Sadanand Fulzele, PhD
Associate Professor
Division of Endocrinology, Dept. of Medicine
Dept. of Neuroscience & Regenerative Medicine
Mailing Address:
1120 15th St., Rm. CB2510
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
Augusta, GA 30912
Office Phone: 706-721-4600
Lab: Rm. CB2509
E-mail: sfulzele@augusta.edu
Education:
Ph.D. in Animal Biotechnology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, India
M.V.Sc. in Animal Biotechnology, Indian Veterinary Research Institute, India
DVM, Nagpur Veterinary College, Nagpur, India
Research Interests:
Aging, Nutrition, Stem cells, Exosomes, miRNAs
Dr. Sadanand Fulzele is an Associate professor at the Department of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Dr. Fulzele is a veterinarian (DVM) and earned his PhD in Biotechnology from India Indian Veterinary Research Institute.
Current Lab Members:
Sandeep Kumar, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow
Sagar Vyavahare, DVM, PhD: Postdoctoral Fellow
Ongoing Research:
1. Nutritional Signaling and Age-Related Musculoskeletal Complication: My laboratory is extensively working on the role of micronutrients (Vitamin C, Arginine and Tryptophan) in bone marrow stromal cell function and its direct correlation with age-related musculoskeletal complications. My laboratory identified the expression of a functionally active vitamin C transporter in bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs), and negatively regulated with age. My lab also demonstrated an important role of Arginase 1 in muscle and bone biology. Furthermore, we (in collaboration with the PO1 group) discovered that the tryptophan-kynurenine catabolic pathway in age-associated musculoskeletal complications (stem cell dysfunction, muscle, and bone loss).
a. Pandya CD, Lee B, Toque HA, Mendhe B, Bragg RT, Pandya B, Atawia RT, Isales C, Hamrick M, Caldwell RW, Fulzele S. Age-Dependent Oxidative Stress Elevates Arginase 1 and Uncoupled Nitric Oxide Synthesis in Skeletal Muscle of Aged Mice. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2019 May 8;2019:1704650.
b. Patel D, Potter M, Anaya JM, McGee-Lawrence ME, Hamrick MW, Hill WD, Isales CM, Fulzele S. Kynurenine induces an age-related phenotype in bone marrow stromal cells. Mech Ageing Dev. 2021 Apr;195:111464. doi: 10.1016/j.mad.2021.111464.
c. Dalton S, Smith K, Singh K, Kaiser H, Kolhe R, Mondal AK, Khayrullin A, Isales CM, Hamrick MW, Hill WD, Fulzele S. Accumulation of kynurenine elevates oxidative stress and alters microRNA profile in human bone marrow stromal cells. Exp Gerontol. 2020 Feb;130:110800. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2019.110800.
d. Bhatta A, Sangani R, Kolhe R, Toque HA, Cain M, Wong A, Howie N, Shinde R, Elsalanty M, Yao L, Chutkan N, Hunter M, Caldwell RB, Isales C, Caldwell RW, Fulzele S. Deregulation of arginase induces bone complications in high-fat/high-sucrose diet diabetic mouse model. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2016 Feb 15;422:211-220. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2015.12.005. Epub 2015 Dec 17. PMID: 26704078; PMCID: PMC4824063.
e. Sangani R, Periyasamy-Thandavan S, Pathania R, Ahmad S, Kutiyanawalla A, Kolhe R, Bhattacharyya MH, Chutkan N, Hunter M, Hill WD, Hamrick M, Isales C, Fulzele S. The crucial role of vitamin C and its transporter (SVCT2) in bone marrow stromal cell autophagy and apoptosis. Stem Cell Res. 2015 Sep;15(2):312-21. doi: 10.1016/j.scr.2015.06.002. Epub 2015 Jun 10. PMID: 26210298; PMCID: PMC4824057.
2. miRNAs, Exosome, and Musculoskeletal tissue engineering: My laboratory performed pioneering work on the role of the miRNAs and exosomes in muscle, BMSC differentiation, and cartilage tissue engineering. Our objectives are to 1) define how age alters the secretion and cargo of EVs in sex- and hormone-specific manner, 2) identify the role of EV in the pathogenesis of musculoskeletal with age, and 2) determine how these EVs and their cargo regulate key cellular events in muscle and BMSC differentiation.
