BIO
Plammoottil V.
Cherian
Plammoottil Cherian, MDiv, PhD, is a retired professor after fifty years of his research and teaching career.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Dr. Cherian lives in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, with his wife, son and two grandchildren. His daughter and her husband live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
About the Author
He received his PhD in life sciences from Indiana State University with specialization in microbiology, immunology, parasitology, and cell biology. After postdoctoral training at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Cherian was a Research Scientist and Professor in the Department of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania and later in the Department of Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Abor. He has conducted research on the various diseases such as Trypanosomiasis, filarial disease, cancer biology, breast cancer, lung cancer, Diabetic neuropathy and environmental pollutants. With the application of Electron Microscopy and Immunocytochemistry his research has contributed to better understanding of the fine structure of cells, trypanosomes, and localized the sites of antigen-antibody interactions in cells and on parasites. He is the first one to describe that microorganisms such as trypanosomes have the ability to evade host immune response by sloughing off its membrane antigens in an attempt to escape the antibodies developed by the hosts. Dr. Cherian suggests that such mechanisms of masquerading is a common feature of most microbial organisms such as bacteria and viruses as expressed by seasonal flu viruses, influenza virus, and the epidemics and pandemics world has experienced since 1976 in the emerging diseases caused by Ebola virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, and the most recent Coronavirus (COVID-19). He suggests that in order to develop efficacious and successful vaccines scientists must target the DNA or RNA, as the case may be for the genome of a specific virus, and their ability to use host ribosomes for the assembly of the various envelope proteins, spike proteins, membrane proteins, and nucleocapsid proteins of various viruses. The same mechanism of changing surface proteins is a common phenomenon among protozoan parasites as trypanosomes, malarial parasites, and possibly some metazoan parasites. Passionate about teaching and helping students, he devoted fully to teaching in his late career and retired from Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. He has taught courses such as general biology, microbiology, medical microbiology, human anatomy and physiology, medical physiology, infectious diseases and Human biology. He is the author of nearly forty peer-reviewed scientific articles and numerous panel presentations at national and international forums.
Research Background and Contribution
During my education as an undergraduate and graduate student and my early teaching career, I was fascinated by the theory of evolution. However, as I applied electron microscopy in various researches to study the fine structure of the cells, understanding the complexities of each structure from microbial organisms to eukaryotic cells, my interest in the concept began to fade and finally evaporated as I gained knowledge of the fine structure of cellular machinery and the complex processes of life. During the course of my research, for example, I have analyzed the 9 +2 molecular arrangement of the flagellum of trypanosomes, and it is amazing to see the geometric molecular arrangement of the microtubular rings of the flagellum, as seen here.
Such complex structures of ultramicroscopic organisms, the machinery and the complex structure of mitochondria with its elaborate system of internal membranous folding called cristae, the complex system of respiratory chain enzymes, coenzymes and cofactors that come in their precise order in the oxidation-reduction process until the final electron transfer in the electron transport chain is astonishingly complex, yet delicate processes that cannot function without fine tuning of a Divine Designer.
Ultrastructural characterization of Trypanosoma lewisi detailing the fine structure of the flagellum clearly showing the 9 +2 pattern of the microtubules in a cross section of the flagellum. Figures 4 and 6 show the flagellum (fl), and the microtubules (mt) arranged around the body, and the cytoplasm with a single mitochondrion (m) in figure 6. The (fe) marked in each figure represents ferritin used as an electron marker to localize the sites of antigen-antibody interaction in the cell. In figures 5 and 7 the flagellar pocket (fp) is shown from which the flagellum originates in a structure called kinetoplast. The dark electron dense particles are Trypanosome surface antigens complexed with antibody against trypanosomes conjugated to ferritin. The modulated antigen-antibody complex is heavily localized in the flagellar pocket and desmosomal regions as shown in all the pictures. These pictures are from the personal work of Dr. Cherian, when he was a graduate student at Indiana State University.
Cancer Research
The picture above shows breast epithelial cells from a breast cancer patient, showing tumor antigens in primary breast carcinoma. Deparaffinized tissue sections were treated sequentially with monoclonal antibody to Tn antigens, biotinylated goat-anti mouse IgG, then gold conjugated streptavidin, followed by silver intensification using the immunogold silver staining method (IGSS). Note the intense reaction product (blue-black deposits) around the epithelial cells and within the cytoplasm.
