Murtala Bello Abubakar

• MBBS., PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Sultan Qaboos University

Maternal nutrition, including the availability of micronutrients such as zinc, influences the health of the offspring. Using Drosophila melanogaster, we studied the impact of zinc deficiency on development and reproduction, as well as the effects of maternal zinc status on the offspring’s expression of zinc transporters across F1 to F3 generations....

Iron deficiency is a recognized global health concern, particularly impactful during pregnancy where the mother serves as the primary source of iron for the developing fetus. Adequate maternal iron levels are crucial for fetal growth and cognitive development. This review investigates the correlation between maternal iron deficiency and cognitive...

Maternal zinc deficiency significantly influences fetal development and long-term health outcomes, yet its transgenerational effects remain poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the transgenerational effects of maternal zinc deficiency on metabolic outcomes in Drosophila melanogaster. Zinc deficiency was induced in Drosophila by incorpo...

Zinc deficiency is a common nutritional disorder with detrimental health consequences. Whether parental zinc deficiency induces intergenerational effects remains largely unknown. We investigated the effects of a combined maternal and paternal zinc deficiency on offspring’s metabolic outcomes and gene expression changes in Drosophila melanogaster. T...

The nutritional status of fathers plays a significant role in influencing the growth, metabolism, and susceptibility to diseases in their offspring. Paternal zinc deficiency can lead to developmental programming effects on the offspring’s zinc homeostasis. This study investigated the effects of paternal zinc deficiency on the zinc homeostasis of of...

The multiple mutation of the spike (S) protein of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant is a major concern, as it has been implicated in the severity of COVID-19 and its complications. These mutations have been attributed to COVID-19-infected immune-compromised individuals, with HIV patients being suspected to top the list. The present study investigated...

Background: This study delves into the understudied yet potentially crucial role of paternal zinc deficiency in programming offspring metabolic outcomes. By examining paternal zinc deficiency, we aim to shed light on a previously unexplored avenue with the potential to significantly impact future generations. We investigated the intergenerationa...

Objectives: Iron (Fe) accumulation and resultant oxidative stress play a significant role in the neuronal death observed in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Brown rice (BR) possesses antioxidant properties able to reduce cellular oxidative damage. Thus, we hypothesized that BR may ameliorate Fe-induced parkinsonism due to oxidative stress. Methods: Two –...

Zinc and M. oleifera have shown great antidiabetic potential individually but the therapeutic potential of their combination is underreported. This study examined the synergistic impact of oral zinc and dietary M. oleifera leaf supplementation on body weight, fasting blood glucose, and lipid profile in streptozotocin-treated diabetic rats. Fifty-si...

Snakebite envenoming (SBE) is a global public health concern, primarily due to the lack of effective antivenom for treating snakebites inflicted by medically significant venomous snakes prevalent across various geographic locations. The rising demand for safe, cost-effective, and potent snakebite treatments highlights the urgent need to develop alt...

Aims Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is associated with systemic iron deficiency and has been managed with iron supplements which cause adverse side effects. Conversely, some reports highlight iron depletion to ameliorate IBD. The underlying intestinal response and comparative benefit of iron depletion and supplementation in IBD is unknown. The ai...

Iron deficiency is a common micronutrient deficiency associated with metabolic changes in the levels of iron regulatory proteins, hepcidin and ferroportin. Studies have associated dysregulation of iron homeostasis to other secondary and life-threatening diseases including anaemia, neurodegeneration and metabolic diseases. Iron deficiency plays a cr...

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among men globally. In this study, we employed an in silico approach to predict the possible mechanisms of action of selected novel compounds reported against prostate cancer epigenetic targets and their derivatives, exhausting through ADMET profiling, drug-likeness, and molecular dockin...

Abstract: Consumption of white rice (WR) has been shown to predispose individuals to metabolic disorders. However, brown rice (BR), which is relatively richer in bioactive compounds, possesses anti-glycaemic and antioxidant effects. In this study, fifteen cultivars of paddy rice that are predomi�nantly consumed in North West Nigeria were analysed...

