News

Set up for life: risk of heart disease and diabetes can be programmed much earlier - even before we are born

30 November 2020

We’re used to the idea that as adults we have some control over our destiny: what we eat and drink and how much we exercise can affect our health. But the risks of heart disease and diabetes can be programmed much earlier – even before we are born. Link to full story here

Placental energy metabolism in health and disease – significance of development and implications for preeclampsia. Review just published in AJOG

13 November 2020

The placenta is a highly metabolically active organ fulfilling the bioenergetic and biosynthetic needs to support its own rapid growth and that of the fetus. Placental metabolic dysfunction is a common occurrence in preeclampsia although its causal relationship to the pathophysiology is unclear. At the outset, this may...

Twinning can be associated with intertwin growth discrepancy. A new paper, done in twin, shows that differences in placental structure can be the cause for such discrepancy.

3 November 2020

Fused placentas: Till birth do us part Jorge Lopez-Tello , Amanda N. Sferruzzi-Perri Highlights • Twinning and placental fusion occur at a low frequency in species, like mice. • In this case report we show that placental fusion is linked with changes in the structure of the mouse placenta. • Morphological changes are seen...

Hormone-responsive organoids from domestic mare and Przewalski’s horse endometrium just published in reproduction

3 November 2020

Authors: Riley E Thompson , Aime K Johnson , Pouya Dini , Margherita Y. Turco , Tulio M Prado , Christopher Premanandan , Graham J Burton , B A Ball , Brian K Whitlock , and Budhan S Pukazhenthi Read the full paper here

Jake Thomas, Naomi McGovern and colleagues find that Hofbauer cells (HBCs) are primitive macrophages with a unique phenotype and role in fetal defence

21 October 2020

Phenotypic and functional characterization of first-trimester human placental macrophages, Hofbauer cells Jake R. Thomas , Anna Appios , Xiaohui Zhao , Roksana Dutkiewicz , Maria Donde , Colin Y.C. Lee , Praveena Naidu , Christopher Lee , Joana Cerveira , Bing Liu , Florent Ginhoux , Graham Burton , Russell S. Hamilton ...

Exciting research highlighting a novel technique for studying hydrogen sulphide therapy on the embryonic heart

7 October 2020

Embryonic cardioprotection by hydrogen sulphide: studies of isolated cardiac function and ischaemia‐reperfusion injury in the chicken embryo. Complications during mammalian pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes, maternal smoking, pregnancy at high altitude or preeclampsia can trigger a fetal origin of heart disease (...

A sad goodbye and a warm welcome - New CTR Director

1 October 2020

Prof Graham Burton has officially retired and although we are sad to see him go, we know he will savour the joys of retirement! Graham was Director of the Loke CTR for the last 14 years, leading the focus of excellence to promote scientific study of the placenta and maternal-fetal interactions during pregnancy. It goes...

Abnormal placental CD8+ T‐cell infiltration is a feature of fetal growth restriction and pre‐eclampsia - just published in the Journal of Physiology

23 September 2020

Susanne Lager, Ulla Sovio, Elizabeth Eddershaw, Margaretha W. van der Linden, Cansu Yazar, Emma Cook, Lisa Happerfield, Flora A. Jessop, Neil J. Sebire, D. Stephen Charnock‐Jones, Gordon C. S. Smith Abstract Key points Placental pathological abnormalities are more frequently observed in complicated pregnancies than in...

Protocol on "Establishment and differentiation of long-term trophoblast organoid cultures from the human placenta" Just published in Nature Protocols

11 September 2020

Establishment and differentiation of long-termtrophoblast organoid cultures from the human placenta. Megan A. Sheridan1,2, Ridma C. Fernando1,2, Lucy Gardner1,2, Michael S. Hollinshead1,Graham J. Burton2,3, Ashley Moffett1,2and Margherita Y. Turco1,2 The human placenta is essential for successful reproduction. There is...

Prevention of heart disease can start before birth

7 September 2020

Mitochondrial therapy in complicated pregnancies lowers the chance of cardiovascular problems in the offspring