Research on Asthma and Allergy
Asthma and Allergies often go hand-in-hand. Asthma is a disease of the branches of the windpipe (bronchial tubes), which carry air in and out of the lungs. There are several different types of asthma. Allergic Asthma is triggered by an allergen (pollen, mold, spores). According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, many of the 25 million Americans with asthma also have allergies and called allergic asthma. Air is normally taken into the body through the nose and windpipe and into the bronchial tubes. At the end of the tubes are tiny air sacs called alveoli that deliver fresh air (oxygen) to the blood for exchange of gases, oxygen to the tissue and carbon dioxide from the tissue, which is exhaled out of the body. During normal breathing, the bands of muscle surrounding the airways are relaxed and air moves freely. But during an asthma episode or "attack," there are three main changes that stop air from moving freely into the airways: The narrowed airway makes it more difficult for air to move in and out of the lungs. As a result, people with asthma feel they cannot get enough air. All of these changes make breathing difficult. The underlying cause is molecular causes are the various cytokines produced by T-Cells that influence the recruitment of eosinophils into the lungs, aggravate the pathophysiology of asthma. Eosinophils are circulating granulocytes produced in the bone marrow along with other white blood cells and travel at relatively low levels in the bloodstream, making up 1–3% of white blood cells. These are the major cell types that can be recruited to sites of immunological or inflammatory responses The effector function of eosinophils is related to their release of toxic granule proteins, reactive oxygen species (ROS), cytokines, and lipid mediators eosinophils has been traditionally considered as cytotoxic effectors cells, new insights into molecular pathways allowed a better understanding of the immunomodulatory functions of these cells. I have characterized the influx of eosinophils and the T-cells in asthmatic patients in clinical studies while employed at the School of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison as a Research Scientist in the Department of Medicine. The following photographs and abstract indicate both eosinophils and T-cell subsets in tissues of airways of asthmatic patients.
• The bands of muscle that surround the airways tighten, causing them to narrow in what is called "bronchospasm." • The lining of the airways becomes swollen or inflamed. • The cells that line the airways produce more mucus, which is thicker than normal.
The picture shows abundance of eosinophils in patients with asthma, as explained in the molecular events leading to the pathophysiology of Asthma.
The above pictures show characterization of T-Lymphocytes in allergy and asthma. The pictures show cellular infiltrates within the alveolar wall reacted with monoclonal antibody to CD3 and CD4 subsets of T-cells which express affinity for IgE receptors, as explained in the picture legend above.
Diabetic Neuropathy
I have spent several years in studies of diabetic neuropathy along with a certified pathologist with whom I was the Co-director of the Michigan Diabetes Research and Training Center (MDRTC) for 190-1997. I was in charge of the center for light microscopic, electron microscopic and immune histochemical studies on the projects as well as the lab director. Electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry were applied to study the anatomical feature of the diabetic nerves as well as to localize certain molecules that regulate the pathophysiology of the disease. Human diabetic neuropathy is characterized by impaired nerve conduction velocity (speed of the nerve impulse to the brain and from the brain to the motor structures). A variety of sensory and automatic abnormalities and progressive neuroanatomical changes.
These changes could involve neuronal structures, the endoneurial vasculature and supporting connective tissue. Without going into details, anatomically structural deformities can be seen in single nerve fiber showing wrinkled myelin, the protective fat layer that insulates the neuronal axon that conducts the nerve impulses, just as the insulation of a copper wire that conducts electricity. However, if the myelin sheath structure is impaired nerve conduction to and from the nerve would be affected as shown in the two pictures below. Diabetic neuropathy can develop for anyone who has had diabetes for over five years, and it is a progressive with mild symptoms or no symptom until it progresses severely to total loss of sensation.
Ultrastructural qualitative and quantitative and studies clearly demonstrated that axonal atrophy is a prominent pathologic feature of diabetic neuropathy. The underlying molecular cause may be multifold such as decreased protein synthesis, impaired axonal transport of structural cytoskeletal proteins as well as nonenzymatic glycation of these proteins with consequent defects in their polymerization and phosphorylation for their exportation from the perikaryon to the axon. Figures 2 above shows excessive myelin wrinkling, indicative if axonal atrophy from fifty-six-year-old patient with 6-year history of diabetes. Figure 3 shows progression of axonal degeneration resulting in a diffused myelinated fiber loss.
