Research Interests

Ischemic cardiovascular disease leads to significant mortality and morbidity in the United States causing severe disability and deteriorating quality of life in surviving patients. My work is focused in defining the biochemical mechanisms underlying cardioprotection from ischemia/reperfusion injury. We are utilizing a number of transgenic and cell culture model systems to define the importance of adaptor proteins and various kinase pathways in this process.

4040 CoMRB
909 S. Wolcott Ave.
312-996-6858
elsherif@uic.edu

• Elsherif, L., Huang, M.S, Shai, S.Y., Li, R.Y., Chun, J., Kaufman, S.J, Ross, R.S.  Combined Deficiency of Dystrophin and β1 Integrin in the Cardiac Myocyte Causes Myocardial Dysfunction, Fibrosis and Calcification.  Circ Res. 102(9):1109-17, 2008.
  
  
• Zemljic-Harpf, A.E., Miller, J.C., Henderson, S.A., Wright, A.T., Manso, A.M., Elsherif, L., Dalton, N.D., Thor, A.K., Perkins, G.A., McCulloch, A.D., Ross, R.S. Cardiac-Myocyte Specific Excision of the Vinculin Gene Disrupts Cellular Junctions Causing Sudden Death or Dilated Cardiomyopathy.  Mol Cell Biol 27(21): 7522-7537, 2007.
  
  
• Wang, J., Song, Y., Elsherif, L., Song, Z., Zhou, G., Prabhu, S., Saari, J.T., Cai, L.  Cardiac Metallothionein Induction Plays the Major Role in the Prevention of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy by Zinc Supplementation.  Circulation 113(4): 544-54, 2006.
  
  
• Manso, A.M., Elsherif, L., Kang, S.M., and Ross, R.S. Integrins, membrane-type matrix metalloproteinases and ADAMs: Potential implications for cardiac remodeling. Cardiovasc Res , 69(3): 574-84, 2006.
  
  
• Elsherif, L., Jiang, Y., Saari, J.T., and Kang, Y.J. Dietary copper restriction-induced changes in myocardial gene expression and the effects of copper repletion. Exp Biol Med 229: 616-22, 2004.
  
  
• Elsherif, L., Wang, L., Saari, J.T., and Kang, Y.J.  Regression of copper restriction-induced cardiomyopathy by copper repletion in mice. J Nutr 134 (4): 855-60, 2004.
  
  
• Elsherif, L., Ortines, R.V, Saari, J.T., and Kang, Y.J.  Transition from concentric hypertrophy to congestive heart failure in copper deficient mice. Exp Biol Med 228: 811-817, 2003.