News

Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, Head of the Department of Genetics, new Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research

18 December 2020

Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith, a Fellow of Darwin College and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University, has been appointed as Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research for one year from 1 January 2021. She takes over the role from Professor Chris Abell, who died suddenly in October. Professor Ferguson-Smith is...

Does abnormal placental CD8+ T‐cell infiltration have a role in fetalgrowth restriction and preeclampsia?

14 December 2020

Abnormal placental CD8 + T‐cell infiltration is a feature of fetal growth restriction and pre‐eclampsia 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 Fetal growth...

Dr Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri awarded the 2020 Hans Sigrist Prize

4 December 2020

Each year, the Hans Sigrist Foundation at the University of Bern in Switzerland puts out a call to all the professors at its eight faculties to submit proposals for a field for the coming year’s Hans Sigrist Prize. The prize is not a lifetime achievement award, but instead, it recognizes a top mid-career academic...

Could we learn more about cancer understanding placentology?

4 December 2020

BAP1/ASXL complex modulation regulates Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition during trophoblast differentiation and invasion Vicente Perez-Garcia , Pablo Lopez-Jimenez , Graham J Burton , Ashley Moffett , Margherita Y Turco , Myriam Hemberger Abstract Normal function of the placenta depends on the earliest developmental stages...

Embryo Size Regulates the Timing and Mechanism of Pluripotent Tissue Morphogenesis

2 December 2020

Summary Mammalian embryogenesis is a paradigm of regulative development as mouse embryos show plasticity in the regulation of cell fate, cell number, and tissue morphogenesis. However, the mechanisms behind embryo plasticity remain largely unknown. Here, we determine how mouse embryos respond to an increase in cell numbers...

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 ...