Yuksel Agca
Associate Professor
DVM, MS, PhD

Building Address: S122 Discovery Drive
Phone Number: 884 0311
Email: agcay@missouri.edu

Research Emphasis: There are challenges for making dramatic research advances in the areas of biomedical research.  Thus, it is imperative to have optimal animal models to investigate cellular, molecular and structural basis of human disorders and to apply this enhanced understanding to the development of a new generation of reproductive other therapeutic approaches. We have engaged in the studies involving several diverse research areas including reproductive biology, transgenic rodent model, molecular reproduction, neurodegenerations, and bone pathology with a team of collaborators. We value basic research and it’s translation into practical applications in the biomedical fields. In addition, Interactions involving cross-disciplinary knowledge and technology is crucial for the development and public acceptance of new tools and methodologies that will ultimately serve the reproductive well-being of both humans and animals as well as human general medicine. Our research includes cellular, biophysical, and molecular aspects of cryobiology and biology of mammalian germplasm. We perform basic research and subsequently translate the gained knowledge toward development of reproductive technologies as they relate to gamete, embryo, and gonadal tissue biotechnologies including genome cryobanking, human diseases model development, and gene transfer. We are also interested in genome resource cryobanking of scientifically important mutant rodent models for human diseases.  One of the research interests that we currently pursuing is the use of laboratory rats as models to develop reproductive therapy strategies for women via ovarian tissue cryopreservation and subsequent auto-transplantation for the prevention of infertility and bone loss. In addition, our ongoing research effort is directed to investigate diet and menopause induced cognitive, brain molecular, cellular and pathologic changes using transgenic rat models of Alzheimer’s disease that we developed in our laboratory.

Teaching Responsibilities:  Laboratory rodents reproduction

Selected Publications since 2011 (Google Scholar Citations):

