Male-female Sperm Signalling - A Novel Pathway For Peri-conceptual Health?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$674,920.00
Summary
This project will investigate a new biological process in reproduction, whereby sperm delivered to the cervix at coitus transmit signalling molecules called microRNAs that influence the female immune response, to increase the chances of conception and pregnancy. We will define the molecular details of this signalling pathway in mouse models, and then determine whether human sperm have a comparable function in ‘priming’ the female body to conceive.
The Male Partner Contribution To Pregnancy Immune Tolerance Deficit In Women
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,462,925.00
Summary
A complication-free pregnancy and birth of a healthy infant depends on adequate preparation of the mother's immune system to tolerate the 'foreign' fetus, Both the mother and the father contribute to establishing optimal immune tolerance. This project will determine the links between specific agents in male seminal fluid and the female immune response, and will make progress towards new diagnostic tests and treatment options for unexplained subfertility and gestational disorders.
A Media Formulation To Improve Implantation Rates And Pregnancy Outcome Following ART
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$304,380.00
Summary
Since women are delaying childbearing, ART is increasingly required. 2-3% of births in Australia follow ART. Only 15-40% of embryo transfers in assisted reproduction (ART) result in ongoing pregnancies. The poor success rate is due to the fact that the embryo culture media bear no resemblance to the maternal environment in which they grow normally. The new culture media to be validated in this proposal includes factors that are critical for embryo implantation and will improve ART success.
Periconceptual Foundations For A Healthy Start To Life.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$11,022,802.00
Summary
Preconception and early pregnancy is a critical time for a women's health and that of her future child. New research suggests that a woman's genetic potential, her lifestyle and the physical and socioeconomic environment in which she lives, and her biological and social relationship with her male partner, all impact on the long term health of her baby. Abnormal events around the time of conception and in early pregnancy can predispose a newborn to later occurrence, in adult life, of conditions i ....Preconception and early pregnancy is a critical time for a women's health and that of her future child. New research suggests that a woman's genetic potential, her lifestyle and the physical and socioeconomic environment in which she lives, and her biological and social relationship with her male partner, all impact on the long term health of her baby. Abnormal events around the time of conception and in early pregnancy can predispose a newborn to later occurrence, in adult life, of conditions including heart disease, diabetes, obesity and stroke. These adverse events originate in the way that eggs and sperm develop, the uterus is prepared for implantation, the attachment of the early embryo to the lining of the uterus and subsequent growth of the placenta. This Program will study the early life events that promote or limit development of a baby's true potential for successful and healthy life. A better understanding of how lifestyle and environment interact with genes and biology to facilitate optimal growth of the fetus will underpin new preventative measures and therapeutic treatments for infertility, miscarriage and other reproductive disorders. The knowledge gained will inform health policy and clinical practise to improve reproductive health in all Australian women and promote healthy development in all Australian children. The team of researchers is a world-class group of clinicians, scientists and epidemiologists who have made major contributions to our understanding of this area. This team will interface with clinics and hospitals that engage with women prior to and during pregnancy, while having the influence to alter clinical and health practices as well as public health policies. The team will utilize the latest, most technologically advanced laboratory methods and clinical skills, including gene profiling, imaging of early pregnancy, randomised clinical trials and access to the best epidemiological and statistical assessments.Read moreRead less
Development Of Engineered Novel Growth Factors For Infertility Treatment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,439.00
Summary
Infertility comes at an enormous social and financial cost to Australian society. The aim of this proposal is to improve the success rate of an innovative technology that matures eggs in the laboratory and so eliminates the need for the hormones normally used in IVF. To achieve this a newly discovered egg-secreted protein first has to be produced in the laboratory.
The Role Of Respiratory And Upper Airway Neural Control In Sleep Disordered Breathing
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$346,018.00
Summary
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a disorder associated with snoring. It affects 4% of adult men and causes excessive daytime sleepiness leading to increased accidents, high blood pressure and premature cardiovascular disease eg. heart attacks and strokes. Patients with OSA obstruct the floppy portion of the upper airway (UA) during sleep and consequently experience frequent episodes of oxygen deprivation as well as sleep fragmentation. OSA is at least 2-3 times more common in men than women. Whi ....Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a disorder associated with snoring. It affects 4% of adult men and causes excessive daytime sleepiness leading to increased accidents, high blood pressure and premature cardiovascular disease eg. heart attacks and strokes. Patients with OSA obstruct the floppy portion of the upper airway (UA) during sleep and consequently experience frequent episodes of oxygen deprivation as well as sleep fragmentation. OSA is at least 2-3 times more common in men than women. While OSA patients seem, on average, to have smaller upper airways than normal subjects, the cause of OSA cannot be attributed to this factor alone. For example, a small UA cannot explain the male tendency for OSA. Abnormalities in breathing control or the control of upper airway muscles that normally hold the airway open might also be important in OSA. Men have previously been shown to have a greater increase in UA resistance during sleep than women, consistent with the idea that a gender difference in UA muscle control partly explains why more men than women have OSA. We aim to investigate how changes in breathing and UA dilator muscle control might lead to unstable patterns of breathing and to OSA. We propose that protective UA muscle reflexes are reduced during sleep more in men than women, and are reduced by low blood oxygen levels and alcohol (a known aggravator of sleep apnea). We further propose that low blood oxygen levels not only result from OSA but may also aggravate OSA by preferentially reducing the activity of UA dilating muscles, by making breathing patterns overall less stable and by depressing the ability of subjects to arouse from sleep to an airway blockage. We believe that this tendency to decrease UA activity may be exaggerated in OSA patients. We also propose that men are more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of low oxygen than women. We will also examine if men and snorers have exaggerated breathing responses on arousal from sleep.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Arousal And Diaphragm Displacement In The Pathogenesis Of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,875.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 4% of men and causes excessive daytime sleepiness leading to increased accidents, high blood pressure and premature cardiovascular disease e.g. heart attacks and strokes. OSA is characterized by repetitive obstructions of the floppy portion of the throat during sleep with adverse effects on oxygen levels and sleep quality. OSA is strongly associated with obesity and is 2-3 times more common in men than women. How obesity and male gender predispose to OSA is ....Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 4% of men and causes excessive daytime sleepiness leading to increased accidents, high blood pressure and premature cardiovascular disease e.g. heart attacks and strokes. OSA is characterized by repetitive obstructions of the floppy portion of the throat during sleep with adverse effects on oxygen levels and sleep quality. OSA is strongly associated with obesity and is 2-3 times more common in men than women. How obesity and male gender predispose to OSA is not known. We will investigate two factors that we believe are most likely involved in causing and explaining this gender difference in OSA. We will examine if breathing responses with brief awakening are sufficient to promote OSA patterns of breathing in snorers and if they are greater in male than female OSA patients. We have already shown that healthy men have greater breathing response to arousal compared to women. These brief arousals occur hundreds of times a night in OSA patients, and over-breathing on arousal may increase the probability of upper airway obstruction on falling back to sleep. We will also investigate why even healthy men show greater breathing responses compared to women. Men tend to accumulate fat centrally, particularly in the abdomen, whereas in women fat tends to be distributed more to the hips and thighs. This could be very important in OSA because downward pull exerted on the upper airway by the diaphragm is likely to be reduced in people with more abdominal obesity. This mechanisms has not yet been studied in humans. We will therefore investigate if increased forces placed on the diaphragm during sleep make the upper airway more prone to collapse. We will also investigate these effects during sleep onset, when there may well be important changes in diaphragm position as muscles relax.Read moreRead less