Daruliza Kernain Mohd Azman
Name
Daruliza Kernain Mohd Azman
Current Position
Senior Lecturer
daruliza@usm.my
Office Telephone
+604-6534866
Qualifications
Asian Institute for Medicine Science and Technology (AIMST) University, B. Sc in Biotechnology, 2006
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), M. Sc in Molecular Medicine, 2012
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Ph.D in Molecular and Cellular Biology, 2016
Affiliations
Senior Lecturer
Research Interests
Molecular Oncology, Protein-protein Interaction, Cancer Biology
Research Overview 1
Regulation of Transcription and Molecular Mechanisms of Tumourigenesis
The ‘master weaver of the genome’ protein CTCF is responsible for co-ordinating three-dimensional DNA architecture within the cell nucleus. We have shown that CTCF is a tumour suppressor protein which is frequently inactivated in many cancers. CTCF tightly binds DNA through a central DNA binding domain but has terminal domains on either side with poorly defined function. CTCF has a closely related ‘brother’ protein called BORIS that binds similar DNA sites in the genome. CTCF was reported to be 95% homolog to BORIS in the central DNA binding domain. The similarity present in both proteins draw a possibility of both competing with each other to bind to the same targeted region in the cell. BORIS is a gene which is normally express in the testis and repress in the somatic cell however, it is aberrantly expressed in cancer.
Both proteins CTCF and BORIS exhibit ‘sibling rivalry’ by competing for the same sites in DNA which interferes with CTCF’s tumour suppressor function. Thus, this could lead to the functional differences outcome upon binding to the central region of the DNA and this could be due to the dissimilar sequences present in terminal domains of both DNA. The activation of a gene by CTCF when replace with BORIS at the same targeted region could result in the repression. Hence this could alter the normal physiological functions of the cell and leads to the tumour development. As a cancer testis antigen, restriction BORIS expression to cancer cells and spermatocytes represent an immunotherapeutic avenue for the treatment of many cancers. Hence, BORIS could be potential explore as a new therapeutic marker for the cancer treatment.
Selected Publications
Candida activity and brine shrimp toxicity assay of Ganoderma boninense. Daruliza KM, Fernandez L, Jegathambigai R, Sasidharan S. European Review Medical Pharmacological Sciences. 2012
Jan;6(1):43-8.
Antimicrobial activity of the crude extract of Piper sarmentosum against methicilin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholera and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Fernandez L, Daruliza K, Sudhakaran S, Jegathambigai R. European Review Medical Pharmacological Sciences. 2012 July;16(3):105-11.
Anti-fungal effect of Hevea brasiliensis latex C-serum on Aspergillus niger. Daruliza KM, Lam KL, Yang KL, Priscilla JT, Sunderasan E, Ong MT. (2011). European Review Medical Pharmacological Sciences. 2011 Sep;15(9):1027-33.
Anti-Candida albicans activity and brine shrimp lethality test of Hevea brasiliensis latex B-serum. Daruliza KM, Yang KL, Lam KL, Priscilla JT, Sunderasan E, Ong MT. European Review Medical Pharmacological Sciences. 2011 October;15(10):1163-71.
