Discovery could aid future treatment of female infertility
NZ discovery could aid future treatment of female infertility
Otago researchers have identified a surprising new pathway within the brain’s network of neurons that could provide insights into the leading cause of female infertility in New Zealand and the world: polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).
Dr Rebecca Campbell from the University of Otago, Dunedin, has just received a project grant worth more than $900,000 from the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) to carry out a series of studies to characterise the role of this new neuronal pathway in the regulation of fertility.
Dr Campbell is one of 33 researchers to receive a combined total of more than $34.5 million in project funding in the HRC’s 2015 funding round.
The neuroendocrine control of fertility depends on a small population of brain cells known as gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. Dr Campbell says a recent study in her team’s laboratory has revealed a completely unexpected brain pathway within the GnRH neuronal network that might underpin the neuroendocrine abnormalities of PCOS.
“Understanding this circuit will advance our understanding of the central regulation of fertility and generate novel insights into the aetiology of PCOS, the most common endocrine disorder seen in the clinic,” says Dr Campbell.
Nearly one in 10 New Zealand women have PCOS, and it’s estimated to affect more than 100 million women worldwide. It’s often associated with irregular periods, increased hair growth or acne or raised levels of male hormones, and polycystic ovaries.
HRC Chief Executive Professor Kathryn McPherson says reproductive health is an important global health issue.
“According to the World Health Organization, the overall burden of subfertility and infertility is significant and likely underestimated1. In addition to infertility, women with PCOS are at an increased risk of chronic health problems, including diabetes, raised blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and cancer of the womb,” says Professor McPherson.
“This research project, which will use some of the most advanced technical approaches in neuroscience, aligns with many of the government’s goals, including improving sexual and reproductive health, and reducing the incidence and impact of obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.”
Professor McPherson says that a recent survey shows that paediatrics and reproductive medicine is one of a number of fields where HRC-funded researchers’ published articles achieved double the world average for scientific influence2, demonstrating the depth of expertise in this area.
The full list of all the successful HRC project recipients for 2015 is below. Lay summaries of all the funded projects are available at www.hrc.govt.nz/funding-opportunities/recipients (filter for ‘Researcher initiated proposals’, ‘Projects’, ‘2015’). Please note: this link will be live as of 6am on Thursday, 4 June 2015.
1
World Health Organization. Sexual and reproductive health.
Retrieved from www.who.int/reproductivehealth/topics/infertility/perspective/en
(25 May 2015)
2 www.hrc.govt.nz/hrc-bibliometric-study-2014
HRC project recipients for
2015
Associate Professor Haxby
Abbott, University of Otago, Dunedin
The
impact and management of rising osteoarthritis
burden
36 months, $1,197,719
Professor
Bernhard Breier, Massey University,
Auckland
The gut microbiome: a new pathway to obesity
prevention and metabolic health
36 months,
$1,199,468
Dr Jonathan Broadbent,
University of Otago, Dunedin
Oral health from
childhood to mid-life
60 months,
$1,193,937
Dr Rebecca Brookland,
University of Otago, Dunedin
Older drivers, families
and GPs: Navigating the path between mobility and
safety
36 months, $1,193,921
Dr
Rebecca Campbell, University of Otago,
Dunedin
Probing novel pathways mediating polycystic
ovarian syndrome
36 months, $910,114
Professor Larry Chamley, the University
of Auckland
A healthy life starts with a
bio-energetically healthy placenta
36 months, $
1,193,142
Associate Professor Bronwen Connor,
the University of Auckland
Cellular
reprogramming: A unique approach to understanding
Huntington's disease
36 months, $1,190,497
Dr Donna Cormack, University of Otago,
Wellington
Te whakahawea tangata: Decoding
discrimination
24 months,
$334,994
Professor Julian Crane,
University of Otago, Wellington
Carrageenan for the
reduction of asthma exacerbations in adults
36
months, $1,196,068
Associate Professor Alan
Davidson, the University of Auckland
The role
of the Pax-Notch pathway in kidney disease
36 months,
$1,067,513
Associate Professor Sarah
Derrett, Massey University, Palmerston
North
Subsequent Injury Study (SInS): Improving
outcomes for injured New Zealanders
24 months,
$588,676
Professor Jeroen Douwes, Massey
University, Wellington
Persistent airflow limitation
and the airway microbiome in childhood asthma
48
months, $1,199,980
Professor Richard
Edwards, University of Otago, Wellington
The
New Zealand international tobacco control project
48
months, $1,199,957
Professor Edward
Gane, Auckland District Health
Board
Molecular predictors of liver cancer in Maori
with chronic hepatitis B
24 months, $529,899
Dr Jeffrey Erickson, University of
Otago, Dunedin
CaMKII inhibition as a novel therapy
for diabetic cardiomyopathy
36 months, $1,046,772
Professor Parry Guilford, University of
Otago, Dunedin
The chemoprevention and treatment of
diffuse gastric cancer
36 months, $1,189,286
Professor Jane Harding, the University
of Auckland
Does preventing neonatal hypoglycaemia
improve outcome at two years of age?
60 months, $
1,599,837
Associate Professor Julia
Horsfield, University of Otago,
Dunedin
Investigating a novel drug target in acute
myeloid leukaemia
36 months, $1,147,327
Dr Tristram Ingham, University of
Otago, Wellington
Whakapai e te Ara Hā: A health
literacy approach to tamariki asthma
36 months,
$1,199,724
Dr Michael Keall,
University of Otago, Wellington
Safety on steps: a
randomised controlled trial
48 months, $1,199,815
Professor Anthony Kettle, University of
Otago, Dunedin
Oxidative stress in cystic
fibrosis
36 months, $801,555
Dr
Bridget Kool, the University of
Auckland
Prehospital injury deaths: preventability,
service accessibility and equity
24 months,
$598,181
Dr Peter Mace, University
of Otago, Dunedin
Role of the Trib1 pseudokinase in
breast cancer pathology
36 months, $1,128,825
Dr Fiona McBryde, the University of
Auckland
Hypertension after stroke – therapeutic or
pathological?
36 months, $1,055,738
Dr Melanie-Jane McConnell, Victoria
University of Wellington
Mitochondrial injury and
inter-cellular mitochondrial transfer
36 months,
$1,036,746
Professor Mark McKeage,
the University of Auckland
Lung cancer genetic testing
in New Zealand
36 months, $1,182,641
Dr Harry McNaughton, Medical Research
Institute of New Zealand
Self-directed rehabilitation
RCT after stroke: a practical, low cost programme
36
months, $1,199,802
Dr Thomas Proft,
the University of Auckland
TeeVax - a novel vaccine
against group A streptococcus?
36 months,
$1,122,354
Associate Professor Lynette
Sadlier, University of Otago, Wellington
Gene
discovery in epilepsy: the building block of precision
medicine
36 months, $1,198,069
Dr Vanessa
Selak, the University of Auckland
Aspirin
harm benefit calculator to guide cardiovascular primary
prevention
24 months, $632,382
Dr
Natalie Walker, the University of
Auckland
The combined use of nicotine replacement
therapy and e-cigarettes
36 months, $1,199,916
Professor Karen Witten, Massey
University, Auckland
Enabling participation for
children and young people with disabilities
36
months, $784,464
Dr Paul Young, Medical
Research Institute of New Zealand
TARGET (The
Augmented versus Routine approach to Giving Energy
Trial)
48 months, $
1,200,000
ENDS