Carmela R. Abraham, PhD
Emeritus Professor, Biochemistry & Cell Biology
Biography
Our laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms leading to normal brain aging and the pathological processes that culminate in Alzheimer’s disease. We utilize the rhesus monkey as a model for understanding changes that occur during non-pathological aging. With microarray analysis we identified genes that play crucial roles in brain dysfunction leading to cognitive decline. An example is Klotho, a cytoprotective, anti-aging protein. We found that Klotho expression is considerably decreased in the aged brains of monkeys, rats, and mice. We are now working to comprehensively characterize the role of Klotho in normal aging and disease. Our projects are to identify Klotho receptors in the brain and define the signaling pathways by which Klotho exerts its protective effects. We are also studying Klotho’s transcriptional regulation and have identified compounds to therapeutically exploit these protective effects. Another line of investigation in our lab is to understand the biology of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), the parent protein of the amyloid beta peptide (Abeta), which accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients and causes irreversible neurodegeneration. Certain mutations in APP result in autosomal dominant, early onset familial Alzheimer’s disease due to the increased production of Abeta. Since APP homodimerization is believed to be involved in Abeta formation in the brain we searched and identified molecules capable of intervening in this process to reduce the levels of toxic Abeta peptide in the brain.
Other Positions
- Professor, Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
- Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, Boston University
- Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
Education
- Harvard University, PhD
- Tel Aviv University (TAU), BSc
Publications
- Published on 9/12/2023
Dubnov S, Yayon N, Yakov O, Bennett DA, Seshadri S, Mufson E, Tzur Y, Bennet ER, Greenberg D, Kuro-O M, Paldor I, Abraham CR, Soreq H. Knockout of the longevity gene Klotho perturbs aging- and Alzheimer's disease-linked brain microRNAs and tRNA fragments. bioRxiv. 2023 Sep 12. PMID: 37745362.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/14/2023
Roig-Soriano J, Sánchez-de-Diego C, Esandi-Jauregui J, Verdés S, Abraham CR, Bosch A, Ventura F, Chillón M. Differential toxicity profile of secreted and processed a-Klotho expression over mineral metabolism and bone microstructure. Sci Rep. 2023 Mar 14; 13(1):4211. PMID: 36918615.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/22/2022
Abraham CR, Li A. Aging-suppressor Klotho: Prospects in diagnostics and therapeutics. Ageing Res Rev. 2022 Dec; 82:101766. PMID: 36283617.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/10/2022
Roig-Soriano J, Griñán-Ferré C, Espinosa-Parrilla JF, Abraham CR, Bosch A, Pallàs M, Chillón M. AAV-mediated expression of secreted and transmembrane aKlotho isoforms rescues relevant aging hallmarks in senescent SAMP8 mice. Aging Cell. 2022 Apr; 21(4):e13581. PMID: 35274439.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/15/2021
Arbel Rubinstein T, Reuveni I, Hesin A, Klein-Goldberg A, Olauson H, Larsson TE, Abraham CR, Zeldich E, Bosch A, Chillón M, Hollander KS, Shabtay-Orbach A, Vainer GW, Wolf I, Rubinek T. A Transgenic Model Reveals the Role of Klotho in Pancreatic Cancer Development and Paves the Way for New Klotho-Based Therapy. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Dec 15; 13(24). PMID: 34944918.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/25/2021
Hinman JD, Ngo KJ, Kim D, Chen C, Abraham CR, Ghanbari M, Ikram MA, Kushner SA, Kawaguchi R, Coppola G, Goth K, Bellusci S, Hernandez I, Kosik KS, Fogel BL. miR-142-3p regulates cortical oligodendrocyte gene co-expression networks associated with tauopathy. Hum Mol Genet. 2021 03 25; 30(1):103-118. PMID: 33555315.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 10/23/2020
Wolf EJ, Chen CD, Zhao X, Zhou Z, Morrison FG, Daskalakis NP, Stone A, Schichman S, Grenier JG, Fein-Schaffer D, Huber BR, Abraham CR, Miller MW, Logue MW. Klotho, PTSD, and advanced epigenetic age in cortical tissue. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2021 03; 46(4):721-730. PMID: 33096543.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/29/2020
Chen CD, Rudy MA, Zeldich E, Abraham CR. A method to specifically activate the Klotho promoter by using zinc finger proteins constructed from modular building blocks and from naturally engineered Egr1 transcription factor backbone. FASEB J. 2020 06; 34(6):7234-7246. PMID: 32347987.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/13/2020
Wolf EJ, Logue MW, Zhao X, Daskalakis NP, Morrison FG, Escarfulleri S, Stone A, Schichman SA, McGlinchey RE, Milberg WP, Chen C, Abraham CR, Miller MW. PTSD and the klotho longevity gene: Evaluation of longitudinal effects on inflammation via DNA methylation. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2020 07; 117:104656. PMID: 32438247.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/13/2020
Chen CD, Li Y, Chen AK, Rudy MA, Nasse JS, Zeldich E, Polanco TJ, Abraham CR. Identification of the cleavage sites leading to the shed forms of human and mouse anti-aging and cognition-enhancing protein Klotho. PLoS One. 2020; 15(1):e0226382. PMID: 31929539.
Read at: PubMed
View 135 more publications: View full profile at BUMC