Abstract: For many patients, diabetes Mellitus and Malignancy are frequently encountered comor-bidities. Diabetes affects approximately 10.5% of the global population, while malignancy accounts for 29.4 million cases each year. These troubling statistics indicate that current treatment approaches for these diseases are insufficient. Alternative the...

Current research on triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has resulted in delineation into the quadruple-negative breast cancer (QNBC) subgroup. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation, histone posttranslational modifications and associated changes in chromatin architecture have been implicated in breast cancer pathogenesis. Herein, the aut...

Background: The presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) among COVID-19 patients is associated with increased hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality. Evidence has shown that hyperglycemia potentiates SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) infection and plays a central role in severe COVID-19 and diabetes comorbidity. In this revi...

Background Gastric ulcer is the most common gastrointestinal disorder associated with high morbidity and significant mortality and has been described as the plaque of the 19 th and 20 th centuries. The most conventional antiulcer drugs are largely ineffective and associated with disease recurrence, thus identifying natural products with potential a...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible brain disorder associated with slow, progressive loss of brain functions mostly in older people. The disease processes start years before the symptoms are manifested at which point most therapies may not be as effective. In the hippocampus, the key proteins involved in the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, su...

The global burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) is increasing annually. CRC could develop from genetic and phenotypic factors involving changes in gene expression. Incredibly, the human genome transcribes into non‐coding RNAs, among which long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) signify the most crucial part of the transcriptome in multicellular organisms. lncR...

Cytokine storm is a phrase used to refer to an abrupt upsurge in the circulating levels of various pro-inflammatory cytokines, causing increased stimulation and activity of immune cells during disease conditions. The binding of pattern recognition receptors to pathogen-associated molecular patterns during COVID-19 infection recruits response machin...

Background and Aims: Over the years, obesity has become a global health concern. According to the World Health Organization, as at 2016, the world has experienced over four-fold increase in obesity within four decades. This public health crisis has taken its toll in Nigeria with a reported prevalence of 14% as at 2020. This review thus seeks to ass...

Background: Type II diabetes is associated with microvascular complications, which can be detected early using specific biomarkers such as microalbuminuria to detect early stages of renal impairment. Little research has been done in this environment to evaluate micro-albuminuria among type II diabetes patients. Aim: This study aimed to determine th...

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is suspected to mainly be more deleterious in patients with underlying cardiovascular diseases (CVD). There is a strong association between hypertension and COVID-19 severity. The binding of SARS-CoV-2 to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) leads to deregulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldoster...

Summary: The hyperglycaemia of diabetes mellitus (DM) induces oxidative stress which damages the tissues. Glibenclamide, an oral hypoglycaemic drug used in the treatment of DM has associated side effects. Natural products are considered safe in the treatment of chronic diseases. Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) is a plant that has demonstrated antidiabetic...

Background and Aims: Over the years, obesity has become a global health con�cern. According to the World Health Organization, as at 2016, the world has expe�rienced over four-fold increase in obesity within four decades. This public health crisis has taken its toll in Nigeria with a reported prevalence of 14% as at 2020. This review thus seeks to...

Epidemiologically, metabolic disorders have garnered much attention, perhaps due to the predominance of obesity. The early postnatal life represents a critical period for programming multifactorial metabolic disorders of adult life. Though, altricial rodents are prime subjects for investigating neonatal programming, there is still no sufficiently g...

Background: The emergence of SARS-COV-2 in December 2019 marked the onset of COVID-19 pandemic that has spread to almost every country including Nigeria. Infected persons can be asymptomatic or may present with severe disease. There is paucity of information on clinical prole and outcome of patients with COVID-19 in Northern Nigeria. This study th...

Cancer metastasis research has emerged in recent years as one of the most important topics of debate in the discovery and development of novel anticancer therapies. Colorectal cancer (CRC), the third most common cancer worldwide, has a high mortality rate due to recurrence and distant metastasis to the liver. Several non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have b...

