Texas Tech University

Zemfira Karamysheva, Ph.D.

Research Assistant Professor
Biological Sciences

Email: zemfira.karamysheva@ttu.edu

Phone: 1 (806) 834-5075

Education:

  • Postdoc, Texas A&M University (2000-2003)
  • Postdoc, University of Tokyo (1997-1999)
  • Ph.D. Molecular Biology, Moscow State University (1997)
  • M.Sc. Biology, Kuban State University (1985)

Web Links:

Dr. Zemfira Karamysheva

Research Interests

Regulation of protein translation in parasitic protozoan Leishmania major:Leishmania parasites alternate between promastigotes living in the midgut of sandflies and amastigotes residing in the mammalian host. The change between hosts involves dramatic temperature, pH and nutritional stresses. The adaptation to each host and parasite survival in harsh environment is achieved through differential gene expression. Interestingly, Leishmania major lacks promoter-mediated regulation of transcription and its gene expression is predominantly controlled at the level of protein translation and mRNA stability. We hypothesize that Leishmania ribosomes undergo change in their composition and regulation in order to promote parasite survival and withstand environmental insults. Through collaboration with Health Science Center at TTU we use polysome profiling technique to examine translation and identify players involved in control of Leishmania major translation during different environmental stresses like heat shock, acidic pH and osmotic stress.

The role of lipids in regulation of Leishmania gene expression: Lipids play important role in both promastigote and amastigote stages of Leishmaniamajor and many of them are essential for parasite growth and ability to cause pathology. Recently we have found that impairement in sterol synthesis leads to substantially reduced protein and RNA level in the parasite. We seek to determine the role of sterols and other lipids in control of Leishmania gene expression.  This will contribute to the understanding of molecular mechanisms of parasite pathogenesis and help to identify new pharmacological targets for further treatments.

Selected Publications:

Karamysheva, Z. N.*, Gutierrez Guarnizo, S. A., Karamyshev, A. L.* (2020) Regulation of Translation in the Protozoan Parasite Leishmania, Review, Int. J. Mol. Sci., 21, 2981; doi:10.3390/ijms21082981 (* = corresponding authors).

Karamyshev A. L.*, Tikhonova, E. B., Karamysheva, Z. N.* (2020) Translational Control of Secretory Proteins in Health and Disease. Review, Int. J. Mol. Sci., 21, 2538; doi:10.3390/ijms21072538  (* = corresponding authors).

Karamysheva, Z. N.*, Tikhonova, E. B., Karamyshev *, A. L. (2019) Granulin in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration: Molecular Mechanisms of the Disease. Review,Frontiers in Neuroscience, doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00395. PMID: 31105517   PMCID: PMC6494926 (* = corresponding authors).

Tikhonova, E. B., Karamysheva, Z. N., von Heijne, G., Karamyshev *, A. L. (2019) Silencing of aberrant secretory protein expression by disease-associated mutations. Journal of Molecular Biology. PMID: 31100385, doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.05.011. PMID:  31100385.

Karamyshev, A. L.*, Karamysheva, Z. N.* Lost in Translation: Ribosome-Associated mRNA and Protein Quality Controls. Review, Front. Genet., 2018, Oct 4;9:431. PMID:30337940 PMCID: PMC6180196 (* = corresponding authors).

Karamysheva, Z. N., Tikhonova, E. B., Grozdanov, P. N., Huffman J. C., Baca, K. R., Karamyshev, A, Denison R. B., MacDonald, C. C., Zhang, K., Karamyshev, A. L. (2018) Polysome Profiling in Leishmania, Human Cells and Mouse Testis. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE), Apr 8; (134) doi: 10.3791/57600.

Dutta AK, Khimji AK, Karamysheva Z, Fujita A, Kresge C, Rockey DC, Feranchak AP (2016) PKCa regulates TMEM16A-mediated Cl-secretion in human biliary cells. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol., 310(1), 34-42.

