ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5719-5967
Current Organisations
Wellcome Sanger Institute
,
University of Cambridge
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Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-01-2022
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-01-2023
DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.02.522155
Abstract: Placental infections are a major worldwide burden, particularly in developing countries. The placenta is a transient tissue located at the interface between the mother and the fetus. Some pathogens can access the placental barrier resulting in pathological transmission from mother to fetus, which may have a profound impact on the health of the developing fetus. Limited tissue accessibility, critical differences between humans and mice, and, until recently, lack of proper in vitro models, have h ered our understanding of the early placental response to pathogens. Here we use single-cell transcriptomics to describe the placental primary defence mechanisms against three pathogens that are known to cause fetal and maternal complications during pregnancy - Plasmodium falciparum, Listeria monocytogenes and Toxoplasma gondii . We optimise ex vivo placental explants of the first-trimester human placenta and show that trophoblasts (the epithelial-like cells of the placenta), and Hofbauer cells (placental macrophages) orchestrate a coordinated inflammatory response after 24 hours of infection. We show that hormone biosynthesis and transport are downregulated in the trophoblasts, suggesting that protective responses are promoted at the expense of decreasing other critical functions of the placenta, such as the endocrine production and the nourishment of the fetus. In addition, we pinpoint pathogen-specific effects in some placental lineages, including a strong mitochondrial alteration in the Hofbauer cells in response to T. gondii . Finally, we identify adaptive strategies and validate nutrient acquisition employed by the P. falciparum during placental malaria infection. This study provides the first detailed cellular map of the first-trimester placenta upon infection and describes the early events that may lead to fetal and placental disorders if left unchecked.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 02-05-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.02.073536
Abstract: The global compaction state of chromatin in a nucleus is an important component of cell identity that has been difficult to measure. We have developed a quantitative method to measure the chromatin compaction state in both live and fixed cells, without the need for genetic modification, using the fluorescence lifetime of SiR-DNA dye. After optimising this method using live cancer cell lines treated to induce chromatin compaction or decompaction, we observed chromatin compaction in differentiating epithelial cells in fixed tissue sections, as well as local decompaction foci that may represent transcription factories. In addition, we shed new light on chromatin decompaction during embryonic stem cell transition out of their naïve pluripotent state. This method will be useful to studies of nuclear architecture, and may be easy, cheap, and accessible enough to serve as a general assay of ‘stem-ness’.
Publisher: BirdLife Australia, Ltd.
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.20938/AFO39012018
Abstract: The Chestnut-backed Button-quail Turnix castanotus is a small, cryptic, ground-dwelling species endemic to savanna ecosystems of northern Australia. Due to aspects of its ecology, cryptic plumage and behaviour, and the remoteness of most of its distribution, there are few published observations from the field documenting its breeding biology. The eggs were first described in 1856 and have subsequently been described by other authors. Two nests were detected in the Northern Territory in March 2021. We compare nesting events there with previous descriptions and museum collections. Our findings are mostly consistent with other literature on this species, but are inconsistent with two contemporary accounts, which we suggest are based on misidentification of Painted Button-quail T. varius.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 03-04-2022
Publisher: BirdLife Australia, Ltd.
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.20938/AFO40111119
Abstract: The Painted Button-quail Turnix varius is a widespread and frequently encountered ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Despite being regularly recorded throughout its distribution, our understanding of this species’ vocalisations is poor. Published accounts are limited to brief descriptions without quantitative analyses in a standardised format. This presents challenges in separating the vocalisations of this species from other similar species, particularly as vocalising button-quail are seldom observed. We recorded the vocalisations of Painted Button-quail from North Queensland. These vocalisations were identified as advertising ooms, drumming and contact calls. These vocalisation types appear analogous to those described for other button-quail species, though some key differences particularly in the advertising oom will likely prove diagnostic. Here we present descriptions and visual representations of each of these vocalisation types.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Patrick Webster.