Parental dietary choices and/or nutritional interventions in the offspring are critical to early life development, especially during the periods of active developmental plasticity in the offspring. Exposure to a high-fructose, high-fat diet during the fetal or neonatal period predisposes the affected individuals to the development of one or more fe...

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a potentially fatal multisystemic infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Currently, viable therapeutic options that are cost effective, safe and readily available are desired, but lacking. Nevertheless, the pandemic is noticeably of lesser burden in African an...

More than half a century ago, zinc was established as an essential micronutrient for normal human physiology. In silico data suggest that about 10% of the human proteome potentially binds zinc. Many proteins with zinc-binding domains (ZBDs) are involved in epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation and histone modifications, which regulate tr...

Citation: Yusuf, A.P.; Abubakar, M.B.; Malami, I.; Ibrahim, K.G.; Abubakar, B.; Bello, M.B.; Qusty, N.; Elazab, S.T.; Imam, M.U.; Alexiou, A.; et al. Zinc Metalloproteins in Epigenetics and Their Crosstalk. Life 2021, 11, 186.

Background Zinc deficiency is associated with adverse effects on maternal health and pregnancy outcomes. These consequences have been reported over the years from zinc supplementation trials and observational studies whereby outcomes of maternal, foetal and infant health were measured. Owing to the importance of zinc in the functions of epigenetic...

Background: Obesity and overweight are among the major problems faced by the health sector with their prevalence increasing at an alarming rate and health‑care professionals play a major role in mitigating these conditions. We, therefore, sought to identify and discuss available epidemiological data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity among...

Background: Anastrozole has been widely utilized in the management of endocrine sensitive post-menopau-sal breast cancer; however, there is high variability in the adverse reactions associated with its use. Anastrozole-associated mood disturbances and dizziness occur less frequently. However, they can still affect the quality of life of breast canc...

Petrol and its products have been reported as modulators of glutathione S-transferase (GST) expression and susceptibility to detoxification of xenobiotics. The homozygosity for null-alleles of GSTM1 and GSTT1 is associated with depleted enzyme function, hence predisposition to toxicities. Thus, this review sought to assess reports on toxic effects...

Petrol and its products have been reported as modulators of glutathione S-transferase (GST) expression and susceptibility to detoxification of xenobiotics. The homozygosity for null-alleles of GSTM1 and GSTT1 is associated with depleted enzyme function, hence predisposition to toxicities. Thus, this review sought to assess reports on toxic effects...

Background: Exposure to petrol is common among individuals working in oil refineries, oil fields, filling stations and automobile mechanical workshops. Exposure to petrol is associated with a number of health hazards including hepatotoxicity and oxidative stress. Honey is rich in many antioxidants such as catalase, flavonoids, thiamine, riboflavin,...

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a distinctive type of cancer with considerable geographical and racial distribution. It is a multifactorial disease associated with genetic and environmental factors as well as Epstein–Barr virus infection. Increased understanding of molecular events in NPC development leads to renewed interest in personalized trea...

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is one of the most common genetic diseases in the world. It is associated with oxidative stress which occurs as a result of HbS unstable character causing a rise in the formation of free radicals. The aim of this study was to determine some antioxidant enzymes activities among patients with SCD. We investigated the superox...

Abstract Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health challenge particularly in sub Saharan Africa. It is one of the most common genetic diseases in the world. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the socio-demographic distribution of children with sickle cell disease presenting to the Paediatric Department of Us...

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health challenge particularly in sub Saharan Africa. It is one of the most common genetic diseases in the world. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the socio-demographic distribution of children with sickle cell disease presenting to the Paediatric Department of Usmanu Danf...

Introduction Exposure to petrol/gasoline vapours is known to be associated with various adverse health consequences including significant reduction in the level of reproductive hormones. Honey, largely due to its antioxidant property, has been found to improve many of the adverse effects related to gasoline exposure. Aim The research is aimed at in...