Karamysheva Z, Díaz-Martínez LA, Warrington R, Yu H. (2015) Graded requirement for the spliceosome in cell cycle progression. Cell Cycle, 14(12), 1873-1883.

Diaz-Martinez L.A., Karamysheva Z.N., Warrington R., Li B., Wei S., Xie X.J., Roth M.G. (2014) Genome-wide siRNA screen reveals coupling between mitotic apoptosis and adaptation. EMBO J., 33(17), 1960-1976. 

Karamyshev A.L., Patrick A.E.*,  Karamysheva Z.N.*,  Griesemer D.S., Hudson H., Tjon-Kon-Sang S., Nilsson I., Otto H.,  Liu Q., Rospert S., von Heijne G., Johnson A.E., Thomas P.T. (2014) Inefficient SRP Interaction with a Nascent Chain Recruits Ago2 and Triggers Specific mRNA Degradation. Cell, 156(1-2), 146-157.

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Spotlight in TIBS: Popp, M. W.-L. and Maquat L. E. (2014) Defective secretory-protein mRNAs take the RAPP, Trends in Biochemical Sciences, Vol. 39, No. 4, p. 154-156.

Nature Reviews Genetics: Research highlights: Novel mRNA quality control mechanism. Nature Reviews Genetics (2014) vol. 15 (3), p. 144.

The article has been selected as a technical advance by Faculty of 1000.

Karamysheva Z., Diaz-Martinez L.A, Crow S.E, Li B., Yu H. (2009) Multiple Anaphase-promoting Complex/Cyclosome Degrons Mediate the Degradation of Human Sgo1. J. Biol. Chem.,284(3), 1772-80.

Karamysheva Z. N., Surovtseva Y., Vespa L., Shakirov E., Shippen D. E. (2004) A C-terminal Myb-extension domain defines a novel family of double-strand telomeric DNA binding proteins in Arabidopsis. J. Biol. Chem.,279 (46), 47799-47807. 

Karamyshev A. L., Karamysheva Z. N., Yamami T., Ito K., Nakamura Y. (2004) Transient idling of posttermination ribosomes ready to reinitiate protein synthesis. Biochimie, 86 (12), p.933-938.

Karamysheva Z., Wang L., Shrode T., Bednenko J., Hurley L. A., Shippen D. E. (2003) Developmentally programmed gene elimination in Euplotes crassus facilitates a switch in the telomerase catalytic subunit. Cell, 113:565-576.

Preview on this paper has been published in Cell (2003) 113:552-554 (Cristofari G, Lingner J. Fingering the ends: how to make new telomeres).

Karamysheva Z. N, Karamyshev A. L., Ito K., Yokogawa T., Nishikawa K., Nakamura Y., Matsufuji S. (2003) Antizyme frameshifting as a functional probe of eukaryotic translational termination. Nucleic Acids Res., 31:5949-5956.

This paper was selected as technical advancebyFaculty 1000.

Ray S., Karamysheva Z., Wang L., Shippen D. E., Price C. M. (2002) Interactions between telomerase and primase physically link the telomere and chromosome replication machinery.
Mol. Cell. Biol., 22:5859-5868.

Karamyshev A. L., Karamysheva Z. N., Kajava A. V., Ksenzenko V. N., Nesmeyanova M. A. (1998) Processing of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase: role of the primary structure of the signal peptide cleavage region. J. Mol. Biol., 277:859-870.

Nesmeyanova M. A., Karamyshev A. L., Karamysheva Z. N., Kalinin A. E., Ksenzenko V. N., Kajava A. V. (1997) Positively charged lysine at the N-terminus of the signal peptide of the Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase provides the secretion efficiency and is involved in the interaction with anionic phospholipids. FEBS Lett., 403:203-207.

Department of Biological Sciences

  • Address

    Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Box 43131 Lubbock, TX 79409
  • Phone

    806.742.2715
  • Email

    biology@ttu.edu