Figure 4 shows never fasciculus from a type II diabetic patient showing myelinated fiber loss superimposed by focal nerve fiber loss. The photograph shows half of a fasciculus with sparse changes in endoneurial blood vessels (arrows) in the sural nerve from a 54-year-old patient with 7-year history of type II diabetes. Other important molecules involved in the pathophysiology of diabetic neuropathy are glucose transporters (Glut-1 and 3), and the sodium channels (Na+ channels). These two substances are very active in the process of nerve physiology because peripheral nerve is a metabolically active functionally excitable tissue in which specific metabolic substrate requirements, high energy needs, and specialized anatomical and cellular architecture impose complex requirements on metabolic substrate delivery. In most mammalian cells, facilitative glucose transporters mediate the transport of glucose across plasma membranes, and several studies have demonstrated the expression of glucose transporter-1 (GLUT1) in cells of perineurial and blood nerve barriers, supporting the role of these transporters in the delivery of glucose to the endoneurial compartments.
Axonal energy demands are highest in the region of the nodes of Ranvier. It is at these sites that Na+/K+-ATPase enzyme and sodium-channel molecules are concentrated. Along with Dr. Anders Sima, a well-known pathologist and Dr. Frank Brosius, a physician who practices Internal Medicine, I have studied the role of Glut-1 and Na+ channel in diabetic neuropathy. The electron microscopic and immunohistochemical analysis were completely done by me as shown in the diagrams below.
The above panel of micrographs above shows sural nerves of experimental BB/W rats showing immunolocalization of GLUT. Perineurial lamella, endoneurial blood vessel wall, and the nodes of Ravier show intense immunoreaction (dark deposits). Immunoresction product is noted at the nodal junctions in the middle pannel on the left panel. The third micrograph on the left panel shown no immunoreaction pricipitate , as it is a tissue section used as control.
Chronic nerve cinduction slowing in experimental diabtic neuropathy has been associated with decreased Na+ permeiability and an ultrastructurally identifiable loss of axonal structures which regulate the paranodal voltage channel barriers separating the nodal N+ channels from the paranodal K+ channels. In human and experimental diabetic neuropathy, increased inactivation of nodal Na+ channel and a multifold increase in nodal intraaxonal sodiu concentration in large myelinated fibers, consequent to decreased Na+/K+-ATPase activity, are associated with nodal and paranodal axonal swelling and blockage of nerve conduction by nerve fibes.
The photographs show sural nerve from a 6 month old BB rat demonstrating intensely stained Na+ channels confined to the node of Ranvier (arroheads). These various studes on the ultrastructual details and the fine tuning of hundreds of thousands of molecules in volved in the normal functioning of the anatyomical and physiological systems of human body convinced me that Darwinian evolution is a hoax, and we much search for the devine desgin for the creatio of organisms. That lead me to search and be interested in the unseen and supernatural hand of God.
Connecting Science and Theology
Convinced of the numerous molecular machineries of human beings and of the microbial and living world, of their precision structure and function, to quench the thirst for truth, I searched evidences from all branches of sciences and the entire Scriptures. Unusual for a biological scientist, I pursued theological training and received Master of Divinity from Trinity University in Newburgh, Indiana. For the last forty years I have examined the Bible daily with world events and scientific discoveries and attempt to relate them to Bible. With a mind of famous scientists like Nicolaus Copernicus, Galileo Galilei, Isaac Newton, and Robert Boyle who believed in God, I am committed to propagate the truth to the academic world through lectures, media, and online programs so that the world may come to know God’s creative power and works in the universe and daily affairs of nations and individuals. While I claim no superiority but am the least of all these, I was more fortunate than any of them to see the numerous scientific discoveries made since their days until today, and able to relate them to Bible facts. As an invited speaker at churches and religious meetings, I speak the Word of God and the systematics of divine creation. I have taken it as a serious study to relate the scientific discoveries, the daily events in different arts of the world to relate them with criptures if possible. Accordingly, many facts and events of the Bible have been proven by science including the systematic creation of the universe, life and the multitude of living orgaisms. Convinced beyond the shadow of any doubt, I have started to collect and link the scientific discoveries and the world events with Biblical truth.