The catalytic activity of the cytochrome P450A (CYP3A4) enzyme is reportedly affected by the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), leading to inter-individual variability in drug efficacy and adverse reactions. CYP3A4 polymorphisms can serve as potential biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of many drugs, including those used in bre...

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) play major roles in cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders. This study aimed to develop a new multiplex PCR genotyping method for the simultaneous detection of MTHFR 677C>T and TNF-α-308G>A, which are the two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are widely...

Gone are the days when DNA was only accessible to and understood by the geneticist. The explosion of DNA information and services offered by private biotechnology companies has made possible the sequencing of one’s genome, learning about one’s genetics and making adjustment to one’s life.

Background: Cytochrome P450 3A enzymes exhibit a variety of physiological roles and have been reported to be the most predominant enzymes involved in drugs metabolism. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the genes that code for these enzymes may result in functional changes that affect enzyme activity. CYP3A4 is an important enzyme in the me...

Background To investigate whether the combination of anastrozole and Tualang honey (T honey) influences background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) in breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of postmenopausal women with breast cancer. Methods A total of 30 patients were recruited and randomly divided into control (anastrozole 1 mg daily) and interven...

Background and Objective: Migraine is a highly prevalent multifactorial and polygenic neurological disorder associated with genetic, environmental and hormonal changes. Methylenetetrahydrofolatereductase (MTHFR), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), estrogen and genetics have been reported to play significant roles in migraine. The purpose of this study...

The recent advances have led to a considerable increase in the proportion of breast cancer survivors, however, majority of them experience symptoms such as fatigue, pain, depression and sleep disturbances that impair their Quality of Life (QOL) significantly. In addition, a significant inter-individual variability in QOL of breast cancer patients e...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, endogenous, non-coding RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression by base pairing with mRNA targets. Altered miRNA expression profiles have been observed in several diseases, including neurodegeneration. Multiple studies have reported altered expressions of miRNAs in the brains of individuals with Alzhei...

Although anastrozole (Anas) plays a key role in the management of endocrine sensitive post-menopausal (PM) breast cancer (BC), there is much variability in its efficacy and tolerability. Anas-associated musculoskeletal symptoms (MS) and other adverse reactions, such as hot flashes (HF) and vaginal dryness/dyspareunia (VDD), are common and can affec...

Background: Exposure to gasoline is common among individuals working in oil refineries, oil fields, filling stations, automobile mechanical workshops. Exposure to gasoline is associated with a number of health hazards including hepatotoxicity and oxidative stress. Honey contains a variety of antioxidants and was recently reported to ameliorate gaso...

Background: Hypertension has been recognised as the most common cardiovascular disorder and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in both developed and developing countries. It has been well established that family history of hypertension is associated with an elevated risk of developing hypertension. It has also been shown that individuals wi...

The advent of advanced molecular targeted therapy has resulted in improved prognoses for patients with advanced malignancies. However, despite the significant success and specificity of this advocated targeted therapy, significant on- and off-target adverse effects and inter-individual variability in treatment responses have been reported. The inte...

Owing to the efficacy and popularity of anastrozole in the treatment of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, interest in analytical methods for its quantitative measurement both in pharmaceutical dosage formulations and Biological samples has risen sharply for a decade. This paper reviews the existing chromatographic methods, which are based o...

Purpose: Although anastrozole (Anas) plays a key role in the management of endocrine sensitive post-menopausal (PM) breast cancer (BC), there is variability in adverse reactions such as mood disturbance and dizziness associated with its use. Theses adverse reactions although less frequent can affect the quality of life of BC patients. The aim of th...

Since cell phones emit radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs), this study tested the hypothesis that cell phones placed near the heart may interfere with the electrical rhythm of the heart or affect the blood pressure. Following informed consent, eighteen randomly selected apparently healthy male volunteers aged 21.44 ± 0.53 years had their b...

Background: Petrol is known to be hazardous to human health and is associated with various health effects, such as haematotoxicity and oxidative stress. Although Malaysia has adopted the European fuel quality standards in recent years in order to reduce petroleum pollutants and to improve air quality, gasoline with research octane number 95 (RON95)...

