News

Breath of Life: Heart Disease Link to Developmental Hypoxia

3 November 2021

Dino Guissani Abstract Heart disease remains one of the greatest killers. In addition to genetics and traditional lifestyle risk factors, we now understand that adverse conditions during pregnancy can also increase susceptibility to cardiovascular disease in the offspring. Therefore, the mechanisms by which this occurs and...

Human embryo polarization requires PLC signaling to mediate trophectoderm specification

5 October 2021

Meng Zhu, Marta Shahbazi, Angel Martin, Chuanxin Zhang, Berna Sozen, Mate Borsos, Rachel S Mandelbaum, Richard J Paulson, Matteo A Mole, Marga Esbert, Shiny Titus, Richard T Scott, Alison Campbell, Simon Fishel, Viviana Gradinaru, Han Zhao, Keliang Wu, Zijiang Chen, Emre Seli, Maria J. de los Santos, Magdalena Zernicka-...

Retirement of Professor Abigail Fowden

4 October 2021

Professor Abby Fowden is retiring after 45 years as a member of academic staff in Cambridge, including time spent as acting Head of Department for PDN and as Head of SBS. Her research has focused on the control of feto-placental growth, metabolism and development, and the long term consequences for adult health. To date...

Genetic insights into biological mechanisms governing human ovarian ageing

28 September 2021

Abstract Reproductive longevity is essential for fertility and influences healthy ageing in women 1 , 2 , but insights into its underlying biological mechanisms and treatments to preserve it are limited. Here we identify 290 genetic determinants of ovarian ageing, assessed using normal variation in age at natural menopause...

New study explores the links between prenatal sex steroid hormones, maternal health and autism

28 September 2021

New research from the Autism Research Centre and the Rosie Hospital, both at the University of Cambridge, suggests that maternal steroid factors during pregnancy are associated with autistic traits in mothers and their infants. Previous studies have shown a relationship between prenatal sex steroid hormones and the...

Reconstructing aspects of human embryogenesis with pluripotent stem cells

22 September 2021

Berna Sozen,Victoria Jorgensen,Bailey A. T. Weatherbee,Sisi Chen,Meng Zhu & Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz Abstract Understanding human development is of fundamental biological and clinical importance. Despite its significance, mechanisms behind human embryogenesis remain largely unknown. Here, we attempt to model human...

Insulin increases adipose adiponectin in pregnancy by inhibiting ubiquitination and degradation: Impact of obesity

17 September 2021

Irving L M H Aye , Fredrick J Rosario , Anita Kramer , Oddrun Kristiansen , Trond M Michelsen , Theresa L Powell , Thomas Jansson Abstract Context Circulating adiponectin levels are decreased in pregnant women with obesity or gestational diabetes, and this is believed to contribute to the insulin resistance and increased...

Maternal but not fetoplacental health can be improved by metformin in a murine diet-induced model of maternal obesity and glucose intolerance

14 September 2021

Antonia Hufnagel , Denise S. Fernandez-Twinn , Heather L. Blackmore , Thomas J. Ashmore , Robert A. Heaton , Benjamin Jenkins , Albert Koulman , Iain P. Hargreaves , Catherine E. Aiken , Susan E. Ozanne Abstract Maternal obesity is a global problem that increases the risk of short- and long-term adverse outcomes for mother...

External validation of prognostic models to predict stillbirth using the International Prediction of Pregnancy Complications (IPPIC) Network database: an individual participant data meta-analysis

13 September 2021

J. Allotey, R. Whittle, K. I. E. Snell, M. Smuk, R. Townsend, P. von Dadelszen, A. E. P. Heazell, L. Magee, G. C. S. Smith, J. Sandall, B. Thilaganathan, J. Zamora, R. D. Riley, A. Khalil, S. Thangaratinam, for the IPPIC Collaborative Network Objective Stillbirth is a potentially preventable complication of pregnancy...

Excessive endoplasmic reticulum stress drives aberrantmouse trophoblast differentiation and placentaldevelopment leading to pregnancy loss

10 September 2021

Nadejda Capatina , Myriam Hemberger , Graham Burton , Erica Watson , and Hong Wa Yung Key points Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress promotes placental dysmorphogenesis and is associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. We show that unfolded protein response signalling pathways located in the ER drive differentiation of mouse...