Professional Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Toronto (2021)
  • Bachelor of Science, University of Toronto (2013)
  • HBSc, University of Toronto, Cell and Molecular Biology (2013)
  • PhD, University of Toronto, Molecular Genetics (2021)

Stanford Advisors

Contact

  • Academic
    ahmedabd@stanford.edu
    University - Scholar Department: Genetics Position: Postdoctoral Scholar

Additional Info

All Publications

  • Integrated small RNA, mRNA and protein omics reveal a miRNA network orchestrating metabolic maturation of the developing human heart BMC GENOMICS Aharon-Yariv, A., Wang, Y., Ahmed, A., Delgado-Olguin, P. 2023; 24 (1): 709

    Abstract

    As the fetal heart develops, cardiomyocyte proliferation potential decreases while fatty acid oxidative capacity increases in a highly regulated transition known as cardiac maturation. Small noncoding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), contribute to the establishment and control of tissue-specific transcriptional programs. However, small RNA expression dynamics and genome-wide miRNA regulatory networks controlling maturation of the human fetal heart remain poorly understood.Transcriptome profiling of small RNAs revealed the temporal expression patterns of miRNA, piRNA, circRNA, snoRNA, snRNA and tRNA in the developing human heart between 8 and 19 weeks of gestation. Our analysis demonstrated that miRNAs were the most dynamically expressed small RNA species throughout mid-gestation. Cross-referencing differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs predicted 6200 mRNA targets, 2134 of which were upregulated and 4066 downregulated as gestation progressed. Moreover, we found that downregulated targets of upregulated miRNAs, including hsa-let-7b, miR-1-3p, miR-133a-3p, miR-143-3p, miR-499a-5p, and miR-30a-5p predominantly control cell cycle progression. In contrast, upregulated targets of downregulated miRNAs, including hsa-miR-1276, miR-183-5p, miR-1229-3p, miR-615-3p, miR-421, miR-200b-3p and miR-18a-3p, are linked to energy sensing and oxidative metabolism. Furthermore, integrating miRNA and mRNA profiles with proteomes and reporter metabolites revealed that proteins encoded in mRNA targets and their associated metabolites mediate fatty acid oxidation and are enriched as the heart develops.This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of the small RNAome of the maturing human fetal heart. Our findings suggest that coordinated activation and repression of miRNA expression throughout mid-gestation is essential to establish a dynamic miRNA-mRNA-protein network that decreases cardiomyocyte proliferation potential while increasing the oxidative capacity of the maturing human fetal heart. Our results provide novel insights into the molecular control of metabolic maturation of the human fetal heart.

    View details for DOI 10.1186/s12864-023-09801-8

    View details for Web of Science ID 001109107900003

    View details for PubMedID 37996818

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10668469

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9968-8631