Kaveh Ashrafi, PhD

Professor
Physiology
+1 415 514-4103
Publications: 

The steroid hormone ADIOL promotes learning by reducing neural kynurenic acid levels.

Genes & development

Lemieux GA, Yoo S, Lin L, Vohra M, Ashrafi K

Identifying lipid particle sub-types in live Caenorhabditis elegans with two-photon fluorescence lifetime imaging.

Frontiers in chemistry

Chen WW, Tang W, Hamerton EK, Kuo PX, Lemieux GA, Ashrafi K, Cicerone MT

Better living through communal eating.

Cell host & microbe

Ashrafi K

Neural production of kynurenic acid in Caenorhabditis elegans requires the AAT-1 transporter.

Genes & development

Lin L, Lemieux GA, Enogieru OJ, Giacomini KM, Ashrafi K

Spectroscopic coherent Raman imaging of Caenorhabditis elegans reveals lipid particle diversity.

Nature chemical biology

Chen WW, Lemieux GA, Camp CH, Chang TC, Ashrafi K, Cicerone MT

Intestinal peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation regulates neural serotonin signaling through a feedback mechanism.

PLoS biology

Bouagnon AD, Lin L, Srivastava S, Liu CC, Panda O, Schroeder FC, Srinivasan S, Ashrafi K

Age- and stress-associated C. elegans granulins impair lysosomal function and induce a compensatory HLH-30/TFEB transcriptional response.

PLoS genetics

Butler VJ, Gao F, Corrales CI, Cortopassi WA, Caballero B, Vohra M, Ashrafi K, Cuervo AM, Jacobson MP, Coppola G, Kao AW

Tau/MAPT disease-associated variant A152T alters tau function and toxicity via impaired retrograde axonal transport.

Human molecular genetics

Butler VJ, Salazar DA, Soriano-Castell D, Alves-Ferreira M, Dennissen FJA, Vohra M, Oses-Prieto JA, Li KH, Wang AL, Jing B, Li B, Groisman A, Gutierrez E, Mooney S, Burlingame AL, Ashrafi K, Mandelkow EM, Encalada SE, Kao AW

Phenotypic, chemical and functional characterization of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) as a potential anthelmintic drug target.

PLoS neglected tropical diseases

Long T, Rojo-Arreola L, Shi D, El-Sakkary N, Jarnagin K, Rock F, Meewan M, Rascón AA, Lin L, Cunningham KA, Lemieux GA, Podust L, Abagyan R, Ashrafi K, McKerrow JH, Caffrey CR

Investigating Connections between Metabolism, Longevity, and Behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM

Lemieux GA, Ashrafi K

Conserved Genetic Interactions between Ciliopathy Complexes Cooperatively Support Ciliogenesis and Ciliary Signaling.

PLoS genetics

Yee LE, Garcia-Gonzalo FR, Bowie RV, Li C, Kennedy JK, Ashrafi K, Blacque OE, Leroux MR, Reiter JF

Neural Regulatory Pathways of Feeding and Fat in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Annual review of genetics

Lemieux GA, Ashrafi K

Kynurenic acid is a nutritional cue that enables behavioral plasticity.

Cell

Lemieux GA, Cunningham KA, Lin L, Mayer F, Werb Z, Ashrafi K

Insights and challenges in using C. elegans for investigation of fat metabolism.

Critical reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology

Lemieux GA, Ashrafi K

OCT1 is a high-capacity thiamine transporter that regulates hepatic steatosis and is a target of metformin.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Chen L, Shu Y, Liang X, Chen EC, Yee SW, Zur AA, Li S, Xu L, Keshari KR, Lin MJ, Chien HC, Zhang Y, Morrissey KM, Liu J, Ostrem J, Younger NS, Kurhanewicz J, Shokat KM, Ashrafi K, Giacomini KM

Loss of a neural AMP-activated kinase mimics the effects of elevated serotonin on fat, movement, and hormonal secretions.