Books Written
Origins of the Universe
Cherian, Plammootil V. (2018). Origins of the Universe, Life and Species. New Perspectives from Science and Theology. Science Proves God in Action. ISBN 978-1-64003-190-6 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-64003-378-8 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-1-64003-191-3 (Digital)Copyright © 2017 Plammoottil V. Cherian All rights reserved First Edition.
Promised Land
Cherian, Plammoottil V (2019). Promised Land: Whose Land, Whose Promise, Who Shall Inherit. A Complete History of God and Humanity with Reference to Middle East. ISBN 978-1-64300-991-9 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-64300-992-6 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-1-64300-993-3 (Digital). Copyright © 2019 Plammoottil V. Cherian All rights reserved First Edition.
America the Beautiful
Cherian, Plammoottil V (2019). America the Beautiful: Our Vanishing Heritage: Why Our Hallowed Faith Matters. A Historical SAccount of Our Christian Heritage and a call for Renewal. ISBN 978-1-64670-337-1 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-64670-338-8 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-1-64670-339-5 (Digital). Copyright © 2019 Plammootil Cherian All rights reserved First Edition.
Darwinian Evolution Cannot be the Cause of Origins of the Universe, Life or Species and the theory is a Hoax and Myth.
Our Crumbling Civilization
Cherian, Plammoottil V (2020). Our Crumbling Civilization and Collapsing Universe of 5 Percent. Biblical Explanation of Scientific Evidence 6 Universe Spins to Its End. (Covenant Books, In Press) Recent scientific discoveries have proved the opening verses of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:1, 2). Beginning in 2012, cosmologists and astrophysicist have proved that 95 percent of the universe remains as dark matter with highly potent energy and the visible universe with all planets, the sun, moon, the billions of stars, our Milky Way and other galaxies, and living organisms and human beings on earth constitute only 5 percent of matter. Moreover, Apostle Paul in his Epistle to Hebrews says, “The Universe was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made of things that are visible” (Heb. 11:3). Isn’t it amazing that two thousand years ago by divine revelation God’s servants knew of the dark matter and dark energy the scientists reveal today? The visible universe was created out of invisible matter. The same truth is recorded in the Epistle to Colossians. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:15–16). This affirms the eternal nature of Jesus Christ, as the second person of the Trinity in creation. Perhaps most scientists who discovered these scientific facts may not know that they have deciphered the total “darkness that prevailed on the face of the deep.” But, by the grace of God, with my background in science and theology, God has revealed to me the missing link between the precreation darkness of the universe and the visible universe with all its cosmological and biological entities in the entire universe. God’s Spirit by hovering upon this total darkness sanctified 5 percent of the matter for the systematic creation of the universe in six days, which are six long periods, which I have explained in the earlier book, The Origins of the Universe, Life and Species: New Perspectives from Science and Theology. Science Proves God in Action (Cherian, Plammoottil V, 2018). However, as stated in the book of Ecclesiastes, there is a time for everything, “a time to be born, and a time to die” (Eccl. 3:2). This statement in the Scriptures is based on the natural laws of nature that everything must have a beginning and end. Bible has specifically stated that the earth and the universe will come to an end, the present universe will collapse as it is kept for fire in an elemental melt down (2 Pet. 3:7–13). After this elemental meltdown of the universe, God will create a new heaven and earth for all who believe and live by the Gospel of God, the eternal word of God (Isa. 65:17, 66:22; Heb. 12:26–27; 2 Pet. 3:12–13; Rev. 21:1). The same scientists who proved the dark matter and dark energy have also proved that the tremendous energy of the dark matter can or will suck up several galaxies into the black holes they have discovered in the center of our galaxy. Thus, scientific discoveries have proved precisely what God revealed millennia ago to his prophets and apostles. And I praise God for he has given me the grace and wisdom to connect modern scientific discoveries with the Scriptural truths recorded millennia ago. The author has well connected what dark matter is, where the abode of light and darkness is, who created eternal light, physical light, who created darkness, separated darkness and light, day and night and who spreads (expanded) the universe from one end to another, and who hangs the earth, the planets and stars in the emptiness (outer space). God set the solar system and the universe on set laws on which they operate. The book succinctly explains the timeline of the expansion of the universe and the orderly creation of the celestial bodies, the planets outside our solar system contains large bodies of water which is water God separated into above and below the skies (firmament) as stated in Genesis 