a. Fulzele S, Mendhe B, Khayrullin A, Johnson M, Kaiser H, Liu Y, Isales CM, Hamrick MW. Muscle-derived miR-34a increases with age in circulating extracellular vesicles and induces senescence of bone marrow stem cells. Aging (Albany NY). 2019 Mar 25;11(6):1791-1803. PMID: 30910993
b. Kolhe R, Owens V, Sharma A, Lee TJ, Zhi W, Ghilzai U, Mondal AK, Liu Y, Isales CM, Hamrick MW , Hunter M, Fulzele S . Sex-Specific Differences in Extracellular Vesicle Protein Cargo in Synovial Fluid of Patients with Osteoarthritis. Life (Basel). 2020 Dec 10;10(12):337. doi: 10.3390/life10120337. PMID: 33321751; PMCID: PMC7763294.
c. Kolhe R, Hunter M, Liu S, Jadeja RN, Pundkar C, Mondal AK, Mendhe B, Drewry M, Rojiani MV, Liu Y, Isales CM, Guldberg RE, Hamrick MW, Fulzele S . Gender-specific differential expression of exosomal miRNA in synovial fluid of patients with osteoarthritis. Sci Rep. 2017 May 17;7(1):2029.
d. Burke J, Kolhe R, Hunter M, Isales C, Hamrick M, Fulzele S . Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes: A Potential Alternative Therapeutic Agent in Orthopaedics. Stem Cells Int. 2016;2016:5802529. doi: 10.1155/2016/5802529.
3. Covid-19 and Age-Related Complication: During the last one and half years, my laboratory has performed pioneering work on how COVID-19 affects aged populations. We identified several miRNAs targeting covid19 genome downregulated with age. We also showed a strong association between nasal microbiota composition and SARS-CoV-2 infection and severity in aged patients. We also identified several myogenic genes, which might involve in covid19 dependent muscle loss.
a. Kolhe, R.; Sahajpal, N.S.; Vyavahare, S.; Dhanani, A.S.; Adusumilli, S.; Ananth, S.; Mondal, A.K.; Patterson, G.T.; Kumar, S.; Rojiani, A.M.; Isales, C.M.; Fulzele, S . Alteration in Nasopharyngeal Microbiota Profile in Aged Patients with COVID-19. Diagnostics 2021, 11, 1622. https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11091622
b. Fulzele S , Sahay B, Yusufu I, Lee TJ, Sharma A, Kolhe R, Isales CM. COVID-19 Virulence in Aged Patients Might Be Impacted by the Host Cellular MicroRNAs Abundance/Profile. Aging Dis. 2020 May 9;11(3):509-522. doi: 10.14336/AD.2020.0428.
c. Nicholas Cantu, Sagar Vyavahare, Sandeep Kumar, Jie Chen, Kolhe R, Isales CM, Hamrick MW, Fulzele S . Synergistic Effects of Multiple Factors Involved in COVID-19-dependent Muscle Loss. Aging Dis. 2021 (Accepted)
d. Vyavahare S, Kumar S, Cantu N, Kolhe R, Bollag WB, McGee-Lawrence ME, Hill WD, Hamrick MW, Isales CM, Fulzele S. Tryptophan-Kynurenine Pathway in COVID-19-Dependent Musculoskeletal Pathology: A Minireview. Mediators Inflamm. 2021 Oct 5;2021:2911578. doi: 10.1155/2021/2911578. PMID: 34621138; PMCID: PMC8492288.
e. Patterson T, Isales CM, Fulzele S. Low level of Vitamin C and dysregulation of Vitamin C transporter might be involved in the severity of COVID-19 Infection. Aging Dis. 2021 Feb 1;12(1):14-26. doi: 10.14336/AD.2020.0918. PMID: 33532123; PMCID: PMC7801272.
4. Traumatic brain injury and musculoskeletal dysfunction: This project aims to provide critical, new information on the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs; exosomes and microvesicles) and their miRNA and protein cargo in the pathophysiology of Traumatic brain injury (TBI). Our key objectives are to 1) identify the role of EVs in the pathophysiology of TBI, and 2) determine how the EV cargo (miR and proteins) regulates key cellular events in the pathophysiology of TBI.
a. Singleton Q, Vaibhav K, Braun M, Patel C, Khayrullin A, Mendhe B, Lee BR, Kolhe R, Kaiser H, Awad ME, Fariyike T, Elsayed R, Elsalanty M, Isales CM, Liu Y, Hamrick MW, Dhandapani KM, Fulzele S. Bone Marrow Derived Extracellular Vesicles Activate Osteoclast Differentiation in Traumatic Brain Injury Induced Bone Loss. Cells. 2019 Jan 17;8(1):63. doi: 10.3390/cells8010063.