolerant subterranean mole rat Spalax, Shams, I., Malik, A., Manov, I., Joel, A., Band, M. & Avivi, A., 12 Apr 2013, In: Journal of Molecular Biology. 425, 7, p. 1111-1118 8 p.
- Paraoxonase Activity and Expression Is Modulated by Therapeutics in Experimental Rat Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Hussein, O., Zidan, J., Abu Jabal, K., Szvalb, S., Grozovski, M., Bersudsky, I., Karry, R., Aviram, M., Neuman, M. (Editor) & Shams, I., 2012, In: International Journal of Hepatology. 2012
- Cloning and in vivo expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (Flk1) in the naturally hypoxia-tolerant subterranean mole rat, Band, M., Shams, I., Joel, A. & Avivi, A., Jan 2008, In: FASEB Journal. 22, 1, p. 105-112 8 p.
- Lacrimo-auriculo-dento-digital syndrome is caused by reduced activity of the Fibroblast Growth Factor 10 (FGF10)-FGF receptor 2 signaling pathway, Shams, I., Rohmann, E., Eswarakumar, V. P., Lew, E. D., Yuzawa, S., Wollnik, B., Schlessinger, J. & Lax, I., Oct 2007, In: Molecular and Cellular Biology. 27, 19, p. 6903-6912 10 p.
- An extracellular region of the erythropoietin receptor of the subterranean blind mole rat Spalax enhances receptor maturation, Ravid, O., Shams, I., Califa, N. B., Nevo, E., Avivi, A. & Neumann, D., 4 Sep 2007, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104, 36, p. 14360-14365 6 p.
- Oxygen and carbon dioxide fluctuations in burrows of subterranean blind mole rats indicate tolerance to hypoxic-hypercapnic stresses, Shams, I., Avivi, A. & Nevo, E., Nov 2005, In: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology -Part A : Molecular and Integrative Physiology. 142, 3, p. 376-382 7 p.
- Erythropoietin receptor spliced forms differentially expressed in blind subterranean mole rats, Shams, I., Nevo, E. & Avivi, A., Oct 2005, In: FASEB Journal. 19, 12, p. 1749-1751 3 p.
- Increased blood vessel density provides the mole rat physiological tolerance to its hypoxic subterranean habitat, Avivi, A., Shams, I., Joel, A., Lache, O., Levy, A. P. & Nevo, E., Aug 2005, In: FASEB Journal. 19, 10, p. 1314-1316 3 p.
- Ontogenetic expression of erythropoietin and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha genes in subterranean blind mole rats, Shams, I., Nevo, E. & Avivi, A., Feb 2005, In: FASEB Journal. 19, 2, p. 307-309 3 p.
- Assignment of erythropoietin (EPO) to blind subterranean mole rat chromosome 1q by in situ hybridization, Shams, I., Avivi, A., Nevo, E. & Ivanitskaya, E., 2005, In: Cytogenetic and Genome Research. 108, 4, p. 362D
- Differential expression of dehydrin genes in wild barley, Hordeum spontaneum, associated with resistance to water deficit, Suprunova, T., Krugman, T., Fahima, T., Chen, G., Shams, I., Korol, A. & Nevo, E., Oct 2004, In: Plant, Cell and Environment. 27, 10, p. 1297-1308 12 p.
- Hypoxic stress tolerance of the blind subterranean mole rat: Expression of erythropoietin and hypoxia-inducible factor 1α, Shams, I., Avivi, A. & Nevo, E., 29 Jun 2004, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 101, 26, p. 9698-9703 6 p.