Thaddeus G. Golos, PhD, professor of Comparative Bioscience and Obstetrics and Gynecology in the UW Center for Human Genomics and Precision Medicine and the UW Department of Ob-Gyn, along with Kathleen Antony, MD, MS, a former member of the UW Department of Ob-Gyn Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, co-authored a new article in Primates. Other co-authors include Rebecca L. Wilson, Jenna Kropp Schmidt, Baylea N. Davenport, Emily Ren, Logan T. Keding, Sarah A. Shaw, Michele L. Schotzko, and Heather A. Simmons.
In “Placental gene therapy in nonhuman primates: a pilot study of maternal, placental, and fetal response to non-viral, polymeric nanoparticle delivery of IGF1,” the research team sought to understand how the delivery of IGF1 to help with placental insufficiency in small animals could be applied to pregnant macques, in order to shed some light on the lack of placenta-targeted treatments that change the in utero environment for women diagnosed with fetal growth restriction (FGR).
“The lack of adverse maternal reaction to nanoparticle-mediated IGF1 treatment, combined with changes in placental signaling to maintain homeostasis, indicates no deleterious impact of treatment during the acute phase of study.”
You can read the journal article here. The UW-Madison news office also shared an article about the research and its potential future impact here.
**by Ob-Gyn Communications Intern Paige Stevenson
Congratulations to Ted Golos, PhD, professor in the School of Veterinary Sciences and the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive Sciences, and Aleks Stanic, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Divisions of Reproductive Sciences and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility! They received a new NIH R21 grant for the project “Gestationally driven trafficking of decidual lymphocytes assessed by serial intravascular staining”.
With this grant, Golos, Stanic, and their research teams will study the trafficking of peripheral blood immune cells to the endometrium in the luteal phase, and the decidua in pregnancy, in rhesus macaques.
Incredible work, all!
The 2022 Society for Reproductive Investigation’s Annual Scientific Meeting, held in Denver, CO between March 15-19, features several presentations, posters and abstracts from members of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive Sciences! Just some of their exciting accomplishments:
Clinical and Translational Perinatology Oral Presentation:
Breastfeeding Promotes Predominant Bifidobacterium in Farm-Exposed Infants
Deborah Chasman, Krittisak Chaiyakul, Samantha Fye, James E Gern, Susan V Lynch, Christine M Seroogy, Irene M Ong
Maternal Biology and Health oral presentation:
Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS) Increases Mean Arterial Pressure by Impairing Endothelial Nitric Oxide-Mediated Vasodilation and Enhancing Angiotensin II-Mediated Vascular Contraction in Pregnant Rats
Sri V Dangudubiyyam, Jay S Mishra, Ruolin Song, Sathish Kumar
Preeclampsia oral presentation:
Preeclampsia Differentially Dysregulates Female and Male Fetal Endothelial Cells Function and Transcriptomic Profiles in Lean and Obese Pregnancies.
Chi Zhou, Allison Yang, Colman Freel, Olivia Mills, Jing Zheng
Preeclampsia II Oral Presentation session, moderated by Aishwarya Rengarajan
Abstracts:
An Endogenous Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Ligand Induces Preeclamptic Phenotypes in Rats. Ying-jie Zhao, Chi Zhou, Hui-hui Li, Jay S Mishra, Sathish Kumar, Jing Zheng
Follicular Immune Signature of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome in Women Undergoing Infertility Treatment. Soma Banerjee, Fernanda B Levya Jaimes, Abigail A Zettel, Eryne T Jenkins, Jason Austin, Laura G Cooney, Aleksander K Stanic
Immunohistochemical Localization of ACE2 in the Male Reproductive Tract in the Rhesus Macaque: Implications for Nonhuman Primate Model Development for COVID-19. Hayly Hinkle, Sierra Block, Ann Mitzey, Jenna Schmidt, Gregory Wiepz, Thaddeus G. Golos
Estradiol Protects Against Gestational Intermittent Hypoxia-Induced Hypertension and Metabolic Dysfunctions in the Adult Female Offspring. Ruolin Song, Jay S Mishra, Sri V Dangudubiyyam, Jyoti Watters, Tracy Baker, Sathish Kumar
Novel Role of Angiotensin Type 2 Receptor in Promoting Angiogenesis in Primary Human Uterine Artery Endothelial Cells. Jay S Mishra, Sri V Dangudubiyyam, Ruolin Song, Dong-Bao Chen, Sathish Kumar
Endothelial Dysfunction in Preeclampsia: The Story of the Interleukins. Rachel L Dahn, Amanda C Ampey, Jason L Austin, Ian M Bird
Congratulations to all!