1. Wuri L, Agca C, Agca Y (2019). Euthanasia via CO2 inhalation causes premature cortical granule exocytosis in mouse oocytes and influences in-vitro fertilization and embryo development. Mol. Reprod. Dev. doi: 10.1002/mrd.23167.
2. Levit A, Regis AM, Gibson A, Hough OH Maheshwari S, Agca Y, Agca C, Hachinski V, Allman BL, Whitehead SN (2019). Impaired behavioural flexibility related to white matter microgliosis in the TgAPP21 rat model of Alzheimer disease. Brain Behav. Immun. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2019.02.013.
3. Agca Y (2019). In vitro culture of rat pre-implantation embryos. Methods in Molecular Biology, Springer Nature. In Embryo Culture 2006:33-43. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9566-0_3.
4. Weishaupt N, Liu Q, Shin S, Agca Y,  Agca C, Hachinski V, Whitehead  S (2018).  APP21 transgenic rats develop age-dependent cognitive impairment and microglia accumulation within white matter tracts.  Journal of Neuroinflammation https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-018-1273. 
5. Lining H, Benson JD, Agca C, Agca Y, Almasri M (2018). Lab on chip microfluidics sensor for individual red blood cell water permeability measurements. Proceedings of the International Nano/Micro Engineered and Molecular Systems 44-47. DOI: 10.1109/NEMS.2018.8557031.
6. Ince S, Erdogan M, Demirel H, Agca Y, Dal G, Uguz C (2018). Boron enhances early embryonic gene expressions and improves fetal development of rats. J. of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology   50: 34-46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2018.06.002.
7. Klakotskaia D, Agca C, Richardson RA, Schachtman TR, Stopa E, Agca Y (2018). Memory deficiency, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and amyloid-β plaques in APP+PS1 double transgenic rat model of Alzheimer's disease. Plos one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195469.
8. Caughlin S, Maheshwari S, Agca Y, Agca C, Yeung K, Cechetto D, Whitehead S. (2018). Membrane-lipid homeostasis in a prodromal rat model of AD: Characteristic shifts in ganglioside abundance during aging detected using MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry. Biochim Biophys Acta. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2018.03.011.
9. Oh S-H, Levit A, Agca C, Allman B, Garabon J, Agca Y, Regis A, Hachinski V, Rajakumar N, Desai S. Whitehead S (2017).  Behavioural inflexibility in a comorbid rat model of striatal ischemic injury and mutant hAPP overexpression. Behavioural Brain Research. DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.
10. Ellegaard M, Agca C, Petersen S,  Agrawal A, Kruse  LS, Wang N,  Gartland A, Jensen JB, Jørgensen NR, Agca Y (2017).Bone turnover is altered in transgenic rats overexpressing the P2Y2 purinergic receptor. Purinergic Signaling. DOI 10.1007/s11302-017-9582-3.
11. Agca Y, Qian S, Agca C, Seye C (2016). Direct evidence for P2Y2 receptor involvement in vascular response to injury arteriosclerosis. J. Vascular Research 53:163-171.
12. Agca C, Klakotskaia D, Schachtman TR, Chan AW, Lah JJ, Agca Y (2016). PS-1 transgene addition to APP overexpressing transgenic rats increases Aβ levels and results in loss of memory retention. BMC-Neuroscience DOI: 10.1186/s12868-016-0281-8.
13. Moran SP, Chi T, Prucha MS, Agca Y, Chan AWS (2016). Cryotolerance of transgenic rhesus macaque sperm. J. American Association for Laboratory Animal Sci 55:520-524.
14. Kim S, Hooper S, Agca C, Agca Y (2016). Post-thaw ATP supplementation enhances cryoprotective effect of iodixanol in rat spermatozoa. Reproductive Biology & Endocrinology. DOI: 10.1186/s12958-016-0141-5.
15. Silverberg GD,  Miller MC, Pascale CL, Caralopoulos LN, Agca Y, Agca C, Klinge PM,  Stopa EG (2015). Kaolin-induced chronic hydrocephalus accelerates amyloid deposition and vascular disease in transgenic rats expressing high levels of human APP. Fluids and Barriers of the CNS DOI:10.1186/2045-8118-12-2.
16. Uguz C, Varisli O, Agca C, Evans T. Agca Y (2015).  In vitro effects of nonylphenol on motility, mitochondrial, acrosomal and chromatin integrity of ram and boar spermatozoa. Andrologia DOI: 10.1111/and.12346.
17. Agca C and Agca Y (2014). Molecular and ultrastuctural changes of rat pre-implantation embryos during two-cell developmental arrest. J Assisted Reproduction and Genetics DOI: 10.1007/s10815-014-0213-4.
18. Varisli O, Agca C, Agca Y (2013). Short-term storage of rat sperm in the presence of various extenders. J. American Association for Laboratory Animal Sci. 2:732-737.
19. Varisli O, Scott H, Agca C, Agca Y (2013). The effects of cooling rates and type of freezing extenders on cryosurvival of rat sperm. Cryobiology, 67:109-116.
20. Putkhao K, Agca Y, Parnpai R, and Chan AWS (2013).Cryopreservation of transgenic Hunting tin disease Rhesus macaque sperm. Cloning and Transgenesis. 2:1000116
21. Agca C, Yakan A, Agca Y (2013). Estrus synchronization and ovarian hyper-stimulation treatments have negligible effects on cumulus oocyte complex gene expression whereas induction of ovulation causes major expression changes. Mol Reprod Dev. 80:102-117.
22. Kim S, Agca C, Agca Y. (2013). Effects of various physical stress factors on mitochondrial function and reactive oxygen species in rat spermatozoa. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 25:1051-1064.
23. Cirit U, Bagis H, Demir K, Agca C, Pabuccuoglu S, Varıslı O, Clifford-Rathert C, Agca Y. (2013). Comparison of cryoprotective effects of iodixanol, trehalose and cysteamine on ram semen. Animal Reproduction Science, 139:38-44.
24. Kim S, Agca C, Agca Y. (2012). Changes in rat spermatozoa function after cooling, cryopreservation and centrifugation processes. Cryobiology, 65:215-223.
25. Agca Y. (2012). Genome resource banking of biomedically important laboratory animals. Theriogenology78:1653-1665.
26. Aksu DA, Agca C, Aksu S, Bagis H, Akkoc T, Caputcu AT, Arat S, Taskin AC, Kizil SH, Karasahin T, Akyol N, Satilmis M, Sagirkaya H, Ustuner B, Nur Z, Agca Y. (2012). Gene expression profiles of vitrified in vitro- and in vivo-derived bovine blastocysts. Molecular Reproduction and Development, 79:613-625.
27. Seye C, Agca Y, Agca C, Derbigny W (2012).  P2Y2 Receptor-mediated Lymphotoxin-α (LTA) Secretion Regulates Intercellular Cell Adhesion Molecule (ICAM)-1 Expression in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry 23:10535-10543.
28. Walters EM, Agca Y, Ganjam V, Evans T. (2011). Animal models got you puzzled?: Think pig. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1245: 63–64.