Senthil Kumar G, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist
Structural Biology & Bioinformatics
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Research Focus

• Identification and validation of the potential genes involved in early diabetic retinopathy by Integrative single-cell bioinformatics analysis. • Dissecting cellular crosstalks and molecular pathways involved in the neurodegeneration process of the diabetic retina. • Developing a liposomes-based nano-delivery system for the treatment of retinal eye diseases • Systems biology approach for early prognostic/diagnostic biomarker discovery

Research Interest

Our lab is interested to understand the pathobiology of retinal eye diseases, particularly Diabetic retinopathy (DR), which is one of the leading causes of blindness globally. The molecular mechanisms involved in the development of early diabetic retinopathy are not fully understood. Fibrosis is a critical component of early diabetic retinopathy pathogenesis, driven by hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and inflammation. Hence, our lab is interested in elucidating the molecular pathways of fibrosis in DR, which can help identify targets for intervention to prevent or slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Credentials

Senior Scientist (2021-onwards), CSIR-Indian Institute Of Chemical Biology, Kolkata

Scientist (2016-2020), CSIR-Indian Institute Of Chemical Biology, Kolkata

Ph.D. Genetics (2016) University of Madras (collaboration with the University of Chicago, USA)

Grants & Supports

  1. Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)
  2. CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) 
  3. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
  4. National Institute of Genetics-International Joint Research grant - 2021, Shizuoka, JAPAN

Patents & Publications

  1. Kar A, Ghosh P, Gautam A, Chowdhury S, Basak D, Sarkar I, Bhoumik A, Barman S, Chakraborty P, Mukhopadhyay A, Mehrotra S, Ganesan SK, Paul S, Chatterjee S. CD38-RyR2 axis-mediated signaling impedes CD8+ T cell response to anti-PD1 therapy in cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Mar 12;121(11):e2315989121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2315989121. Epub 2024 Mar 7. PMID: 38451948; PMCID: PMC10945783. 
  2. Devarajan N, Nathan J, Mathangi R, Mahendra J, Ganesan SK. Pharmacotherapeutic values of berberine: A Chinese herbal medicine for the human cancer management. J Biochem Mol Toxicol. 2023 Mar;37(3):e23278. doi: 10.1002/jbt.23278. Epub 2023 Jan 1. PMID: 36588295. 
  3. Karmakar A, Ahamad Khan MM, Kumari N, Devarajan N, Ganesan SK. Identification of Epigenetically Modified Hub Genes and Altered Pathways Associated With Retinoblastoma. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Mar 10;10:743224. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2022.743224. PMID: 35359459; PMCID: PMC8960645.
  4. Kumari N, Karmakar A, Ahamad Khan MM, Ganesan SK. The potential role of m6A RNA methylation in diabetic retinopathy. Exp Eye Res. 2021 May 9;208:108616. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2021.108616. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33979630.
  5. Devarajan N, Manjunathan R, Ganesan SK. Tumor hypoxia: the major culprit behind cisplatin resistance in cancer patients. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2021 Apr 13:103327. doi: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103327. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33862250.
  6. Devarajan N, Jayaraman S, Mahendra J, Venkatratnam P, Rajagopal P, Palaniappan H, Ganesan SK. Berberine-A potent chemosensitizer and chemoprotector to conventional cancer therapies. Phytother Res. 2021 Feb 8. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7032. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33559280.
  7. Jayaraman S, Devarajan N, Rajagopal P, Babu S, Ganesan SK, Veeraraghavan VP, Palanisamy CP, Cui B, Periyasamy V, Chandrasekar K. β-Sitosterol Circumvents Obesity Induced Inflammation and Insulin Resistance by down-Regulating IKKβ/NF-κB and JNK Signaling Pathway in Adipocytes of Type 2 Diabetic Rats. Molecules. 2021 Apr 6;26(7):2101. doi: 10.3390/molecules26072101. PMCID: PMC8038823.
  8.  Kumari N, Karmakar A, Chakrabarti S, Ganesan SK. Integrative Computational Approach Revealed Crucial Genes Associated With Different Stages of Diabetic Retinopathy. Front Genet. 2020 Nov 12;11:576442. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2020.576442. PMID: 33304382; PMCID: PMC7693709.
  9. Ganesan SK, Venkatratnam P, Mahendra J, Devarajan N. Increased mortality of COVID-19 infected diabetes patients: role of furin proteases. Int J Obes (Lond). 2020 Dec;44(12):2486-2488. doi: 10.1038/s41366-020-00670-9. Epub 2020 Sep 1. PMID: 32873908; PMCID: PMC7461147.
  10. Kumari N, Karmakar A, Ganesan SK. Targeting epigenetic modifications as a potential therapeutic option for diabetic retinopathy. J Cell Physiol. 2020 Mar;235(3):1933-1947. doi: 10.1002/jcp.29180. Epub 2019 Sep 17. PMID: 31531859.
  11. Nalini D, Selvaraj J, Ganesan SK. Herbal nutraceuticals: safe and potent therapeutics to battle tumor hypoxia. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2020 Jan;146(1):1-18. doi: 10.1007/s00432-019-03068-x. Epub 2019 Nov 13. PMID: 31724069.
  12. Ganesan SK, Dinesh Kumar K, Minogue PJ, Berthoud VM, Kannan R, Beyer EC, Santhiya ST. The E368Q Mutant Allele of GJA8 is Associated with Congenital Cataracts with Intrafamilial Variation in a South Indian Family. Open Access J Ophthalmol. 2016;1(1):106. Epub 2016 Jul 28. PMID: 28530003; PMCID: PMC5438206.
  13. K. Dinesh Kumar, Ganesan SK, A. Sathya, Palani Raj, G. Jayaraman, S.T. Santhiya.V235L mutation of human BEST1 gene, in association with Best macular dystrophy and predictions on the possibility of altered CERES Function. Journal of Clinical &Experimental Ophthalmology. 01/2015;06:50.
  14. Ganesan SK, Kyle JW, Minogue PJ, Dinesh Kumar K, Vasantha K, Berthoud VM, Beyer EC, Santhiya ST. An MIP/AQP0 mutation with impaired trafficking and function underlies an autosomal dominant congenital lamellar cataract. Exp Eye Res. 2013 May;110:136-41. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2012.10.010. Epub 2012 Oct 29. PMID: 23116563; PMCID: PMC3570674. 
  15. Kumar KD, Ganesan SK, Santhiya ST. Nonspecific PCR amplification of CRYBB2-pseudogene leads to misconception of natural variation as mutation. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012 Aug 22;53(9):5770. doi: 10.1167/iovs.12-10575. PMID: 22915216.         
  16. Santhiya ST, Ganesan SK, Sudhakar P, Gupta N, Klopp N, Illig T, Söker T, Groth M, Platzer M, Gopinath PM, Graw J. Molecular analysis of cataract families in India: new mutations in the CRYBB2 and GJA3 genes and rare polymorphisms. Mol Vis. 2010 Sep 10;16:1837-47. PMID: 21031021; PMCID: PMC2956670.

 

 

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