1:6–8, which few scientists have recently found. Nonetheless, there is another truth that humanity should be concerned about seriously, which is our civilization is crumbling. All civilizations from the beginning of history has been crumbling, creating serious fractures in the foundation of society and the nations at large, which is resulting from alienation from God, the Creator. Except fundamentalist and extremist countries, most nations though founded on democratic principles are rooted in biblical concept from which many have deviated and have become secular, and godlessness shatters human civilization everywhere. The book explains from science and theology what is true darkness, and real reasons for our crumbling civilization. It is emphatically stated that it is not the climate change that shatters our civilization, but godlessness of the nations’ crumbles our civilization, which was evident from the days of Noah. The theory of evolution, the evidence of which are only as strong as sand dunes of the beach and soap bubbleswhich is taught and accepted by the academia and the general public not only contributed to the shattering of faith of millions but also crumbles human civilization. The majestic universe itself proves God exists which has been attested by well-known scientists of the past and many modern scientists who were honored with Nobel Prize for their scientific discoveries. The various branches of science prove that God is not a delusion as atheists believe, but atheism and apostasy are aberrations of a delusionary world. It is unfortunate that evolutionary scientists schemed to explain God’s order of systematic creation as evolutionary process spread over millions of years changing one primordial cell by mutation to humanity, the most foolish logic of all. However, as the universe is gyrating to its final spin as revealed by both science theology, “On that Day,” is nearing when humanity will be judged, and the ultimate fate of the universe, every individual and the nations shall be determined soon. As we have just entered the third decade of the twenty first century three nations God called and separated are, Israel, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom have greater responsibility to preserve the God ordained culture and civilization in the world from crumbling than any other nations. In my view the United States of America is the “Israel of God” to propagate the message of the Gospel to a darkened world, the light of which is getting dimmer and dimmer. There is a great difference between God of Israel and the Israel of God.
The former is the living God who called out the nation of Israel to bring the blessing of God to all nations promised in the Abrahamic covenant. The latter is all believers of every tongue, tribe, every ethnic group of every nation who found America to be their land, and worship freely the living God with freedom for all. The Founding Fathers set our nation on the principles of the Bible, and we later generations have a moral mandate to keep its foundation secure. Israel is the name of a person (Jacob), a nation and all believers who win over the culture war and preserve the faith till the end. Thus, America is the Israel of God, which is vividly explained in the book. All believers in the redemptive salvation through Jesus Christ in all nations are part of the Israel of God. As the universe is gyrating to its final destiny, the whole world is thirsty for many things and the calamitous rundown civilization of the world needs a bold restructuring of the spirit of every nation, leaders and the people. This reconstruction can happen only through a moral awakening to accept the call of Jesus, “If any man thirsts, let him come to me, and drink” (John 7:37). There is no distinction of the nature of the thirst is made here. Jesus satisfied the thirst of the Samaritan woman, a leader of the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus, and many others. Today the world is struck with the thirst of avarice, pleasure, wealth, knowledge, which are all unquenchable by humans and are marks of excessive depravity of the society and of our civilization. Only Lord Jesus can satiate this excessive thirst, and he calls everyone to the ever-flowing fountain of life sustaining water that can refresh the utterly famished souls of anyone and all nations. It is the surest guarantee from God, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” The latest and the most recent Coronavirus pandemic that we all are experiencing since March of 2020 are recored in the Bible, though not in specific name. In the Bible, pestilence is usually a sign of God’s judgment on a nation or people group Deuteronomy 32:24; 1 Chronicle 21:12; 2 Chronicle 7:13-15; Ezekiel 7:14-15). The God who protects and blesses is also the God who sends disaster and pestilence when it accomplishes His righteous purposes on earth (Isaiah 45:7; Ezekiel 5:16-17; Amos 4:10). Pestilence is promised as part of God’s final judgment on the world in the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 18:8. For exmaple God has clearly spoken that pestilences may arise as a sign of end times. Even the quarantine process is described in the Bible, when God asked people to shut themelves in the room until of God’s indignation be overpasgt (Isaiah 26:20).