The high-impact journal Neoplasia publishes a study of the Iron Biology Group, led by Dr. Jibran Sualeh Muhammad at the Research Institute of Medical & Health Sciences. This study was listed by the journal publishers as one of the most highly cited articles in year 2021. The research describes how the hormone estrogen can affect the growth and survival of breast cancer cells.

The Iron Biology research group, led by Dr. Jibran Sualeh Muhammad, published a study in a high-impact journal Neoplasia where they found that estrogen can cause an epigenetic process called hypomethylation, which leads to changes in gene expression and can contribute to the development of breast cancer. ‘Epigenetics’ shows us how environmental factors can turn ‘on’ or turn ‘off’ the function of certain parts of DNA sequences, causing normal cells to develop into cancer cells. In this article, authored by Dr. Jibran and his team, they described how estrogen can cause the overexpression of a protein called YAP1, involved in promoting cell growth and preventing cell death, which can contribute to breast cancer development.

This study was listed by the Neoplasia journal as one of the most highly cited articles in the year 2021.

Muhammad JS, Guimei M, Jayakumar MN, Shafarin J, Janeeh AS, AbuJabal R, Eladl MA, Ranade AV, Ali A, Hamad M. Estrogen-induced hypomethylation and overexpression of YAP1 facilitate breast cancer cell growth and survival. Neoplasia. 2021 Jan;23(1):68-79.