A5062325881- Pregnancy and preeclampsia studies
- MicroRNA in disease regulation
- Birth, Development, and Health
- Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research
- Folate and B Vitamins Research
- RNA modifications and cancer
- Gestational Diabetes Research and Management
- Circular RNAs in diseases
- Epigenetics and DNA Methylation
- Pregnancy and Medication Impact
- Estrogen and related hormone effects
- Prenatal Screening and Diagnostics
- Trace Elements in Health
- Reproductive System and Pregnancy
- Extracellular vesicles in disease
- Renal and related cancers
- COVID-19 Impact on Reproduction
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Assisted Reproductive Technology and Twin Pregnancy
- Reproductive Health and Technologies
- Selenium in Biological Systems
- Breast Cancer Treatment Studies
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- demographic modeling and climate adaptation
Flinders University
2020-2025
The University of Adelaide
2013-2025
Flinders Medical Centre
2020-2023
Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health
2022
Hanson Institute
2009-2010
The Alfred Hospital
2009
Monash University
2009
Abstract Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has emerged as a global health threat and of pregnant women causes intrauterine growth restriction, spontaneous abortion microcephaly in newborns. Here we show using biologically relevant cells neural placental origin that following ZIKV infection, there is attenuation the cellular innate response characterised by reduced expression IFN-β associated interferon stimulated genes (ISGs). One such ISG viperin well documented antiviral activity against wide...
Single nucleotide polymorphisms and pre- peri-conception folic acid (FA) supplementation dietary data were used to identify one-carbon metabolic factors associated with pregnancy outcomes in 3196 nulliparous women. In 325 participants, we also measured circulating folate, vitamin B12 homocysteine. Pregnancy included preeclampsia (PE), gestational hypertension (GHT), small for age (SGA), spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB) diabetes mellitus (GDM). Study findings show that maternal genotype MTHFR...
Is preconception dietary intake associated with reduced fecundity as measured by a longer time to pregnancy (TTP)?Lower of fruit and higher fast food in the period were both TTP.Several lifestyle factors, such smoking obesity, have consistently been TTP or infertility, but role diet women remains poorly studied. Healthier foods patterns improved fertility, however, these studies focused on already diagnosed receiving treatments for rather than general population.This was multi-center...
Trace elements such as zinc, copper, and selenium are essential for reproductive health, but there is limited work examining how circulating trace may associate with fertility in humans. The aim of this study was to determine the association between maternal plasma concentrations selenium, time pregnancy subfertility. Australian women (n = 1060) who participated multi-centre prospective Screening Pregnancy Endpoints were included. Maternal zinc assessed at 15 ± 1 weeks’ gestation. Estimates...
Abstract Zinc is an essential micronutrient in pregnancy and zinc deficiency impairs fetal growth. We used a mouse model of moderate to investigate the physiological mechanisms by which important placental morphogenesis maternal blood pressure changes during pregnancy. A 26% reduction circulating (P = 0.005) was exhibited mice fed moderately zinc-deficient diet. resulted 8% both near term weights (both P < 0.0001) indicative disrupted development function. Detailed morphological analysis...
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are increasingly seen as important regulators of placental development and opportunistic biomarker targets. Given the difficulty in obtaining samples from early gestation subsequent paucity same, investigation role miRNAs human placenta has been limited. To address this, we generated miRNA profiles using 96 placentas presumed normal pregnancies, across gestation, combination with matched maternal plasma. Placenta range 6 to 23 weeks' a time period that includes early,...
Aims Apolipoprotein D (ApoD) is a protein that regulated by androgen and oestrogen, major constituent of breast cysts. Although ApoD has been reported to be marker cancer, its prognostic importance in invasive cancer unclear. The aim this study was investigate the relationship between expression, oestrogen receptor‐α (ERα) expression receptor (AR) predicting outcome. Methods results levels were measured use immunohistochemistry video image analysis on tissue sections from cohort ( n = 214)....
