The placenta is essential for mammalian development and a key determinant of life-long offspring health. It is responsible for transporting all the nutrients and oxygen a fetus needs to develop and grow and secretes hormones that adapt maternal physiology to support the pregnancy. However, the placenta is not a static organ. In this talk I will present our work undertaken in experimental models showing that placental formation and function adapts developmentally to the needs of the growing fetus during normal gestation, as well as in response to suboptimal gestational environments, namely obesity and hypoxia. Impairments in placental formation and function have consequences for fetal growth and birthweight, which in turn, dictate perinatal survival and risk of non-communicable diseases in later postnatal life. Thus, identifying how the placenta responds and adapts to developmental and environmental cues may be informative for the design of strategies to optimise pregnancy and long-term health outcomes.
System: Human
Sex-differences in immune aging: are we missing half of the picture?
Neutrophils are the most abundant human white blood cell and constitute a first line of defense in the innate immune response. Neutrophils are short-lived cells, and thus the impact of organismal aging on neutrophil biology, especially as a function of biological sex, remains poorly understood. We have generated a multi-omic resource of mouse primary bone marrow neutrophil from young and old female and male mice, at the transcriptomic, metabolomic and lipidomic levels. We identified widespread regulation of neutrophil ‘omics’ landscapes with organismal aging and biological sex. In addition, we leveraged this data to predict functional differences, including changes in neutrophil responses to activation signals. To date, this dataset represents the largest multi-omics resource for neutrophils across sex and ages. This resource identifies neutrophil characteristics which could be targeted to improve immune responses as a function of sex and/or age.
Mom’s sleep matters! Impact of sleep apnea during pregnancy on offspring brain function
New Non-hormonal Contraceptive Targets
These webinars, sponsored by the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR), Frontiers in Reproduction (FIR), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will focus on emerging technologies and approaches to male and female contraception.
Speakers:
Dr. Lonny R. Levin, Professor of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medical College
Read more about Dr. Levin’s Presentation
Title: On-demand nonhormonal male contraception via ADCY10 inhibition
Description: Fast-acting sAC inhibitors with slow off-rates can provide safe, pre-coital, on-demand contraception for men which is nonhormonal, orally available, easily tolerated, fast-acting, and readily reversible.
Dr. Celia Santi, Associate Professor of OBGYN, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Read more about Dr. Santi’s presentation!
Title: Targeting the sperm-specific K+ channel SLO3 for non-hormonal contraception.
Description: Identification of inhibitors of the sperm specific SLO3 K+ channel that can be developed into a non-hormonal class of female contraceptives that act by targeting sperm capacitation.
Developing New Methods for Testing, Studying, and Delivering Contraception
These webinars, sponsored by the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR), Frontiers in Reproduction (FIR), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will focus on emerging technologies and approaches to male and female contraception.
Speakers:
Dr. Jianjun Sun, Associate Professor, Department of Physiology & Neurobiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs
Read more about Dr. Sun’s Presentation
Title: Screening female contraceptive compounds using Drosophila ovulation model
Description: In my presentation, I will introduce the ovulation mechanism in Drosophila and describe the platform utilizing Drosophila ovulation to screen contraceptive compounds that can effectively inhibit follicle rupture.
Dr. Phil Santangelo, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech University & Emory University
Read more about Dr. Santangelo’s Presentation
Title: Intravaginal delivery of mRNA encoded contraceptive antibodies
Retinoic acid synchronization of spermatogenesis
This webinar will discuss synchronization of spermatogenesis by manipulating retinoic acid availability is an advantage for molecular studies of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium and for isolation of germ and Sertoli cells at different stages of development.
Kisspeptin neurons and the circuits that control ovulation
In females, the mid-cycle surge in gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion triggers ovulation. This neuroendocrine process is mediated by a population of neurons in the preoptic area that produce the neuropeptide kisspeptin and drive the activity of GnRH neurons for the surge. In female rodents, and possibly in other species, the preovulatory surge is timed to precede the onset of activity to ensure that ovulation coincides with sexual behavior. In this presentation, I will focus on the regulation of preoptic area kisspeptin neuron activity by the central circadian clock.
Mechanisms regulating GnRH neurons
The brain, it makes hormones with zeal.
The control of our gonads is real.
The cells they call candy,
Are certainly dandy.
But what about non-neural glia?
The impacts of IVF and other Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) on human reproduction with Dr Rebecca Krisher
This is the second episode in our series on Breakthroughs in Reproductive Technologies. Here Dr Jane Fenelon and Dr Rachel West talk to Dr Rebecca Krisher about the impact that Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) have had on human reproduction. Join us as we learn more about the common procedures that are available to us today and their efficacy and about some of the controversies surrounding ‘add-ons’ on offer in the IVF clinic We also try and answer some of the big questions like when should women start thinking about their fertility? And what does the future hold? As well as a fascinating insight into Rebecca’s career journey so far and tips for trainees.