PLoS genetics

Cunningham KA, Bouagnon AD, Barros AG, Lin L, Malard L, Romano-Silva MA, Ashrafi K

Defects in the C. elegans acyl-CoA synthase, acs-3, and nuclear hormone receptor, nhr-25, cause sensitivity to distinct, but overlapping stresses.

PloS one

Ward JD, Mullaney B, Schiller BJ, He LD, Petnic SE, Couillault C, Pujol N, Bernal TU, Van Gilst MR, Ashrafi K, Ewbank JJ, Yamamoto KR

Dopamine signaling regulates fat content through β-oxidation in Caenorhabditis elegans.

PloS one

Barros AG, Bridi JC, de Souza BR, de Castro Júnior C, de Lima Torres KC, Malard L, Jorio A, de Miranda DM, Ashrafi K, Romano-Silva MA

Sumoylated NHR-25/NR5A regulates cell fate during C. elegans vulval development.

PLoS genetics

Ward JD, Bojanala N, Bernal T, Ashrafi K, Asahina M, Yamamoto KR

In silico molecular comparisons of C. elegans and mammalian pharmacology identify distinct targets that regulate feeding.

PLoS biology

Lemieux GA, Keiser MJ, Sassano MF, Laggner C, Mayer F, Bainton RJ, Werb Z, Roth BL, Shoichet BK, Ashrafi K

AMP-activated kinase links serotonergic signaling to glutamate release for regulation of feeding behavior in C. elegans.

Cell metabolism

Cunningham KA, Hua Z, Srinivasan S, Liu J, Lee BH, Edwards RH, Ashrafi K

Analyses of C. elegans fat metabolic pathways.

Methods in cell biology

Barros AG, Liu J, Lemieux GA, Mullaney BC, Ashrafi K

A whole-organism screen identifies new regulators of fat storage.

Nature chemical biology

Lemieux GA, Liu J, Mayer N, Bainton RJ, Ashrafi K, Werb Z

A stress-responsive system for mitochondrial protein degradation.

Molecular cell

Heo JM, Livnat-Levanon N, Taylor EB, Jones KT, Dephoure N, Ring J, Xie J, Brodsky JL, Madeo F, Gygi SP, Ashrafi K, Glickman MH, Rutter J

Regulation of C. elegans fat uptake and storage by acyl-CoA synthase-3 is dependent on NR5A family nuclear hormone receptor nhr-25.

Cell metabolism

Mullaney BC, Blind RD, Lemieux GA, Perez CL, Elle IC, Faergeman NJ, Van Gilst MR, Ingraham HA, Ashrafi K

mTOR complex-2 activates ENaC by phosphorylating SGK1.

Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN

Lu M, Wang J, Jones KT, Ives HE, Feldman ME, Yao LJ, Shokat KM, Ashrafi K, Pearce D

Fat rationing in dauer times.

Cell metabolism

Cunningham KA, Ashrafi K

C. elegans fat storage and metabolic regulation.

Biochimica et biophysica acta

Mullaney BC, Ashrafi K

Neural and molecular dissection of a C. elegans sensory circuit that regulates fat and feeding.

Cell metabolism

Greer ER, Pérez CL, Van Gilst MR, Lee BH, Ashrafi K

Serotonin regulates C. elegans fat and feeding through independent molecular mechanisms.

Cell metabolism

Srinivasan S, Sadegh L, Elle IC, Christensen AG, Faergeman NJ, Ashrafi K

Impaired processing of FLP and NLP peptides in carboxypeptidase E (EGL-21)-deficient Caenorhabditis elegans as analyzed by mass spectrometry.

Journal of neurochemistry

Husson SJ, Janssen T, Baggerman G, Bogert B, Kahn-Kirby AH, Ashrafi K, Schoofs L

Obesity and the regulation of fat metabolism.

WormBook : the online review of C. elegans biology

Ashrafi K

Mapping out starvation responses.

Cell metabolism

Ashrafi K

Genome-wide RNAi analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans fat regulatory genes.

Nature

Ashrafi K, Chang FY, Watts JL, Fraser AG, Kamath RS, Ahringer J, Ruvkun G

Research Area: 
Central Regulation