ACE2 expression is altered in pregnancy disorders and gene variants are associated with several major complications including small-for-gestational-age, fetal growth restriction preeclampsia. This study utilised gene-editing to generate both knockout rs2074192 placental organoids, facilitating mechanistic studies into the role of development, effect carriage CC, CT TT genotypes. Parameters cell organoid were measured, together qPCR, Western Blotting, ELISA assessments, all groups from...
Abstract Background Zika virus (ZIKV) is a positive-strand RNA of the Flaviviridae family. Maternal ZIKV infection during pregnancy can spread to placenta and fetus causing severe neurological defects infants born with microcephaly. Here, we investigated cellular innate antiviral immune response in first trimester human placental explant cultures isolated primary villus cytotrophoblasts (CTBs). Methods Placentas were obtained informed consent from women undergoing elective termination either...
The abundance of cell-free microRNA (miRNA) has been measured in blood plasma and proposed as a source novel, minimally invasive biomarkers for several diseases. Despite improvements quantification methods, there is no consensus regarding how haemolysis affects miRNA content. We propose method detection high-throughput sequencing (HTS) data from libraries prepared using human plasma. To establish signature we tested differential between samples with known status. Using these miRNAs...
Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), a component of combined estrogen-progestin therapy (EPT), has been associated with increased breast cancer risk in EPT users. MPA can bind to the androgen receptor (AR), and AR signaling inhibits cell growth tissues. Therefore, aim this study was investigate potential disrupt an ex vivo culture model normal human tissue.Histologically tissues from women undergoing surgical operation were cultured presence or absence native ligand 5α-dihydrotestosterone...
Folic acid (FA) food fortification in Australia has resulted a higher-than-expected intake of FA during pregnancy. High is associated with increased insulin resistance and gestational diabetes. We aimed to establish whether maternal one-carbon metabolism hormones that regulate glucose homeostasis change healthy pregnancies post-FA fortification. Circulating folate, B12, homocysteine, prolactin (PRL), human placental lactogen (hPL) growth hormone (GH2) were measured early pregnancy blood...
The placenta is an important organ in pregnancy, however, very little understood about placental development at a molecular level. This includes the role of epigenetic mechanisms and how they change throughout gestation. DNA methylation studies this are complicated by different cell types that make up placenta, each with their own unique transcriptome epigenome. Placental dysfunction often associated pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia (PE). Aberrant has been identified...
Imbalanced maternal micronutrient status, poor placentation, and oxidative stress are associated with greater risk of pregnancy complications, which impact mother offspring health. As selenium, iodine, copper essential micronutrients key roles in antioxidant systems, this study investigated their potential protective effects on placenta against stress. First trimester human explants were treated different concentrations selenium (sodium selenite), iodine (potassium iodide), combination or...
Parturition signals the end of immune tolerance in pregnancy. Term labour is usually a sterile inflammatory process triggered by damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) as consequence functional progesterone withdrawal. Activation DAMPs recruits leukocytes and cytokine responses myometrium, decidua, cervix fetal membranes. Emerging evidence shows components inflammasome are detectable both maternal decidua placenta. However, activation placental with respect to mode delivery has not...
High yield and integrity of placental RNA are crucial for transcriptomics studies. We assessed the effects time to collection post-delivery; tissue storage, amount method used extraction; mode delivery; type on total yield. The optimal protocol extraction from includes cryofreezing sample upon 50 mg using TRIzol reagent. Decidua yielded highest quantity/mg tissue, followed by villous chorion. Comparisons with murine kidney HEK293T show lower yield, likely due highly dense heterogeneous...
The search for novel microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers in plasma is hampered by haemolysis, the lysis and subsequent release of red blood cell contents, including miRNAs, into surrounding fluid. biomarker potential miRNAs comes part from their multicompartment origin long-lived nature miRNA transcripts plasma, giving researchers a functional window tissues that are otherwise difficult or disadvantageous to sample. inclusion red-blood-cell-derived downstream analysis introduces source error...