Researchers in the lab of Ted Golos, PhD, professor in the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive Sciences and Chair of the Department of Comparative Biosciences in the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, have recently published exciting papers!
Lindsey Block, Cellular and Molecular Pathology trainee in the Golos Lab, published the paper “Zika virus impacts extracellular vesicle composition and cellular gene expression in macaque early gestation trophoblasts” in Scientific Reports.
This paper, supported by Lindsey’s F31 predoctoral fellowship, used rhesus monkey trophoblast stem cells to demonstrate that the RNA and protein cargo of extracellular vesicles released by placental trophoblasts is impacted by infection with Zika virus, regardless of the productive infection of syncytial or extravillous trophoblasts. The work suggests that placental vesicles can serve as a readout of placental health and impact of placental infection. Read the whole study here!
Jenna Schmidt, Scientist in the Golos Lab and the Precision Medicine and Genomic Resources unit at the Primate Center, published “CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing to Create Nonhuman Primate Models for Studying Stem Cell Therapies for HIV Infection” in Retrovirology. Schmidt’s paper discusses the promise and the pitfalls of genome editing of nonhuman primate embryos for development of research models. Read the whole paper here!
Congratulations, all!
Congratulations to Aleks Stanic, MD, PhD, associate professor in the UW Ob-Gyn Divisions of Reproductive Sciences and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and Ted Golos, PhD, professor and Chair of the Department of Comparative Biosciences in the UW School of Veterinary Medicine! They are co-investigators on a pilot grant from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.
Stanic and Golos received funding for the project “Gestationally Driven Traffic of Decidual Leukocytes”, which will use a new serial intravascular staining methodology to study the trafficking of peripheral blood immune cells to the maternal-fetal interface in nonhuman primates. The $50,000 grant supports direct costs over two years.
Incredible work, Dr. Stanic and Dr. Golos!
Lindsey Block, graduate student in the Golos Lab, is first author on a recent paper in the journal Biology of Reproduction entitled “The promise of placental extracellular vesicles: models and challenges for diagnosing placental dysfunction in utero”.
Co-authors include Aleks Stanic, MD, PhD, of the UW Ob-Gyn Divisions of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and Reproductive Sciences, and Ted Golos, PhD, of the Division of Reproductive Sciences.
Block’s paper was featured in the Weekly News email from the Society for the Study of Reproduction. Read the whole article here. Congratulations to the publication team!
New research from Ted Golos, PhD, of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive Sciences, may provide an important animal model to study HIV therapies that could apply to humans.
The study “Genome editing of CCR5 by CRISPR-Cas9 in Mauritian cynomolgus macaque embryos”, published in Scientific Reports, outlines the research team’s methods for editing the DNA in cynomolgus macaque monkey embryos using CRISPR:
“Nonhuman primates, and more specifically macaques, serve as important model species to study HIV-1 through infection with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). SIV infected animals show similar elements of human HIV-1 infection including immune responses and pathogenesis, and additionally, tissues are more accessible for study compared to human studies. Mauritian cynomolgus macaques (MCMs) offer a distinct advantage over other macaque species as they have only seven major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotypes allowing for the study of defined immune responses and to control genetic factors in the setting of allogeneic bone marrow transplant. This provides a powerful means for quantifying the effect of MHC matching on the capacity of allogeneic cells to purge the SIV reservoir.”
Read this excellent overview of the discovery from UW-Madison News, and read the whole journal article here.
Ted Golos, PhD, of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Reproductive Sciences, received a Translational Basic and Clinical pilot award from the UW-Madison Institute for Clinical and Translational Research! Katie Antony, MD, of the UW Ob-Gyn Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, is a collaborator on the grant.
“Nonhuman Primate Placental Therapy” will build on information learned from the NICHD’s Human Placenta Project – researchers will “uniquely demonstrate the feasibility of using placenta-targeted nanoparticles with primate maternal-fetal interface specificity.”
Congratulations, Dr. Golos!