Anastrozole (Anas) is one of the drugs of choice in the treatment of estrogenreceptor (ER) positive post-menopausal (PM) breast cancer patients. However, Anas-associated musculoskeletal adverse effects (MAE) (joint pain/stiffness and bone pain) are common and can lead to withdrawal of many patients from treatment. This is a cross-sectional study of...

Globally, breast cancer is a common cause of cancer mortality among women. Current treatment guidelines for estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer recommend the use of anastrozole as one of the alternatives to tamoxifen. To date, no rapid resolution liquid chromatography (RRLC) method for the detection of anastrozole in human serum has been devel...

Anastrozole (Anas) is one of the drugs of choice in the treatment of estrogen‐receptor (ER) positive post‐menopausal (PM) breast cancer patients. However, Anas‐associated musculoskeletal adverse effects (MAE) (joint pain/stiffness and bone pain) are common and can lead to withdrawal of many patients from treatment. This is a cross‐sectional study o...

Since cell phones emit radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs), this study tested the hypothesis that cell phones placed near the heart may interfere with the electrical rhythm of the heart or affect the blood pressure. Following informed consent, eighteen randomly selected apparently healthy male volunteers aged 21.44 ± 0.53 years had their b...

Breast cancer is a common cause of cancer mortality among women. Several genetic factors have been implicated in its development. Current treatment guidelines for estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer recommend that anastrozole [or any of the other two aromatase inhibitors (letrozole and exemestane)] is used as an alternative to tamoxifen or fol...

The mercury Sphygmomanometer (MS) is subject to digits preference and observer’s bias and its use in busy settings such as clinics and during mass screening of hypertension may be cumbersome. On the other hand, automated digital device (ADD) is simple to use and devoid of observer’s bias. The accuracy and reliability of MS, ADD and aneroid sphygmom...

Propolis (a bee product) which has a long history of medicinal use by humans has attracted a great deal of research interest in the recent time; this is due to its widely reported biological activities such as antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic properties. Crude form of propolis and its phenol...

Different health risks including haematotoxicity and weight loss have been reported for gasoline. Supplementation with antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E has been shown to ameliorate the toxicity effects of gasoline vapours exposure. Honey contains vitamins, and polyphenols that possess good antioxidant properties. The potential role of hone...

Different health risks including haematotoxicity and weight loss have been reported for gasoline. Supplementation with antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E has been shown to ameliorate the toxicity effects of gasoline vapours exposure. Honey contains vitamins, and polyphenols that possess good antioxidant properties. The potential role of hone...

Gasoline (petrol) is primarily used as fuel for internal combustion engines. Different health risks including haematotoxicity and oxidative stress have been reported for gasoline [1, 2]. Although Malaysia has in the recent years adopted the European fuel quality standards in order to help improve the air quality in the environment, gasoline with Re...

Petrol is used as fuel for internal combustion engines. Different health risks including weight loss, haematotoxicity, and oxidative stress have been reported for gasoline. Supplementation with antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E has been shown to ameliorate the toxicity effects of gasoline vapours exposure. Honey is a natural product which c...

Abstract: Hematologic malignancies constitute about 9% of all new cases of cancers as reported via the GLOBOCAN series by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2008. So far, the conventional therapeutic and surgical approaches to cancer therapy have not been able to curtail the rising incidence of cancers, including hematological ma...

Introduction Petrol is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and related substances some of which are known to be highly toxic or even carcinogenic to human. Batches of gasoline differ in composition from season to season; company to company and region to region. As a result, the effect of exposure to the various constituents of petrol is subject to va...

Urinary Schistosomiasis is a major public health problem in Nigeria. Attention was drawn to this disease as a result of frequent complaints of passing blood in urine by the pupils attending the school. These pupils are from diverse settings mostly rural areas with a wide range of risk of acquiring urinary schistosomiasis. The objectives of this res...